Tricia Kennedy owns and shows three of her Finnish Lapphunds; Nova (6), Aamu (4) and new to the tribe Keyza (1). She also has a 6 year old Swedish Lapphund, Odet, who was diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia early in her life. Both Nova and Aamu have recently had puppies.
Why consider massage?
Tricia watches her dogs closely and with her experienced eye for movement she had noticed that they had all stopped doing things that they used to do.
Having read about the benefits of Clinical Canine Massage Tricia used the Canine Massage Guild website to find her nearest therapist. She contacted me and booked the three older dogs in for a free muscular health check.
Free Muscular Health Checks
These checks are an opportunity for me, as the therapist, to learn about the dogs lifestyle as well as to assess the condition of the muscles and other soft tissue.
From an owners perspective the muscular health check helps them to better understand what is going on with their dog and to get some free advice on how to improve their quality of life and wellbeing. It also allows them to find out a bit more about massage and whether it might be a good option for them.
Tricia describes what she learnt from her health check experience:
“Apparently my dogs had been working around their aches and pains and this meant that some muscles were being over used. It turns out that my dogs are good at hiding when they are uncomfortable. The first I knew something wasn’t right was when I noticed that they weren’t doing things they used to do. But if they had a day where they were acting a bit out of sorts they would seem OK the next day so I didn’t know.“
Massage as a therapy
Treating three dogs from the same household for the first time takes a four to five hours. This is because it includes a really useful discussion with the owner about the dogs daily life. I can learn a lot about where a dog might be overcompensating from this discussion, which in turn helps me when I do start treatment. The extra time also allows the dog to settle down“.
After three initial treatments Nova and Aamu are back to normal and full of energy. The small changes I have suggested to their lifestyle should help to keep them in good condition and reduce their injury risk. But as these girls are regularly in the show ring, massage on an adhoc basis would be beneficial to ensure their movement remains fluid and easy.
Because Odet has ongoing hip problems it is likely that over time she will compensate for this once more. She may do this by shifting more weight forwards over her shoulders and by reducing movement in her hips. Owners might see their dog with hip issues looking stiff in the back and ‘hauling forward’ from a sit to a stand or hesitating when jumping onto furniture or the car. Odet is likely to become uncomfortable again and will probably need more regular massage support to keep her active and as comfortable as possible.
Results you can see and your dog can feel in 1-3 sessions
Tricia sums up her experience of canine massage:
…”I noticed the difference in them all from the first session and watched as they became happier within themselves. When out walking they could run further and faster, they would twist and turn and jump logs which they had gone around before.
I particularly noticed Odet was more comfortable and less grumpy around the other dogs, she was also more adventurous when out and about.
I would recommend anyone who thinks their dog is not as active or seems to be doing things differently to think about Clinical Canine Massage.“
Could your dog benefit from massage?
Why not book them in for their own free Muscular Health Check?
To find out more about Karen Young and Safe Hands Clinical Canine Massage click here
To find your nearest therapist visit the therapist register.
