Joanne met Sheba when she was just a pup. Full of life and a playful attitude she would zoom around the garden on a regular basis as only a yellow Labrador can.
One day Joanne heard a loud bump and saw that Sheba had collided with a garden feature. Afterwards, Sheba was not herself and looked stiff when walking. It seemed to Joanne that Sheba may have done something to herself and decided to make a trip to the vet.
The vet diagnosed Sheba with Luxating Patella which Joanne is sure was caused by the incident in the garden.
Luxating Patella
We all have knees and they all seem to float around and move freely. Dogs have a similar sort of knee more commonly referred to as the patella, but it slides up and down in a groove in their femur called the trochlea groove. Most dogs never experience luxating patella, a condition whereby the patella or knee pops out of its trochlea groove. When this happens the dog may become weak in the leg and find walking difficult and painful. Sometimes the patella pops out of its groove very briefly and no harm is done but sometimes the patella pops out all the time. Sheba had the latter on the right leg and the vet decided to operate in an effort to correct the condition.
Sheba’s history
Sheba was very brave and went through one operation but it was not a success. A second operation was attempted with little relief. Unfortunately, correcting luxating patella is a hard procedure and Sheba was going to have to live with this for the rest of her life. During the operations, Sheba’s behaviour changed and she developed seemingly aggressive behaviour towards other dogs, vets, therapists and people she did not know. Joanne tried many things to help Sheba but never even gave canine massage a thought until she saw my advert.
Initial contact
Sheba was four years old when Joanne (my first ever client) messaged me. I remember reading Sheba’s history carefully and asking some follow up questions to get a complete picture. As a fellow dog owner and dog lover, I want to help every dog I can. My two years of intensive training with the canine massage therapy centre and previous study in canine behaviour gave me the confidence and knowledge to I know I could help. To work clinically, every dog I treat must have a health check by a vet to make sure they are fit for massage by law. Sheba had a check-up and was given the go-ahead for canine massage treatments.
The treatments
The Canine Massage Guild are proud to claim that canine massage will make a difference to your dog within three sessions. If no sign of improvement is found then we will always recommend referral back to your vet. We are interested in improving quality of life, not money.
In the first session, I carried out a gait and postural analysis along with a palpation. I recorded a detailed account of her behaviour and noted that the luxating patella had affected her gait and muscles in the following way;
- Sheba was anxious and displaying sings of fear and aggression towards me and other dogs across the street.
- Sheba’s rear limbs rotated while she walked in an effort to reduce pressure on her knee joint. This made her hip look like it was waddling while she was walking.
- Sheba was using her front limbs to stabilise herself almost like someone walking in a handstand. This is likely to be overcompensation where Sheba is putting more weight on her front limbs to take weight off the rear limbs.
- The palpation revealed hard muscles (hypertonicity), skin twitching (myofascial pain in the Trapezius muscles) and areas that felt different either side.
Sheba initially took to me and massage with some scepticism. This was expected, after all it was all unfamiliar for her. A muzzle was used to ensure everyone’s safety as she had tried biting a vet in the past. Sheba enjoyed her first treatment so much that by the second treatment she no longer felt the need to bark at me and the muzzle was no longer needed. By the third session, Sheba was coming in and laying on her side in anticipation. Joanne was amazed by Sheba’s calm and relaxed aura and stated that simply seeing her so comfortable was worth the investment.
The results
I carried out 3 different types of massage, including Swedish, Deep Tissue and Sports massage as well as Natalie Lenton’s trademark principles of myofascial release – The Lenton Method ™. The results of the massage were;
- Slightly reduced anxiety.
- More stable and free flowing stride.
- A bit more “spring” to her step.
- Much more energy and willingness to exercise and play.
- Luxating patella was observed to be in both the right and left knee instead of just the right knee.
To conclude the sessions, I wrote a detailed report to Sheba’s vet about my findings and results of the massage treatment. This is an important step that happens after three sessions with every dog to ensure that the therapist and vet work as a team to get the most out of treatments.
Sheba continues to have maintenance treatments so she can carry on feeling the benefits of massage. Joanne was over the moon with the sessions stating;
“I was not sure what to expect when I messaged Ben but wanted to give it (canine massage) a try. I am pleased I did, I have never seen Sheba take to someone so fast and be so relaxed for that amount of time. I was hoping for some benefit in the way she walks but was surprised when she became so happy and playful. Canine massage has been the best experience for me and I hope others can benefit the same way I did”.
Some things in life are certain, some things in life are easy. Canine massage is not one of them; very rarely do you know what challenges you may be faced with next. I am honoured to have such a challenging job that makes such a difference to so many dogs each year, it is the most rewarding job I have ever had. If you own a dog and want to find out if canine massage could help then get in touch with a local therapist. A therapist register can be found at www.k9-massageguild.co.uk. It may just give your dog a new leash of life.
Written by Ben Cunningham – Covers Southampton / Hampshire – Southampton Canine Massage Therapy
