Therapists at the Canine Massage Guild absolutely love DogFest and we were so excited to be back in-person at all 3 DogFest shows, meeting you and your dogs.
DogFest began in a field in 2013, behind Professor Noel Fitzpatrick’s (The Supervet) practice in Surrey to celebrate the unconditional love shared between human and dog. It has grown in leaps and bounds over the years to become an amazing weekend event, where thousands of people and their dogs across the country attend. It is no wonder that Guild therapists always look forward to DogFest and say that it’s one of their favourite shows of the year.
The Guild packed their bags and headed to DogFest South. With so many dogs visiting the stand, the days just flew by, but they are long and tiring, so we had reinforcements eager to meet you at DogFest West and another group waiting to greet you at DogFest North. In total, 35 therapists were available on the Guild stand to see your dogs and talk all things massage with the owners.
Just One Day at DogFest
Sunday 19th September started early for seven Canine Massage Guild therapists. Not perturbed by the rain lashing against their windscreens they eagerly headed towards Cirencester, excited for the day ahead.
Why? Because therapists of the Canine Massage Guild are passionate about promoting the benefits of Canine Massage and it is their mission to offer affordable, effective and ethical Clinical Canine Massage Therapy for all dogs regardless of their breed, size or age.
Situated by the main entrance, the Guild Therapists watched as the crowds gathered. The rain stopped and the sun started to peak through the clouds just as the gates opened. The first person to rush over to the Guild stand was an existing client who stated:
“I have been seeing a Clinical Canine Massage therapist for about 7/8 years. My older dog is 12 ½ and is still running around with no issues. It must be the massage!”
From that moment on, all seven Guild therapists were kept extremely busy, offering free muscular health checks to so many different breeds of dogs.
Just some of the dogs we saw, were:
- a 7-year-old Great Dane with hip dysplasia
- multiple spaniels with back strains and hypertonicity (tightness) in the lower back and hind legs
- a blind 15-year-old terrier with a sore lower back
- a paralyzed 2-year-old Romania rescue with a custom-made wheelchair.
Their owners were very interested to find out about Clinical Canine Massage Therapy and the benefits it could have for their dogs.
Why did owners visit the stand?
All had their individual stories and reasons for visiting the stand which we enjoyed hearing.
Some owners were uplifted to hear Clinical Canine Massage can support many orthopaedic and neurological conditions by providing natural pain relief, relieving areas of over-compensation and improving mobility. This would help:
- Ditto the Cocker Spaniel who was wheeled over to the Guild stand in her push chair. She had spinal surgery 5 weeks ago.
- An 8-year-old Papillon with a diagnosed right luxating patella (kneecap), who kept going lame on her left hind leg. Nothing showed up on the X-rays. A muscular health check revealed a very tender and sore Gracilis (drive muscle) on the left hind leg.
Obviously, these dogs and any who would benefit from massage, would need their owner to obtain vet consent first.
Many owners thought the free muscular health checks were worthwhile, even if nothing was apparently wrong with their dog. One such dog, an 8-year-old rescue Greyhound x Saluki loved being off lead and running around during her daily walks, with no obvious issues. The owner was amazed at the skin fasciculations (twitches) along the back and ribcage as her dog was being palpated and that the therapist found a few back strains and tenderness in the hind legs. It was explained that dogs are very stoic and it is all too common for them to be harboring subtle issues that can go undetected.
We also had the pleasure of meeting many young dogs aged 10/11 months, eager to see the sights after growing up in lockdown. Thankfully most of these youngsters were in good condition, but still enjoyed a positive handling experience with us.
Other owners were curious to read the results of the Clinical Trials with Winchester University and were delighted to discover that 95% of dogs responded positively to Clinical Canine Massage Therapy and results could be seen after the 1st treatment.
“What can I do to help my dog?”
Regardless of why the owners and their dogs visited the Guild stand they all had the same question. “What can I do to help my dog?”
Therapists offered advice about Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) including, chasing after balls, jumping on and off the sofa or slipping on laminate/ wooden flooring. By limiting or ideally avoiding these activities and putting runners down it will help prevent injury.
You can also check out the Canine Massage Guild’s ‘5 Principles of Pain’. This straightforward and easy to use chart was devised to help owners become aware of signs and symptoms to lookout for and you can download a free copy here. https://www.k9-massageguild.co.uk/the-5-principles-of-pain/
‘Til Next Year
Thank you for visiting us at DogFest, it was lovely to meet so many of you. We hope you found it useful and informative and most of all, we wish your dog well.
If you couldn’t make it, you can find your nearest therapist or see which other shows we are attending by visiting https://www.k9-massageguild.co.uk
Now we’ve had a few days to recover, we’re ready for DogFest 2022.
‘Til next year
