Treatment given to the owner and not the dog

Luna is a 12 year old Labrador who had recently been diagnosed with arthritis in her knees and hips. 

Her Mum has made all the recommended house changes such as rugs and soft beds allowing Luna to move around the flat comfortably and rest without placing extra pressure on her joints.

Luna is bilingual as her Mum is Portuguese. When Luna is being awkward she gets told off in Portuguese but when she's being good, she gets praise in English! 

Luna's Mum used to be a paramedic and wanted to know how she could help Luna herself with massage as well as exploring other complementary therapy options. 

I was invited along, not to treat Luna but to help Mum learn a massage routine which would empower her and enable her to provide some much needed relief. Her paramedic training came back quickly and she was a natural with massage once shown how to perform the techniques appropriately.

We discussed the benefits of adding hydrotherapy, laser therapy and acupuncture to the mix. 

Luna is now in Mum's safe and competent hands. Sometimes it is not necessary to treat a dog but give their owner the right tools to help them along.

The next day Luna's Mum wrote back saying :

"Dear Les, thank you so much for your time yesterday.  Cannot thank you enough for the valuable resources you are providing me. I tried some more massage last night. Luna was lively this morning and we even play bit of fetch around the cars."

Good result I reckon

 

Holistic canine massage - noise phobia

Meet Binx 

But say his name quietly. Binx has noise phobia. Not just fireworks or noises like that but lots of things can make this dear boy anxious. The sound of a golf club on a golf ball if walking past a golf course, the bathroom door banging upstairs, motor bikes outside....you get the idea. 

 His Mum was referred to me after the trainer at his weekly dog class noticed that he was limping a little. When his mum read all the benefits that canine massage can do, she asked if I would be willing to come over and see if we could design a massage routine to help calm him down as well as looking at his wobbly leg. She was very interested in the energy healing aspect of AchyPaw massage therapy. 

I was told he can be a big aloof with people. I must have been giving off extra calming vibes then, as he simply lay down on the massage mat and didn't move for 120 minutes. His Mum was constantly shaking her head and saying "What are you doing? He is NEVER like this". It's sometimes a little difficult to isolate the specific - but it works, so I certainly wasn't going to stop. He loved everything I was doing to him...not a single complaint - except if I stopped. 

We had to help him up to turn him over so his Mum could practice the relaxing routine on his other side. 

2 hours later he eased himself up to the sofa with his head on one of the arms. As his Mum and I were chatting, his little head was slipping down the arm....he couldn't hold himself up he was so un-anxious (which isn't a word but sums up Binx's responses). His reaction and responses to the session really made my day. 

 This is what holistic massage therapy is all about - applying it to help all with sorts of different conditions. I've discovered, over my years of practice, that it isn't only indicated for arthritis or mobility issues - in the last few weeks I've had epileptic dogs, dogs with muscle tremors, anxious dogs, wobbly dogs, senior dogs...massage therapy can be inclusive and not exclusive. I love it. 

Combining complementary therapies works

Louise from A Touch of Reiki attended our Level One and Two Relax HAOK9 Massage course with the Healing Animals Organisation. She has just put up a Facebook post which fully expresses how adding a variety complementary therapies to a single treatment session can be very powerful. In this instance, it actually saved a dog's life. 

"As a graduate with the Healing Animals Organisation I cannot express how truly grateful I am for introducing Canine Massage HAOK9 level 1 and 2 with Les, Chris, Sam and Sarah as they are fantastic teachers and have taught me many skills and developed my knowledge. 

I have just returned from a second visit of a dog I am treating, a beautiful Labrador. Five weeks ago, her mobility was severely effected after been diagnosed at the age of five with arthritis and spondylitis the family thought it was time for her to pass over the rainbow as she was really struggling. With a huge heavy heart I was determined to give her a Massage and Reiki Energy Healing as I had planned to do. Four days after the Massage and Reiki Energy Healing I had a call to let me know PTS had been cancelled she had her mobility back, acting like a puppy was the words of the guardian!!! I cannot express how I felt!! Tears of joy, so much weight was lifted from my heart!! A BIG, HUGE THANK YOU!! Her Management plan in place now will be monitored with the condition she will have massage every 6-8 weeks, Distance and Hands on Reiki Energy Healing along with Natural Remedies, Nikken PetPad recently purchased thank you Caroline Rushforth and Hydrotherapy. I feel confident with everything I have learnt and practice on a daily basis at the Healing Animals Organisation has given this beautiful Labrador the quality of life back. Thank you for all the support, advice and guidance to my two and four legged teachers"