Being Prepared

 

Milly is a 7 year old Maltipoo (with a bit of Bichon Frise) who is due to have a cruciate operation on her right knee in the summer.   She currently has Grade II medial patella luxation in her right hind and Grade I to II medial patella luxation in her left hind legs. 

Her Mum wanted to book a session to learn how Milly could be helped now – to get her in top condition prior to surgery – and then to carry on the therapy for her post-operation rehabilitation.  What a considerate Mum!

Milly was initially a little uncomfortable with any touch near her rear end, understandably as she had been holding that area tight and scrunched.

But touching her anywhere else generated a smile, soft eyes and resting ears – she loved all of that and we knew we were onto a winner with on-going therapy for Milly.

We went through an appropriate set of massage techniques and leg strengthening exercises that would suit Milly now to make sure all her muscles are healthy and toned, but could be adapted later for rehabilitation.

By the end of the session, Milly was lying down on the mat allowing us both to work with her anywhere on her body – she’d started to understand the difference between therapeutic touch and petting.

 

Empowering the carer

Teeny Tiny Tyler has the heart of a giant dog. He was simply not sure about touch at all – except from his Mum so she did all the physical work on this session – and he loved it.

Tyler is an 11 year old Yorkshire Terrier / Dachshund cross. Despite his seniority, he has a puppy’s mind. Last year, he suddenly couldn’t stand and became immobile. 

His vets immediately referred him to a specialist practice where he was treated for an Intervertebral Disc Extrusion between T12 to T13. His progress had been coming along fine but stalled. His family asked me over to help restart his rehabilitation. 

As Tyler was not willing to be touched, we started with a few exercise tips – to gently help ease his tight spinal muscles which were causing him to stand hunched. Other exercises were done to help restore his balance and sensory perception. When he runs at the moment, he does tend to veer sideways preferring not to use his right rear as much as the left. 

It was then time for Mum to take over. She adopted his favourite position – in the chair beside her – and started to intentionally feel what he felt like. How tight his muscles were, how developed and balanced they were – things she could use as indictors to monitor his progress in the next few weeks. 

We knew that he would be her biggest critic, but we needn’t have worried. He LOVED his front end massage. His little eyes went very gooey very quickly. Not so sure with his back end but with slow and deliberate touch, he allowed Mum to so whatever she wanted. And, equally importantly, whatever he needed. 

He also knew when he had enough, getting off Mum and going back to his bed. 

He did come out to try and chase my feet at the end but we managed to turn that into an exercise too.

Chasing my feet seemed to take his mind off his right rear leg issues and he managed to move across the room with a very orderly gait. 

Hopefully, with all this new knowledge, Tyler’s rehabilitation will restart and he will back to his balanced running around soon. 

Bob's story of his first canine massage session

Sometimes a new dog comes along and the therapy session follows the textbook. 

In fact, I think Bob wrote the textbook. Bob is a young Collie with occasional rear leg issues. He is part of Sarah’s group of dog friends .  She describes him as quite non-collie in that he is chilled and laid back with only the occasional mad zoomie. At his Mum’s work, people come up to sit with Bob and just zen-out for a while. 

His Mum wanted a therapy session to check him out. During the initial palpating part of the session, Bob stood quite still and processed the whole thing. “What’s this? This is unusual. I’ll just sit here and see how this goes” 

But it worked. His stiff back was giving off loads of heat already. Once we got further into the session it went (in Bob’s voice).... 

• “Ok…that was lovely but I’ll just go for a walk round the sofa” 
• “And hello I’m back”
• “Ok…I’ll go for a walk again” 
• “And bring back my toy to hold” 
• “Ok…I’ll go and sit by Mum and rest against the sofa” 
• “Oh this is nice, I’ll just close my eyes” 
• “Ok, that was an ouchy bit, I’ll open my eyes” “No I won’t…I’ll close them again” 
• “Hmm…I’m sliding down onto the floor” 
• “Ok, I’ll just stay here and sleep” 
• “You’ve done that side Dr Les…here…I’ll roll over for you” 
• “All done? Ok, I’ll pose for the pictures with my trusty blue ball”
• “I feel like a stretch….oooooo… l-o-n-g stretch” 
• “And I’ll do another one – ‘coz I can now” 
• “Are you leaving? Not if I stay sitting on your massage bed and look up at you adoringly” 
• "Ok…I’ll just curl up on the sofa…bye” 

We know our job is done for the time being, as Bob’s Mum will now be able to use this knowledge and physical therapy to support him throughout every stage of his life. But she also knows there are professionals she can call on if Bob starts to display and more wobbles. 

You don’t need to wait until your dog has mobility issues or arthritis, you can help them manage their health at an early age and maintain that through to silver faced years.

Dogs shouldn't have to slip...add some carpets

Henry is a 2 and a half year old Boston Terrier who developed an occasional limp from his front legs. His Mum asked if we could come round and assess and treat.

Chris helped to ease out some of the tension in his back muscles and also worked with Henry’s tight shoulder. In the meantime, Henry had brought Chris all his toys to share and gave him kisses – which he apparently only ever does to his Mum. Ooops – happens all the time to us. 

Chris noticed the lovely wooden floor in his house. The things we do and suggest come about from our own experiences. We know hands-on therapy can help to change a dog’s life…our Sarah has proven that and is our inspiration to share that with as many other dogs as possible. Flooring is another. When we moved in to our current house the carpets were probably the original carpets to when the house was built – 1949! So we put down shiny lush bamboo. It was environmental, ethical and lovely. But our house has loads of circular routes. The dogs used the floors as racetracks. The grooves that we now have in the wood confirm that. But that meant they slipped in their enjoyment. 

We started with a few scattered mats – but they slipped too despite anti-slip tape. We went to bigger rugs. But they had areas between which were still lethal to wobbly dog legs. Last year we bit the bullet. We went to a local carpet store and bought a large offcut. Armed with our precise measurements, the store cut several bits for us which made a joining jigsaw of offcut carpets. They even bound all the edges. For less than a couple of hundred £ we had carpeted all downstairs. No more slipping from our dogs or visitors to the therapy room. 

Cartoon leg spinning might make people smile on YouTube videos (not me, by the way, they make me Grrrr). Think about how you feel when you slip on a wet floor. That suddenly becomes not funny. 

When Henry was outside on a flat surface, it was clear his back was straight. But when he was on the wooden floor you could see his back was hunched slightly. His mind was probably thinking “OK…I can usually negotiate this floor but with my funny leg it’s rather awkward now”. The simplest solution was to lay down Yoga Mat Islands for him. They’re ideal as a runway when he’s rushing about and can be taken up when he’s chilling. Hopefully, they can help speed up his healing. 

Many people who follow our suggestion find their dog quickly gets used to the idea and then they find them looking for it if it’s been forgotten to be put down. 

Offering advice and suggestions on simple, practical, cheap, yet effective household adaptations has always been part of the overall service we give during a therapy session.

Superficial Front Line & Anatomy Trains - massage in dogs

Meet Tino and his SFL. 

Tino (Valentino) is Bruce’s brother. When he was 8 he developed a hunched back with prominent spine in the mid spine area. At the time his vets suggested an MRI with a possible operation which they said might extend his life by 2 years. That was 6 years ago! He has no obvious mobility issues now and, at the time, he was treated with massage and physiotherapy. He hasn’t had any physical therapy recently, so we were asked to work with him at the same as Bruce as they are now 12. 

Luckily, we now have two members in the AchyPaw team. Bruce decided that Chris was his and I worked with Tino at the same time. 

Tino wants everyone to be happy and gets worried if they are not, or if he thinks they are not. He has his security blanket which he brings to anyone who comes to the door and then lies sucking and chewing it until he realises you are a good person. Although Tino does not really lie – he squats like a greyhound. He has very long legs and neck. His Mum describes him as Giraffe neck. 

As well as his stiff back, the way he sits means that his thighs and adductors are also a lot tighter than his brother – who lies quite happily thank you, farting away during the massage session. 

One of the things we bring with us in our canine physical therapy is skill and expertise from human massage. That morning, Chris had read a paper from the JING website entitled “Tight Jaw? Tight Hips!” which stated that many patients experience jaw pain or teeth grinding related to muscle tension in the jaw. The article suggested that just working in that area might be looking in the wrong place. The author said look at the whole body, the gait, and their hip alignment. 

They referred to work by Tom Myers, the structural integration expert (read his books if you’re interested by fascia – I love his work). He describes the Superficial Front Line in his book Anatomy Train which is one of 12 myofascial chains. The SFL starts at the top of the feet and travels up to behind the ear and jaw. 

Hmmm…..let’s try massaging Tino’s jaw and see if his tight hips relax. Oh. My. Gosh. Within minutes his whole body relaxed and his previously reactive hip and thigh muscles loosened allowing me to start working with them. 

He ended the session completely soft and pliable. And happy. And he had stopped using his security blanket. A big success. 

The JING article concludes with “…all these pieces of information can be used to…..design a better treatment plan” We’d add….don’t just stop with canine massage techniques and treatment plans but look at combining them with research and methods used in human massage. We’ve had so much fusion and cross-overs in the past 6 years between human and canine massage. But Tino doesn’t care – he’s just happy we’ve found, and helped, the problem. And that is #RESULT. 

Another review of our workshops

Our introduction to the Sussex Pet Rescue was through a training session I did early in the summer. There was a pleasant surprise yesterday to receive a copy of their latest Newsletter with an article about my session with Pearl (and her brother Archie). 

The article says "Pearl is our 10 year old Staffie adopted from the SPR 3 years ago. 

She had a very rough start in life, and, adding that to her age, we discovered she was starting to creak a bit as she went about her daily life. We decided to look for a way to help her tired bones get through the day. By chance we met Dr Les Ellam at a dog show where he was demonstrating massage techniques. We introduced Pearl to him and, when he began to massage her, she simply melted. 

After a lot of happy grunting from Pearl we managed to chat to Les and discovered, among a variety of classes etc, he did home visits. We arranged a day for him to visit and work with Pearl and our Beagle Archie. Les arrived and began with a very informative chat about a dog's anatomy and structure which was full of common sense and not the usual dry lecture. 

After 2 hours learning how to massage our dogs, taking their individual needs into account, he then showed us some warm-up and cool-down techniques to be used when exercising the dogs. 

In addition, my wife Sue, is disabled and Les showed her how to perform his techniques with the dogs sitting on her lap. Pearl and Archie probably had the best two hours of their lives and, as the photo shows, Pearl enjoyed a snooze afterwards. 

As a bonus, about 24 hours later, Les emailed a complete guide to everything we done with him including diagrams. 

We now spend about 15 minutes a day massaging the dogs and it is a great way to end the day with them. One complaint - they both spend a lot of time rolling around in front of us trying to get extra rubs!" 

I'll happily take that complaint!

2017 - a year of training milestones for us

We’ve had a lot of milestones this year with our teaching. We’ve delivered over 14 workshops and diploma courses this year plus dozens of 1 to 1 sessions. Thanks to Paws, Play & Stay for hosting many of those classes and Elizabeth Whiter with the Healing Animals Organisation for the Diploma courses. 

That’s hundreds of dog Mums and Dads in East & West Sussex (plus others who came from London and beyond) who understand what is going on under their dog’s fur and now have the skills to help maintain their health and well-being. 

We also had a diploma module with the most dogs attending ever – 19 in 2 days. And yesterday ended our teaching year with the biggest workshop of 2017 – 18 people attending. 

We were invited by the Sussex Pet Rescue (http://sussexpetrescue.org/) to organise and deliver a workshop for their dog rescuers, fosterers, board members and even the founder of the SPR, Marcia Harris, who set up the organisation 50 years ago. The numbers who were interested, grew over the weeks and we filled up the hall. First time we’ve needed chairs in two rows too! 

 Dogs of all ages, from a newly rescued anxious puppy to senior dogs came along. All sizes and breeds. All levels of anxiety from very nervous to very chilled. The group started off with a ‘getting to know what’s under the fur’ session so that people could identify and pick up on any issues quicker rather than letting potential mobility problems become chronic and long-term. 

There was no fancy technology this time just a white board and pens. The pages quickly filled up with benefits of massage showing how this therapy can be used for so many different conditions and uses. Canine massage is truly multi-therapeutic and not for a single purpose only. We had dogs who needed help with their mobility due to their age or surgery. We had dogs who had been newly rescued and were quite anxious – although the littlest fella in the group decided that falling asleep on her foster Mums massage mat was far better than being nervous. We had dogs that needed a bit of stretching and myofascial release to ease out aches and strains. And we had dogs who just enjoyed it. 

We’d devised a special routine for the Sussex Pet Rescue comprising 13 massage techniques and the workshop finished with some Canine Pilates stretching the dogs out before their trips home. 

Thank you Sussex Pet Rescue, we’re looking forward to coming back to show more of your members how to help your lovely rescued dogs. 

All the pictures from the day can be viewed here

 

My Luther

My Luther 

Two years I was kindly invited to go and help Luther Weimaraner, who was then 10, by vet Guy from Coastway Vets. He and his Dads were almost at the end of the therapies they had left to offer Luther for his rear leg arthritis and resulting mobility issues. 

Philip, one of his Dads, wrote, Luther was “a HUGE dog, over 50k at one point but always fed and exercised and loved very much. 2015 wasn't great for Luther, prostate removal, stomach problems and then the diagnosis that he was very arthritic. I was devastated, not least because I hadn't noticed the change in him because we're together all the time…….I had to keep going into other rooms to cry about losing him so he didn't pick up on the vibe - you know that sounds strange to some people, but when you bond with another life, you bond” 

When Luther’s Dads heard of Guy’s suggestion of canine massage, they were a bit unsure – to put it mildly. Again, in Philip’s words “Guy said, "I know you'll think this ridiculous, but I know a chap who's a qualified dog masseur...and don't roll your eyes!" So I'm there, I've dabbled with massage, acupuncture, reflexology & Feng Shui, what did I have to lose? My best friend. So I called Dr Les kind of reluctantly. I mean I'm a realist, and the thought of paying to have my dog massaged.... But the universe gives you what you need - I'd known Dr Les for about twenty years, four times a week at the gym. He was a Dr at Brighton or Sussex Uni, and had helped me with some research for my job as a journalist but we had lost touch” 

On the first visit Luther looked sad, no other way to describe it really. But he still had enough spirit to eye me up suspiciously at the start. 

What to do with Luther? Answer : Just about EVERYTHING. He loved it. Philip said “From the first 6 weekly sessions, Luther wanted to eat again, go out, and didn't need the Tramadol. Les showed us how to learn his techniques and use them between visits” 

Two years on and Luther is still up and about. He is now swimming weekly in the Hydrotherapy pool at House of Hugo. His medication has been changed appropriately (Tramadol removed and Rimadyl added) and now he had added thyroid issues and peripheral neuropathy. But he still walks daily – he has an A Frame back end gait and rolls his right back leg out a bit while walking but that is his way now. He even runs to meet me. 

And I ADORE Luther. I really do. He and our girl, Sarah, are totally inspiring. They don’t moan, they get on with it. And that makes wanting to help them and their well-being even more special and important. To share that knowledge with a dog’s loving owners is a double bonus. 

These days with Luther, there is no faffing about. I walk in and he is down on the king-sized massage mat ready and waiting before I’ve got my jacket off. 30 minutes into the session, he gets up and turns over so I can work with the other side. Every time. Without fail. 

His Dads are really the best too. They have listened throughout. They probably know more about Luther’s muscles than they do about their own. I am sent videos of Luther walking weekly which I keep for comparative purposes. Luther’s new brother, Hugo, is also receiving massage from his Dads to keep him in top condition. 

I couldn’t ask for more really. A lovely receptive dog. Owners who take note of what I say and work with their dog daily. And two more years with a dog who is happy and comfortable. Once again, to quote Philip “Get your dog massaged? Oh please! But if you have an aging dog that seems a little stiff, you may know how it feels yourself, at least look into this service. But if you love your dog, it may be the best thing you can do for them”. If your vet suggests “It’s just arthritis”, give us a call and see how we can help you manage their condition. They may be getting older but they need not be put out to pasture yet.

Thank you My Luther 

Avascular Necrosis and Complementary Therapy

Sonny’s Feedback 

In June of this year, I was invited over to help Sonny. He was then not even a year old but diagnosed with bilateral Avascular Necrosis affecting both hip joints. The vet decided the best plan for his recovery was Femoral head & neck excision. While this condition is common-ish in young dogs, to be affected with both legs at the same time is rarer. 

It meant that little Sonny could not enjoy being a puppy. He has only known wobbly gaits and compensation for his weak hind legs. The vets operated on one leg in May with the other hip booked in for 6 weeks later. 

His Mum wrote “It is very important that the muscle and scar tissue around these joints is built up to ensure as good a mobility as possible. Is this something you can help with?” She is already a Reiki practitioner and wanted to combine physical therapy with energy healing to give Sonny as much help as possible. He was also on anti-inflammatory medication. 

When I first visited him, he was walking with his hind legs closer together but was not showing any signs of gait discomfort placing both legs down equally. I guess he had never known anything different so was doing the dog thing of “Getting On With It” 

The session was more aimed at training for his Mum to build up the muscles of the leg that had been operated on to help support him for the operation on the other leg. Literally, to give him a leg to stand on! I often get asked what a fit muscle should look and feel like. 

 I use the analogy of a chicken fillet. A high-quality chicken fillet. A Waitrose or Marks & Spencer’s chicken fillet (although other supermarkets are available). The affected thigh muscles of Sonny looked more like a ham slice or lower quality fillet. They needed considerable building up. 

He had other compensatory issues, including tight neck and overused shoulder muscles. 

I devised a massage routine plus physiotherapy exercises for his Mum to perform daily. 

I recently had an email saying “I just thought you'd like an update on Sonny. The massage techniques and exercises you taught me were so helpful in his recovery. He went on to have the second surgery carried out in July from which he has recovered equally well using massage and exercise. He hasn't needed any further intervention and his Lidl chicken fillets as you called them are now looking like Tesco Finest!! We've just returned from a break on the Isle of Wight where he ran freely on the beach for hours on end. So a big thank you to you from us!!” 

I asked if it was OK to share this story and his Mum said “It can be very worrying for people who find their dog needs this operation, but it is generally very successful and Sonny is living proof!! If his story can help other owners that would be wonderful.” 

 She also sent some photos of Sonny post-operation and allowed me to share his before and after X-rays. Look at the way the femoral head was not fitting in the socket in the ‘before’ picture on the left and how the head was excised in the ‘after’ picture. Here are all the pictures – shared. 

Poor old Sonny had spent his puppy days with those ill-fitting joints. Physical therapy, massage, exercise, Reiki and medication all working to allow Sonny to run like the puppy he should be on the beach in the Isle of Wight. What a great transformation and testament to the power of complementary therapy. 

Tellington T-Touch Training

We attended a workshop to introduce us to touches and methods using Tellington T-Touch Training delivered by Caroline Still of Stylish Fido (https://stylishfido.co.uk/t-touch). 

T Touch is not massage but involves a variety of touches manipulating the skin rather than the muscles below. Although the touches are light pressure, they can be very relaxing and powerful. However, like massage, the aim is to help resolve health and behaviour. 

As well as bodywork, there are also a number of groundwork routines designed to aid flexibility, movement and increase confidence. 

The touches themselves are named after animals, such as the Leopard, Chimpanzee, Racoon and Llama. These involve different placement of the fingers on the skin. As with massage therapy, the touches slide from one to another meaning the dog always has at least one hand on their body maintaining contact. 

The groundwork is used to engage the dog’s attention and focus and involve slow and purposeful movements around objects or poles with frequent stops allowing the dog to experience their balance. 

Another component is body wraps. This is similar to swaddling a baby giving the body security and a big hug. The aim is to provide comfort by making the dog aware of all the areas that the wraps touch. It is a great tool for nervous dogs and can be beneficial for Halloween and November 5th fireworks. 

It’s always good to learn new principles and touches which can be adapted to add to our existing massage routines. We’ve never wanted to stop at just using the same few techniques but rather to constantly learn new moves to adapt and add. On Friday Chris went on a massage course designed for expectant Mums. He came back saying “Oooo…I’ve got a great move we can add to the AchyPaw routine”. As expectant Mums tend to prefer massage on their sides, this is similar to working on a dog lying down. We’ve adapted one of the moves to give a good myofascial release of the dog’s pectorals. That’ll go in our toolkit. Then there was the time Chris took a Hands-free massage course. Again, one of those moves we adapted into our exclusive Angel technique which gives the dog a huge long stretch along their entire body and most adore. 

We’re going to need a bigger toolbelt soon. 

Complementing complementary therapies

We met Caroline Still of Stylish Fido some time ago at a dog event we were doing. She is professional Tellington T Touch practitioner (http://stylishfido.co.uk/t-touch). As she says on her webpage “Tellington T Touch is a holistic respectful method of training, handling and learning. Using a combination of specific touches, lifts, and movement exercises, T Touch helps to release tension and increase body awareness. This allows the animal to be handled without provoking typical fear responses. The animal can then more easily learn new and more appropriate behaviours. It is not about ‘quick fixes’, it is about working with that animal to bring a new awareness, offering another experience and giving new information, so the animal can be more flexible and adaptive, often having profound positive behaviour changes.” 

She now has a young Poodle, Bill, and wanted me to check him out to make sure everything is OK physically. In return, I asked if she could do the same on our Sarah to give me some more ideas to help her. 

 The two different complementary therapies are, in fact, very similar. Most of the physical therapy massage moves I was demonstrating on Bill, were the same as T Touch moves, only with different names and different intensities. But despite the names, they had the same aims and benefits. 

When it came to working with our Sarah, Caroline showed me small circular moves over her thigh muscles, called The Raccoon, which targeted them far more precisely. Within a short time, both the muscles we were working on, plus the other side, started to warm up. She also sent me some lifting moves which also target the thighs. 

We’re attending one of Caroline’s workshops this weekend giving us even more tools in our Therapeutic Toolkit as you can never have too many options. That gives us massage techniques, advice, exercise routines, education, acupressure, Reiki and energy healing plus all the experience gained over the past 6 years added to the human massage techniques from the past 15 years and now T Touch. The AchyPaw Toolkit is getting bigger. And in the New Year we hope to have a new qualified and insured Canine Myotherapist joining the team. 

September is Arthritis Awareness Month and there have been lots of posts about it. I thought I’d take a different line and go through a couple of the dogs I’d worked with over the years showing how a multi-modal approach can work better than just medication or single therapy alone. 

First is Luther. My big handsome wonderful Luther. I’ve been visiting Luther the Weimaraner since November 2015. He had been diagnosed with arthritis but suddenly he had gone off his back legs and his Dads just did not know what to do anymore. He also had a very stiff top line, he had gone off his food (which is NOT like Luther at all) and he generally looked sad. His vet referred him to me, and despite some initial scepticism from his Dads, I started to work with him. Luther, being a big boy, can be quite intimidating but is really a big softie when you get to know, and love, him. He was rather suspicious at first but allowed me to perform an almost classic massage routine on him. 

The techniques that turned the corner for Luther were Myofascial Release. His discomfort from arthritis had made him concertina into a shorter dog. He was tight all over. Once we got that tightness released and stretched him back out, we could work with his muscle tone, building his wasted thigh muscles back up again to support his weight. 

Two years on and his Dads are my best advocates so much so that they now give Luther’s new brother, Hugo, a massage every week when I’m working with Luther. Luther is now off Tramadol, and has added Rimadil to the medication mix as well as weekly physical therapy from me, hydrotherapy from Mia at the House of Hugo and laser therapy. He has his bad days, but don’t we all, and he is now 12 years old. Currently, though, he is walking three times a day in his steady plodding but comfortable way. And his loves his massage sessions regularly snoring his way through the hour. 

Then there is Stanley the Shih Tzu. He is 12 now and I’ve been visiting him for 18 months. He was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in the hips. He was treated with Metacam which was easing his discomfort but was not really helping with his wasted rear leg muscles. Stanley is a character and has to be massaged on the sofa so he can look down at his brother Freddy who is desperate to join in. His arthritis had caused his whole body to be wrong, which is a non-technical term but describes perfectly the way he stood. He had a very high rear end so the spine dips at the shoulders which were over developed. He did not walk but waddled with one or both rear legs crumbling under him as he progressed forward. He did not seem in the least bit perturbed by his legs giving way. He simply got up and continued to waddle on. 

With Stanley, he benefitted from as much kneading as I could give him before his attention span ran out (usually between 30 to 45 minutes) and he asked to get off the sofa. In the last couple of months, the physical therapy was really only holding him stable but not helping his muscle tone to improve. His Mum even bought a buggy so he could go out but Stanley was having none of that. A few weeks back we added hydrotherapy to the mix. This was the addition that brought about his turning point. After a few sessions, he had muscles. Big muscles. And he stood without falling. For a long time. And he walked, actually walked. It was an emotional session the first time and such a joy to be able to work with his muscles again, helping to build them up further to maintain his mobility. And today his Mum is off to IKEA to buy some carpet runners for the hall and kitchen so Stanley can continue his progress without fear of slipping. Add ‘environmental changes’ to the mix of therapies. 

Duffy the Old English Sheepdog sadly passed away a few months ago from a heart condition, but I had been visiting him every four weeks for 18 months. He was referred with Ankylosing Spondylosis in his upper back resulting in forelimb arthritis. He was already on a regime of Rimadyl and Cartrophen with monthly acupuncture from vet Guy Liebenberg of Coastway Vets. During the physical therapy sessions, his Mum added Holistic Veterinary Medicine to his mix from Tim Couzens. This took the form of daily herbal medication which included things like Turmeric and Ginger for the arthritis. He also had laser therapy. 

As well as massage, he loved his stretching exercises and passive joint stretches. His Mum took on board the need to do a few massage moves and exercises daily to keep him mobile in between my visits. Another couple of additions to complement his multi-modal therapy. 

For the first few sessions treatments, he just could not keep still and was very vocal. But by the 4th and 5th session, the problem with him was getting him to leave the massage mat at the end of the hour. He wanted more, and when I left, he always went into a deep relaxed sleep – a perfect result from a session. 

Last, but not least, is our Sarah. My inspiration. We took her on a basic introductory massage workshop many years ago and one move we learned from the wonderful Pia Campbell was what inspired me want to start AchyPaw. Simple skin rolling released so much anxiety and discomfort from her that she turned from a grumpy old woman to the 5 year old she should have been within days. 

She has now been diagnosed with arthritis in her hips and, 6 years on from that basic workshop, she has daily massage and acupressure from us, weekly hydrotherapy with Mia, holistic medicine from Tim, a raw food diet to help with weight control, environmental changes (such as our new ramp to the back door and half steps all over the house), daily activity changes (frequent but shorted walks daily so she exercises but doesn’t overdo it), nutritional supplements, a Bioflow collar, energy healing from her Auntie Lou and recently Regenerative Medicine. A truly multi-modal girl. 

Which treatment is the one that is working? Don’t know. It may not just be ONE, but a combination of all. This is complementary therapy after all. What I do know is that she is currently fitter, happier and more comfortable than she has been in a long time. And I can’t ask for a better result than that. 

Check out all the options open to an arthritic dog. It doesn’t have to be ‘just arthritis’.