The Magic of Massage

Sometimes in a massage session magic happens. It may not be stuff you are taught in a textbook or by PowerPoint presentations but it happens all the same. 

Today was a Magic Session. 

I was visiting Luther for his maintenance therapy and his newly adopted brother Hugo just got off the sofa (which is where he usually spends the hour) to get down on the massage mat and laid his head on the side of his brother. Even when we turned Luther over to work on his other side, Hugo simply raised his head, waited until all was settled then plonked himself down again to snooze. 

He obviously felt Luther relax and wanted some of that. The trust our dog friends give us is awesome. 

I haven't just got the Best Job in the World but the Better than Best Job in the World.

Hugo on Luther

Video of a workshop

We put together some of the videos and pictures that were taken over the weekend of our first Relax HAOK9 Massage Level 2 module that we designed and delivered for the Healing Animals Organisation. The video shows the many elements of this course. You can find this video here :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js-Mx9aDxbc

The video starts with the therapists consolidating their new 19 techniques in a full massage routine. You’ll spot some effleurage, kneading and ear massage. Notice how focussed all the practitioners are during the session. 

After the 1 minute mark there are some stills of passive movements followed by a section on active exercises for recuperation, stimulation, prevention, sports preparation or just fun (for both dog and owner). 

 There are some stills of walking around poles to promote balance and symmetry followed by some videos. Notice how all sizes and ages of dogs can take part and not only benefit but also enjoy these activities. At the 1.40 mark you’ll see how even the tiniest dog, with a bit of imagination and the use of an everyday object you might find in the house or shed, can participate so they’re not left out. 

The exercises are designed to restore confidence and movement and enhance front and rear end awareness. They can be used for any dog, not just those with a known issue. 

After the 3.10 mark, there is the clear effect of a lymphatic drainage massage routine which the practitioners learned over the weekend. Convinced now about the benefits of canine massage? 

These dogs certainly are! 

Other canine massage videos can be found on our AchyPaw YouTube channel here :
http://www.youtube.com/achypaw 

Is that a piece of foam at the bottom of the stairs? No…that is a canine house adaptation.

The other week I noticed that there was a large piece of foam at the bottom of the stairs to Maddie’s house. I know that her Mums had put foam everywhere else plus bought a bed without legs after a “Well..Dr Les said…” moment but the foam at the bottom of the stairs was new. This was to help Maddie make the initial turn from the hall onto the stairwell and also just in case she should slip down one day. 

It made me think of all the little things we do, or can do, to adapt your house to benefit your dog and their mobility. 

When Sarah started to look at the 4 inch jump up into our back garden, Chris put on his carpentry hat and built some smaller steps. These are now known as Sarah’s Steps and she refuses to go into the back garden by any other method than up and down HER steps. Sam doesn’t get a look in…..I guess one day we’ll have to build some Sam Steps. But a couple of bits of old decking, a few screws and bingo…we have a canine mobility adaptation device. 

Kyto’s Mum covered up all her prize wooden flooring with rugs and carpet runners to stop his skittering across. This is the top way to keep your dog injury free according to Natalie Lenton of the Canine Massage Therapy Centre (http://www.k9-massageguild.co.uk/the-number-1-way-to-keep-your-dog-injury-free/). When we refurbished our house 9 years ago we had really lush bamboo flooring installed as it was eco-friendly or recycled or something feel-goody. Now….all is covered by grey Ikea rugs. But the last thing I would want is for any dog clients to slip as they come into my therapy room. 

Memory foam beds for dogs are another great idea. I have lost count of how many new beds we have bought our spoilt pair over the past 10 years as the old one starts to lose it’s ‘memory-ness’. We’ve now found that you can buy really cheap offcuts online and put them inside a posh cover. The dogs don’t know any different from the really expensive ones some of the stores sell. They are just happy being comfy. 

Telephone directories! Now who uses them anymore? Well…I recommend their use to help raise the feeding bowl or water bowl if a dog seems to have difficulty stretching down. Again, cheap as chips to help adapt the home environment to help your dog. 

Keeping the dog’s weight under control is possibly a bit harder but can have dramatic effects on arthritis and other issues. Some years back we took our two for a routine vet visit where they were weighed. The vet said that Sarah was slightly…..portly. I took that to mean as a polite way to say she was fat. Over the next few weeks I reduced her food intake by just a few grams each time and she lost 4 kgs in 6 months. I admit she has put her winter weight back again a little and she is now on reduced intake. It is so little though that she really doesn’t know…..well…she does but her tummy doesn’t rumble at least. 

The owners of my lovely Mary have a clever rear end harness for her to help her stand which makes it possible now for her to get out into the garden and even walk along the road where all the neighbours come out to see how she is. But instead of an expensive one, you can always use a towel under their body to support their weight. 

Look around your house and see what things you have done, probably without thinking about it, to help your dog maintain their quality of life by helping ease their mobility. I’m sure it will more than you think.

Maxx with a double x

Meet Maxx (with a double x) 

This is a sad one. Maxx is a very handsome Staffie cross with a Brooklyn accent having originated from New York. 

Maxx’s mum, Tracey, contacted me from my webpage to ask me my opinion on whether it would be Ok for Maxx to have a massage. She wrote that she wanted to give her dog a special treat. However, he is currently at end stage liver disease, so sadly, he now has ascites and is quite filled with fluid in his abdomen. The vet did a slight draining but was concerned to go further, feeling he might do more harm than good. 

Among the many problems that Maxx has endured recently is an inoperable mass on his liver (and now lungs) for the last year and it's grown at a rapid rate. He has spent a good part of last year at the vet's (with recurring pancreatitis). He has been taken to Fitzpatrick’s Referrals (the Supervet) and their oncology unit. But all the specialists say that the prognosis is that he only has a few weeks left and Tracey’s goal was to keep him comfortable and happy. So much so that she wakes up every 2 hours during the night to take Maxx out for a wee to help ease his fluid retention. And not just in the back garden, Maxx thinks of that as an extension to the house - Tracey has to take Maxx out in the street. He is a double x loveable dog with an equally double x stubborn streak. 

When I contacted her to find out more, she told me that she has drawn up a Bucket List for Maxx and massage is high on that list. Most of Maxx’s issues are contraindications to massage and I wanted to make absolutely sure that the vets were on board with this. His vet at the New Priory replied back that as long as I avoided the abdomen everything should be fine. She confirmed that his large mass is probably hepatic carcinoma with secondary abdominal effusion. 

Maxx had his Bucket List massage last night. I spent a while getting the pace and intensity of the massage right to suit him for relaxation as initially the massage techniques were stimulating him rather than calming him down. But after a short time he started to get sleepy and slowly slid himself down onto the massage mat. His favourite moves were around the masseter muscle in his cheek and around his neck and after 90 minutes he did not want to leave the mat. 

I have worked with other dogs where palliative care is the purpose for the massage therapy and in all such cases it is a privilege and honour to be part of that dog’s journey. 

Thank you Maxx. xxxx 

Maxx with two kisses

Dogs and seniors

I’ve been reading again.

I recently saw an article on one of the Facebook Dog Groups I belong to titled “Dog ownership provides health benefits for senior citizens”. Rapidly reaching senior citizen status myself, and some say I’ve already reached it, I thought that it made perfect sense. 

The article says that research finds pet owners have a greater quantity of exercise than their non-pet owning peers plus a lower blood pressure. As far as the first part goes I can wholeheartedly concur that wind, gales, tornados, floods, snow etc. would not stop Sam & Sarah demanding to take me out for my walk – or is it the other way round? Whatever…the dogs and I get our exercise at least three times day. OK, the quantity has reduced over the years. Where they used to want to be out for 60 to 90 minutes at a time, now they turn round for the car after 30 to 45 minutes – which suits me as I’m getting senior-er with them. But at least I do get out. 

Regarding the reduced blood pressure, this has been scientifically shown to be due to an increase in oxytocin which is a hormone that reduces stress. We have a friend who has diabetes who comes round each weekend to sit with the dogs – Sarah on his left and Sam on his right. Since starting this routine his blood pressure has reduced remarkably. Ok…that is not a controlled experiment and only on one person, but it has worked for him so could well work on others. 

Recently we have had to move my mother into a care home local to us as she was suffering from frequent falls and other illnesses due to immobility. Apart from us knowing she is now round the corner it means we can take the dogs to regularly see their Grandma. One of things on our checklist when Chris and I were looking for homes was whether they accept visits by dogs as my mum always lights up when she sees Sam and Sarah. Luckily this one does. 

So when I read that other research has shown that owning a pet can slow down some forms of dementia I was even more interested. It is said that looking after a pet with all the duties like walking, feeding, and general well-being can keep the mind motivated on something rather than simply drifting off as my mum used to do. 

Now, every weekend, when Chris is not working, we take the dogs into the Day Room to visit their Grandma Peg. They get so excited seeing all their new ‘friends’ who totally adore them. On the first occasion we took them along, Sam and Sarah went from resident to resident licking any hands that were put out to pet them. I know our dogs are rather special but I’m afraid it was not purely out of their goodness of their hearts but the fact that we usually visit during tea time when all the residents have eaten biscuits and licking hands or snuffling around feet means they get crumbs. One lovely man used to save his Rich Tea and Custard Cream biscuits especially for the dogs. Guess what, he was the first person they visit after their Grandma. Our dogs are great at pretending they have never ever ever been fed by their Dads. 

When I visit without the dogs I get looks of disappointment that it is just me who is visiting and not the dogs too. 

The extra bonus with taking Sam and Sarah along is that the residents chat to each and giggle over their behaviour so they stimulate interaction. Sarah, being the Diva she is, simply lies in the middle of the room with a "Go on...you can adore me" look on her face. My Mum is now welcome at everyone’s dinner table since she is the Dog Grandma. 

Most of the residents find it hard to see so, at first, couldn’t distinguish between our twins. But then one lady said “Oh look, one of the dogs has a tail that constantly goes round and round like a helicopter while the other one wags their tail from side to side”. They have found their own way of learning to tell who is who by their tail action which must help with memory. 

So does having a dog help with seniority? It certainly seems like it does to me. Now, if only I could remember where I put my keys and why have I just come upstairs……..? 

Sam looking adoringly at Grandma Peg, Sarah simply making sure the camera has her best angle

A new benefit of canine massage

Meet Floc 

Now this was an interesting case! Of the potential benefits of canine massage that we were taught when I did my course some years ago, plus all the extra ones that I have found since, I have never thought of this one. But now…..oh yes indeed, canine massage has a new benefit. 

Karen from Helping Paws (http://helpingpaws.co.uk and https://www.facebook.com/helpingpawsuk) recommended Floc to me to see if massage could help with his problem. And that problem was that he couldn’t poo. Floc has colitis with associated scarring in his gut which causes his constipation. Sometimes it is days before he can go, sometimes even weeks. He has been to the vet and is on Lactulose to try and ease his symptoms but nothing really seems to work. Bless him, he strains and strains with no effect. His owner, Kate, said that sometimes she takes him out for a walk and they are in the same spot 30 minutes later as he is constantly straining. 

Karen suggested to Kate that maybe a session with me might help him to relax and I can also work over his abdominal area. After a massage session, dogs (and humans) frequently need to drink and then tend to wee. This is due to the effleurage moves helping the circulatory and lymphatic system to flush out toxins and waste. I discovered this effect to my detriment with my very first ever case study who walked out of the treatment room, settled down on our brand new dining room carpet and wee-d and wee-d and wee-d for what seemed like 5 minutes. Since then I have the back door ready to open so the dogs can go out into the garden. 

I don’t really follow the suggestion that massage on dogs is only for prevention or for a specific muscular issue. I like to think holistically. If I could help Floc to relax or maybe help to shift the waste and toxins in his body, then maybe that would ease his constipation. 

He is a rescue Samoyed / Retriever / probably-something-else cross so Kate doesn’t really know his background other than he has arthritis, as he is now 11-ish, and colitis. 

I started the session with some palpation to get a feel of any other issues and then settled in to plenty of long sweeping effleurage moves, the whole length of his body toward the heart, to help stretch the muscle fibres passively, stimulate the general circulation and improve lymphatic function by assisting movement of that system. When I got down to his abdominal muscles he was as tight as a drum. He was, understandably, a bit wary at first but with gentle coaxing allowed me to perform lots of wringing moves over that area followed up with more flushing effleurage strokes. 

After 45 minutes he had enough so we put him out in the garden and watched through the window at what would happen. It felt a bit weird but any dog owner knows how fixated you become with your dog’s stools. At first he wee-d for a l-o-n-g time then gave a few small bits of ‘success’ (you can fill in the intended word there!). When we walked out to the car, he gave even more ‘successes’ in our front garden. Something had clearly moved. 
Yesterday Kate called me and was over the moon. The night after the massage session, Floc had really been ‘successful’… and the next day…. and the next night. She said he also seems so much happier. Not really surprising is it? That would be one huge weight off his mind. We left it that she would come back for another session if / when he shows signs of discomfort again. 

So the new benefit of canine massage…it can help your dog with their motions. 

Floc

If you have ever doubted that a dog enjoys canine massage...watch this!

This is Ralph, a handsome muscular Sussex Bulldog having his late Christmas present that his mum bought him - i.e. an AchyPaw session. What a great supporter of massage therapy - a huge grin on his face throughout.

My view of Ralph's grin for the duration of the treatment session

One big fat grin