Healing Hands

Touch heals. If you've ever received a massage, I want you to close your eyes for a moment and think about how good it felt. Whether as maintenance or to treat injuries, humans have always used massage to heal themselves. So let me say this again: Touch heals.

And what is good for humans is good for our four legged companions (or furkids if you prefer). We have basically the same bodies; nerves, muscle, fascia...there's not much difference among the structural components between dogs and humans. Now think of all the benefits associated with massage and if you've had a massage, you will recognize that stress reduction, pain relief and removing toxins that have accumulated in muscle tissue are a few of the more frequently mentioned.

You may notice that pet massage (dogs and cats) is now being offered in some clinics or by individuals properly trained who will travel to your home. The holistic trend in human care is a template for the animals we share our lives with. Consequently, practices like acupuncture and massage are showing up more frequently at the clinics that we frequent."

There are obvious concerns that may make some of you reluctant to travel down this path with your dog or cat. How do you know if someone is qualified? I can only offer the following: do your home work and ask questions. The individual performing massage therapy should be certified and a member of the International Association of Animal Massage and Bodywork.

Check out the video below. This is a compressed version of a therapy session performed by Stevie, a young lass in the process of gaining her certification. And no, this isn't something you can fill out a form on line and get certified. You have to attend classes, you must learn anatomy, etc. Serious stuff and it should be.

When Stevie comes over, the first thing she will do is take our English Bulldog Big Tuna for a walk and watch her. That's right. She watches her walking. Why? Because she is trained to watch an animals gait...she readily picks up that Big Tuna on some days will favor one leg or perhaps walk a bit stiffly, sort of like my husband does in the morning.

This of course is the information she needs to digest in order to determine what she is going to work on. In Tuna's case, she has had surgery on one knee and is awaiting surgery on the other (one reason to adopt a mutt: cost savings that could result in purchasing a second home. In cash). So there is typically a muscle spasm or tightness due to her overcompensating for the gimpy knee.

Don't dismiss or underestimate the value of a massage for your dog or cat. This is particularly important if your dog or cat is older or recovering from surgery (see my blog titled: post surgery) but in general it's also not a bad thing to do. Treat your dog or cat special and they'll live longer. And if you question if this is spoiling your dog or cat, keep in mind that they are helping you to live longer.

Keep Wagging folks.