Canine Massage

http://www.k9-massage.co.uk/main/eve...post_event.asp

I have just completed K9 Massage For The Agility & Sporting Dog - 1 Day Workshop with Natialie Lenton where we learned about the importance of warming up and cooling our dogs down with various massage techniques.

I can say it was thoroughly enjoyable as well as hopefully useful and I hope that by their use I can maximise my dogs' performance and minimise their injuries

Sounds good. Prevention is better than cure, afterall.

We learned about warming up and cooling down at the Attila Szkukalek workshop I was at last weekend, it was quite interesting as well.

It was interesting as Natalie quashed some of the ideas that some (unqualified) people have about warming up and cooling down, especially with some of the potentially extremely harmful things people have been told to do with their dogs, eg picking them up like a wheelbarrow, massaging in the lie of the coat etc.

Well, thankfully we weren't taught any of that! And if we had been told to lift the dogs up like a wheelbarrow, I woud have refused to do so.

i massage phoebe all the time, she loves it. i use the handheld piece that came with my mates eqisage. she loves it i do it with my hands aswell i think its a nice bonding calm time for us both

I saw a pet-massage battery operated thingy in a charity shop recently. I remember from doing agility with Attila that he was very keen on doing the warm-up exercises with your dog before starting.

It was really interesting learning about the anatomy ie the bony landmarks, their corresponding muscles and where to find them. The lymph system, blood, etc.

How to keep an eye on all these muscles to detect any injuries before they affect performance and become any worse.

The techniques of effleurage, shaking, wringing, thumb glide and fire starter.

What to do and when prior to competing, post event and maintenance.

A very valuable workshop.

may have to look into this for my brother, im sure his guys would love a massage after a hard days work

I would LOVE to do a workshop like that.

I very nearly applied to do a human massage course many years ago (wish I had gone for it!) when I had friends who were studying to be masseurs/reflexologists, and have retained an interest ever since.

I have a good book on canine massage, a Dogwise book by (I think) a French Canadian author. I've lent it out temporarily, but it's the book I consult when I need to know anything about canine anatomy as it has such detailed information.

Maybe that's a thought for the future. I think it would be a valuable skill even if I were not permitted to become a practitioner, although it would fit right in here near Glastonbury.