Massaging at SmartPak Bark Fest
Posted by lisa on Jul 20, 2008
Our internship phase has started and we kicked it off at the SmartPak event this weekend. It’s a beautiful store for dog and horse lovers. They have a catalog business and a unique service of packaging dog/horse food, meds and supplements in daily packs for freshness and proper measurement.
Mary Francis and I manned the table on Saturday and massaged about 14 dogs between us and met a lot of interesting people and their pups. My favorite was a 15 year old bull terrier named Coco that would have laid still for me for hours. Below is Jack the spaniel, who is, in fact, sitting completely in my lap.
People were very receptive to a free massage for their dog and so were most of the pups. I used Reiki to calm a young Portuguese Water Dog named Lily that wanted to sneak away and bark at Tara, the eldery Scottie, who Mary Francis was working on.
People were mostly surprised at how well their dogs settled into it. I think that, aside from the relaxation of massage, that the feeling of trained hands on them is novel and stimulates their curiosity. It might just be worth hanging out for a minute to see where this unusual experience is heading.
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Brochure First Draft
Posted by lisa on Jul 20, 2008
For our business class at massage school we had to make a brochure. This is my first draft of a tri-fold. I used it at the SmartPak event where we massaged for our intership, so I had to make clear I’m not a certified animal massage therapist yet. I’ll actually send these to the printer when I have my credentials.
On the back side are listed a number of the benefits of massage. Click the image for a pdf.
Behavior
- Massage decreases stress through activation of the parasympathetic nervous system.
- Massage decreases the heart rate and blood pressure.
- Massage lowers physiological arousal and stress hormones. This not only lowers feelings of anxiety and depression, but also enhances the immune system.
- Massage increases serotonin levels, which have a positive effect on stress and depression, and may also reduce pain.
- Massage builds trust between you and your companion animal as you spend time together and learn to read her signals. Animals that believe their humans understand and want the best for them show decreased anxiety.
Free Movement
- Free range of motion and flexibility increases significantly following massage.
- Massage elongates and softens connective tissue.
- Massage decreases soreness and stiffness by increasing blood circulation, which brings more nutrients to the muscle and promotes rapid removal of waste products.
- Healthy and athletic dogs also benefit from massage, which reduces many postural distortions. Releasing trigger points and reducing muscle tension increases range of motion and balances the gait, resulting in increased performance and improved motor skills. Therefore, massage also helps in preventing injuries.
- Massage reduces pain, increasing comfort for injured, sick, or geriatric animals.
Accelerated Healing
- Massage increases circulation, both cardiovascular and lymphatic.
- Enhanced circulation to a fracture leads to increased deposition of new bone.
- Massage applied to healed wounds helps reduce excessive scar formation in the skin and soft tissue beneath.
- Massage reduces swelling by promoting lymph circulation.
- Massage helps to gently build tone in muscles weak from disuse or illness.
- A massage session by a trained practitioner can detect abnormalities earlier, allowing for accelerated veterinary treatment.
What do you think?
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On Vacation
Posted by lisa on Jul 9, 2008
Sneaking out for a bit of rest at Cozy Cove Cabins in Jackman, Maine. Fergus has been there but it’s the first time for Smitty. If you visit the site and scroll all the way down you’ll see their Golden, Murphy. She’s a lovely dog and Fergus liked to play with her.
We will hike, canoe, read, swim, and lounge. Our goal for the week is to see Smitty swim for the joy of it rather than just to save his life. He’s a bit of a dufus so I made sure to teach him to swim even though he thought I was an evil crazy person. It came in handy when he fell out of the canoe, and when he mistook pollen on the river for solid ground and jumped off the two foot bank. Sigh.
I will also review my anatomy for my upcoming internship. And learn bird and lizard anatomy, since this vet specializes in exotics. I don’t know if I’ll get to massage an exotic pet, but I hope so.
I won’t have reliable net access in the North Woods, so this may be the last post until the 18th. I will be able to receive phone and email, though. Have a good week!
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Happy Independence Day!
Posted by lisa on Jul 5, 2008
We started out the day with a quick walk down the old tracks, sneaking through the bittersweet to see our friend at the Wayland Convenience store, who came out to give Smitty and Fergus their favorite treats for free. On the way back, we picked blackberries growing wild along the tracks. The dogs didn’t think they were ripe enough, but we picked plenty to have with icecream later. I intended to take a small nap, but was instead whisked off to Trout Brook Reservation in Holden, MA to walk the dogs and let John do some fishing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the dogs so happy. Ferg had to jump in the brook and scare the fish away from every good fishing hole, so John may have not been so overjoyed. But when the pups are happy, so am I. Then, another failed nap attempt, and we were off to a barbecue at Land’s Sake Farm, where our friend Eric lives and works. Pretty much a dog park, today. My boys got to play with their buddy Zee, as well as new friends Mikey and Moose. I gave all the dogs massages, which were well received. Moose, a big ol’ shepherd/chow mix, liked his quads and hips done, and gave me a huge blue-tongued kiss. Zee laid over my legs for her massage, once I’d resigned myself to getting muddy, and occasionally jumped up to shove her head into my arm pit before flopping back down. She is a love. She is a rescue yellow lab/hound that my friends Liz adopted at six months. Unfortunately, Zee had a stubborn case of heartworm, and Liz found herself trying to keep a lab puppy quiet for six months. A labor of love. I wish I had known Reiki then, but I did give her T-Touch, which is good for calming animals. We snuck out before the fireworks and had our icecream and berries. The dogs are tired and I am full, so it was an excellent day.
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