Higgins at Pet Rock Fest 2009
Posted by lisa on Sep 21, 2009
Last weekend I massaged at Pet Rock Fest and it was a blast. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many dogs in one place, and I got to work on some wonderful pups. I want you to meet Higgins, my new best friend.
Here is Higgins’ mom’s description of his Pet Rock experience:
We brought Higgins, a beagle-jack russell mix, to the Pet Rock Fest in Worcester. Higgins loves people but is quite shy around other dogs. As soon as we brought him through the gates of the festival, he made a bee-line to the exit… twice; he was so uncomfortable with the hundreds of other dogs around, he truly wanted to leave.
We had almost decided to take him back to the car when, thankfully, we saw Lisa’s booth offering massages and Reiki and that it would specifically help anxious, fearful, stressed out dogs. If it would help Higgins enjoy what should have been a dog mecca, we would try it. The moment he went on the table and Lisa sat next to him and started her massage, he was a different dog. He leaned into her and allowed her to work out all his worries and stress. She took her time and didn’t touch any part of him that he wouldn’t willingly give her so he felt comfortable.
After the 15 minute treatment we took him back into the milleu of barking dogs and crowds of people and he happily walked next to us, enjoying his time there, allowing other dogs to greet him without shying away and snatching toys out of every bin within his reach (it became quite expensive!). It really was an amazing transformation! Thank you Lisa for allowing us to spend a fun day with our beloved friend without worrying that he hated ever minute of it and that we would pay for it later when he would destroy our couch!
Another gratuitous picture of Higgins:
How sweet is Higgins?
I can’t wait for next year’s Pet Rock!
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Third Prettiest Dog in Brooklyn, CT
Posted by lisa on Sep 1, 2009
We went to the fair in Brooklyn this weekend to watch an agility dog demo and they were having a prettiest dog competition, so of course we had to enter. Fergus was feeling pretty mellow so I thought it was worth a shot. Here’s my boy holding up pretty well:
Pretty terrier/ husky/ briard/ deerhound/ thing
There were about 25-30 dogs and the whole thing took way too long– I thought we might have to bow out to save Fergus’ psyche. He was fine as long as we were moving, but long stationary waits were difficult. You can see here that he’s starting to get nervous:
Getting a little anxious
His mouth is still open, which is usually good, unless he’s panting. His ears are starting to point back, and his tail is down, both signs of anxiety. Shortly after this he started to pull to get out of the ring. I used some massage, Reiki, and even TTouch to hold him together. Luckily they announced the winners, and Fergus won third place! There were some beautiful dogs there, so I’m very pleased, and very proud of how well he behaved. (And I know now to never wear that outfit again. Luckily only Fergus was being judged that day.)
Congratulations to Fergus!
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Tail Up!
Posted by lisa on Aug 20, 2008
Fergus had his first long walk in three weeks today. It was too cold for cicadas to sing, so the boys and I met their friend Sally at the conservation land and went for a long walk through the fields and a swim in the river. With no Mutt Muffs. He’s out of shape now, so I didn’t really throw the ball, just let him run with the other two dogs and swim. Fergus had his happy trot on display, and was so very happy. It did my heart good. When Fergus is happy he shares it with everyone around.
He’ll probably be sore tomorrow from all the exertion. Last time he overdid it he had a temporary limp. Luckily I know massage.
The Mutt Muffs have been a savior, but I’m very glad to set them aside now and then.
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This is ridiculous
Posted by lisa on Aug 10, 2008
This year in New England, I feel like I’m under siege by summer. My dog Fergus, is a nervous wreck. He’s lived five years without being afraid of thunderstorms, but this year, we’ve had one every other day . All summer. Sometimes every day.
He goes from room to room with every thunderclap, like he’s thinking, “Damn, it’s in this room, too, I’ll try the kitchen. Nope, here, too, I’ll try the bathtub.”
It may have something to do with his ear being extra sensitive. I say this only because he has another sudden-onset phobia: he won’t go outside. As soon as he goes out, his tail sneaks below his belly, his ears go down and he pulls like a sled dog to get back inside. Panic, is how one friend described it.
This is the dog that never smiles in the house… he’s only happy outside. Now I can’t get him to go out to go potty. It was John that figured it out. He got Fergus into the backyard, and he was okay at first. Then he’d dive under a table and tremble. He’d come out for awhile, then dive under and tremble. John linked it to the off-and-on singing of the cicadas. You know, these guys:
They make an infernal racket sounding like this:
Cidaca M. cassini making my life hard
I remember last year it bugged him, but not like this. Meanwhile, I can only get my dog to do his business when it rains (provided there is no thunder), or in the early morning before they start singing. Reiki, massage, T-touch help a bit with the thunder fear but not with the cicadas. I began to think it may have more to do with ear pain than fear.
In the end, it came to this: aviation ear muffs for my dog. I ordered a pair of Mutt Muffs for Fergus. The other dogs make fun of him, but now he will go outside.
His tail stays up; he has a happy trot. He does his business. I can’t let him run off leash, because he can’t hear my call. Still, a thousand times better. I was starting to worry about his kidneys.
I use them, too, during thunderstorms (on Fergus. They’re too small for me.). Some dogs hate more than the noise; they sense the pressure changes or the static in the air. Ferg seems to only react to the noise so far, so I thought it was worth a try. It helps, a little. The quieter claps he can’t hear at all (no jump in his muscles); the louder ones must sound not so loud. He’ll lay in bed with me until the really big ones come. I would take a picture of him in his Mutt Muffs for you, but this storm is pretty bad. Fergus is in the closet. Sigh.
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Dog Behavior, Part II: Fergus
Posted by lisa on Jun 25, 2008
Observations of some of the dogs in my midst…
See Part I: Smitty
Fergus, a terrier mix, came to me at 8 weeks, from a southern shelter. He’d been there for at least two weeks, so he was separated young from his mother. He did have a sibling with him. He is now 5 years old and 62 pounds.
Fergus was doing beautifully at four months, over his fear of children and other dogs and in puppy kindergarten, when he was hit by a car. He spent four days in ICU at Angell before they repaired his broken leg. He had to drop out of kindergarten and refrain from play for over two months. He healed perfectly but missed out on valuable time learning how to act with other dogs. He is also more anxious generally and likes to control the situations he is in, barking at anyone who raises their voice, hugs, or otherwise offends him. I prefer to think of him as he is in the first image, but he is more often cross, as in the second.
Notice the tight mouth, with corners of the mouth drawn forward. This is reminiscent of Smitty’s mouth when he was being jumped on by Teddy. Here, however, Fergus is peeved at a rude forklift. [Click images for larger versions.]
Fergus is exquisitely gentle with children and pretty good with puppies, but doesn’t know quite how to act with other adult dogs. He wants to play but doesn’t know quite how to invite it and tries to control the other dogs when they get too excited (in his opinion.) He has improved a great deal at giving and interpreting dog signals, but he may always be a little backward due to his anxiety. I try to take him on long treks with other dogs, as he seems happiest when walking or running side by side with them.
On the trail with his friends Abe and Autumn, Fergus is relaxed, tail up and curled, mouth open. He is in his element in the snow.
I may try Anxiety Wrap so that he can relax more in clicker class, and get more out of socialization time. In my Tellington Touch seminar last week I learned how to wrap dogs in various ways using ace bandages. I wasn’t sure it was possible to look more silly than Anxiety Wrap, but….
If it works, who cares? I’ll report more when I know.
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Dog Behavior, Part I: Smitty
Posted by lisa on Jun 20, 2008
Observations of the dogs in my midst…
Smitty is a 22-pound Jack Russell/ Scottish Terrier mix, approximately 1 ½ years old. Smitty joined our household at about six months of age. Prior to that he had a home in Tennessee, which he lost in a fire, ending up in a shelter, and then rescue. I fostered Smitty and kept him because he fit so well into our family.
Smitty loved to play rough with Fergus, and pulled out all the guard hairs on Fergus’ muzzle, with Fergus’ encouragement. After Smitty grew up, Fergus tolerated play infrequently, and Smitty seemed more easily cowed when they did play , less irrepressible (See image below.). I noticed a change in his play with other dogs as well: fewer Matrix-style Ninja moves and more avoidance when things got rough. He would avoid play with his lab friend Zee entirely, unless Zee lay down, which would cause Smitty to pounce with glee.
He seems to hate it when any dog tries to jump on his back. He will try to circle away and avoid these dogs. He has an air of being oppressed. One example is the Coton puppy, Teddy, whose favorite move is to jump on the back. Teddy is considered the brat of his puppy kindergarten class. Smitty does not like him at all. (Fig 3, below the fold.)
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Picking up on cues
Posted by lisa on Jun 11, 2008
One of the tenets in Kathleen Prasad’s Reiki Code of Ethics is
I always ask permission of the animal before beginning, and respect his or her decision to accept or refuse any treatment. I listen intuitively and observe the animal’s body language in determining the response.
If this is your goal, it is extremely important to learn what an animal is saying to you through his body language and vocalizations. A dog (usually) tries to tell you several times that he doesn’t want to be touched on the back before he finally snaps. You have to become a master at reading these signals, to save your fingers, and to save the session.
A massage isn’t like a skin scraping or Xray that must be done– nothing bad is going to happen if you work the left scapula but not the right, or skip the back for a session. The dog will reap fewer benefits in that session, but will learn to trust that you will listen to his wishes.
I firmly believe, especially with energy work but also massage, the animals understand more than we do about their bodies. We might not know about the clot or tumor in his leg, but he knows that leg feels uncomfortable and it gets worse when you touch it. There is no harm in backing off a bit, and letting the owner know there might be an issue in that leg.
“Listen” also for times the animal asks for longer treatment in a certain spot. Work it more or at least return to it often. Responding appropriately to his cues will strengthen your relationship and perhaps help a condition that he is aware of and you are not. Later I will write about how to recognize these signals, and some ways to eventually get around to that forbidden spot.
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Massage Class, Take 2
Posted by lisa on Jun 9, 2008
The second massage class with the boys was much more successful. I “cheated” and gave them something to reduce anxiety, which worked wonders. I’ve used Quiet Moments before and it usually takes the edge off, but doesn’t entirely relieve a specific anxiety like separation or car anxiety. Today their behavior was like night and day, so I think they most likely felt a little more familiar with the school and the people.
As far as the massage goes, Smitty allowed me to do a full sequence and ended up belly to the sky, blissed out. Fergus allowed two students to massage him. At the beginning I needed to keep one hand on him, too, to keep him calm, but not for long. I’m so proud of my boys. It wasn’t easy for them but they got past it.
I doubt anyone will choose to use Fergus for their Massage Techniques 1 final exam next week, but I’ll bring him and lots of treats, just in case. We have two written exams and a massage practical. Cross your fingers for me.
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Hands-On Dog Massage, Finally!
Posted by lisa on Jun 2, 2008
Finally, the first day of hands-on massage training with dogs! In earlier weeks we had learned all the strokes on people to make sure we had them down, and this week we would learn them on the dogs. I brought both Smitty and Fergus, which was quite a challenge.
We survived three and a half hours of Anatomy and Physiology, an exam, and lunch (little Smitty tried to eat a huge dog named Sam but failed), and then it was time for massage.
I tried hard to keep them from getting anxious: I brought Smitty’s baby bed into the massage room and their kongs, so they wouldn’t worry about another dog getting them. We put on soft music. My classmate S. was going to massage Smitty, who loves massage, and I would work on Fergus, who loves it not so much. Smitty had other ideas, and glued himself to me. He wouldn’t let Susan anywhere near him. I felt so terrible… S. wasn’t going to get any practice on my dogs. I wondered if she should go find a more tractable dog to learn on. Instead, I suggested we give them Reiki, since she is also a practitioner. We put one hand on each dog and started giving Reiki. They calmed down amazingly quickly. After awhile, she concentrated on Fergus, whose hip was taking a lot of energy, and I worked on the Smit.
When our instructor came in to show us the application of the strokes, we hadn’t had any practice, but had two dogs who were relatively comfortable. She was able to show us the sequence, switching between Smitty and Fergus when they got edgy. Unfortunately, the pups avoided S. and myself when we tried to practice on them.
Then something amazing happened. Our other instructor, Marlene, came in to see if we had any questions and sat on the floor with us. We talked about body mechanics and how to work on dogs that were reluctant. She said this is something we would have to deal with a lot the first time we meet new canine clients. Suddenly Fergus approached her and licked her on the face, a rarity. As he walked away, she said she didn’t try to massage him just then because she was just honored that he’d accepted her. Then Smitty went to her, stretching his neck as far as he could to sniff her without getting too close. After a bit he consented to a pat. Then, I couldn’t believe it, he slapped Marlene on her hand with his paw, as close as a dog can get to saying “massage me!” He let her do whatever she wanted and even let S. join in on the other side. Thank God, because I was feeling awful for her.
Well, my dogs won’t eat fresh fruit unless it’s perfectly in season. Maybe they insist being massaged by none other than a Certified Small Animal Massage therapist.
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