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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I love a lively dog…
Posted by lisa on Jun 3, 2008
I like my dogs lively. Ready to go, ready to run, ready to play at a moment’s notice. Able to relax and just be when the situation warrants. 
My beloved dog, Muffy, who shared almost half my life, was a lively dog even at sixteen. She’d sleep all night with me, sleep most of the morning with my mother, and then be ready to run and spring and sproing and delight us. She loved to go for walks despite her aging limbs and would follow me happily until she’d reach a certain point and sit down, refusing to budge. We had gone, she decided, exactly half of the distance she could comfortably walk, and it was time to turn around. If we did, we would trot home; if I coaxed her to go further, I would find myself carrying her home the extra distance.
This was a dog that was in tune with herself.
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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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