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Groups > A Dog-Gone Good Natural Pets Group > Discussions > Topic: "Paws-On" Techniques
Topic: "Paws-On" Techniques

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Vibraceous N.	July 04, 2007 6:27 AM For more on animal massage: International Association of Animal Massage & Bodywork The IAAMB has a list of the states and what is required to practice on animals in eash state. For the most part, massage is under the jurisdiction of the veternarians. Equissage - One of the first schools for horse massage International Association of Animal Massage Therapists (IAAMT) Northwest School of Animal Massage [ send green star]
Aimee L.	healing February 07, 2007 5:09 PM There are a lot of interesting healing techniques out there. A lot of them sound great for my dogs each with different problems and for me as well. The biggest problem is that it is so hard to find practitioners anywhere around. Either we are very limited here in NH or I just can't find anyone. We have chiropractors and one natural type doctors office. They offer a few types of massage but only on 1 day per week! [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	FREE REIKI TRAINING TODAY!!! January 10, 2007 12:25 PM REGISTRATION TABLE: Reiki Event REIKI EVENT 1/10/07 here Reiki QUESTIONS THREAD LOUNGE: reiki event Steve R. contact Come, everybody! Steve R. is the teacher today!!! Vibraceous, ND [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	Animal Massage Laws November 26, 2006 8:37 PM IAAMB is tracking the laws and legislative activities of each state and helping to make them friendlier to animal massage and bodyworkers. Click Here. Vibraceous, ND [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	November 20, 2006 5:48 PM Acupuncture, Aromatherapy Available for Rover and Kitty visit site Animals - 1 hour ago - cnn.com:80 submitted by June SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- When Ann Dey's dog had a stroke in July, one side of his face became paralyzed so severely he couldn't blink. She knew she needed to do something before the 13-year-old pug, Jimmy, lost his eye to infection. [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	Accupressure September 15, 2006 5:36 PM Veterinary Secrets, Issue #001 -- Treat Your Pet At Home! October 01, 2004 September1, 2004................... Issue #001 Andrew Jones, DVM ACCUPRESSURE Acupressure is closely related to acupuncture- a traditional remedy that has been used for thousands of years. The problem with acupuncture is that it doesn’t lend itself to the do it a t home approach. Acupressure on the other hand is something every pet owner can safely perform at home. Your pet’s body is filled with a type of energy called qi ( chee). This energy flows along pathways or meridians in the body. This links all parts of the body together, such as the organs, skin, muscles and bones. The holistic belief is that when a pet gets sick, the natural flow of energy is out of balance. You can correct energy imbalances by pressing certain places on the skin called acupressure points. There are 361 acupressure points located along these meridians. A note for the skeptics. Acupressure WORKS! Scientific studies have shown that the stimulation of these specific points causes the release of brain chemicals, endorphins which relieve pain. Each point is identified by a letter and number. Below are the meridians with there abbreviations BL- Bladder SI-Small Intestine TH-Triple Heater SP-Spleen CV-Conception Vessel GV-Governing Vessel PC-Pericardium ( outside of the heart) ST-Stomach HT-Heart LI-Liver LI-Large Intestine PC-Pericardium ( outside of the heart) HT-Heart LU-Lung GB-Gall Bladder SI-Small Intestine Most acupressure points are located in depressions between muscles and bones. When you pet your cat or dog, feel for depressions in the tissue; this is likely an acupressure point. You may detect subtle changes in temperature over these areas. A hot point often indicates something acute, such as a muscle spasm. Acupressure is very safe!Even if you do not press on the exact point, coming close to it will provide some relief, and definitely you will do no harm. Place your index finger or thumb on the point and press straight down into the body. Don’t rub. You must press hard enough to make an indentation in the tissue, but not cause pain. Hold the pressure for 30-60 seconds, then release. Repeat the treatment twice daily. Assess after 5-7 days if it is helping. A great one to start with, and very common medical problem is Arthritis. There are a number of acupressure points, but the ones I want you to focus on are: BL60, on the hind leg on the outside of the ankle, for 1 minute twice daily. GB 41. This is located on the bottom of the foot, in the depression of the two outside toes. Especially good for arthritic pain in the hips. LI 4. Located on the front foot, over top of the two inside bones above the toes (metacarpals). This is an important point for pain relief, especially for the shoulder. Try pressing these points individually or in combination for 2 weeks and assess if it is helping your pet. Below is a diagram showing where these are located: ACUPRESSURE Acupressure is a very safe technique, and in using it you will never do any harm to your pet. The direct benefit is from stimulating the acupressure points, while the indirect benefit is from regularly touching your dog or cat. The two of you will feel more bonded - and that is always a good thing! To Your Pet's Health... Andrew Jones, DVM [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	Equine Massage September 15, 2006 5:31 PM [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	Reiki August 18, 2006 7:56 AM Reiki is an ancient healing technique which can be applied in person or from a distance. It has been safely used by millions of people in helping all kinds of animals with all sorts of problems. You can find lots of information by visiting this Care2 thread: REIKI and other Energy Work Vibraceous, ND [ send green star]
PeaceDreamer A.	July 06, 2006 12:29 AM http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?ei=UTF-8&vid=112d5a90da7eb40d54664c934be0b8c3.547707&fr=&.fdbk=mail:v/0 [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	July 02, 2006 6:32 PM Hahaha! That's so funny, Annette! Hey, everybody...Click on the picture above in the post Annette made...It takes you to a video clip! Thanks! I needed a really good laugh! Vibe [ send green star]
Annette P.	July 02, 2006 4:14 PM [ send green star]
Annette P.	June 24, 2006 10:11 AM Very cool, Roxy. Somewhere up in this thread, Vibe asked which treatments we use on our pets. I've never had a Reiki class or attunement, but I do use a hands-on healing for Socks. several months ago he had a rash on his back. This was right after I discovered this gift. He sat on my tummy while I laid on the couch, & he would turn his back to me. After the first time, he'd come & ask for it when I wasn't ready. Three treatments is all it took. [ send green star]
Roxy B.	June 24, 2006 9:59 AM AWWW thanks vibe!!!! well actually i wnt be at THAT level for a couple of years lol. i gotta do massage therapy (that ends march of 2008), then physical therapy and then i get to go straight into veterinary rehabilitation. theres a school right in palm beach that im looking at but hey what i learn ill pass on to you guys lol!!! [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	CONGRATULATIONS TO ROXY B.!!! June 24, 2006 9:52 AM Hey, Everybody! We have a group member who is going to massage school with the intention in mind of working with pets in rehabilitative care! YAY!!! Roxy B. Roxy, we support you in this, and we hope you'll share with us everything that you learn, and use us as study aids!!! The pets will LOVE YOU, for SURE!!! Vibraceous, ND [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	How Can Scientology Help Me With...??? June 14, 2006 6:30 PM Touch Assist This looks pretty interesting. I've heard of this before, but I have no experience with it. I'm curious to know some more! Vibe [ send green star]
PeaceDreamer A.	Angie June 14, 2006 12:30 AM My cat Angie purrs with delight if you follow her to the food dish when she demands and comb her while she eats. She is a timid cat that hides a lot but this is the one time when she is most social. [ send green star]
anonymous	June 13, 2006 3:09 PM I use Massage and a special technic called Touch Assist. [report anonymous abuse]
Vibraceous N.	Rev up the immune system with a nice massage for your pet! June 13, 2006 11:08 AM Massage Therapy is Associated with Enhancement of the Immune ... Massage Therapy is Associated with Enhancement of the Immune System's Cytotoxic Capacity. Ironson, G., Field, T. International Journal of Neuroscience ... http://medicine.wustl.edu/~compmed/research/mas00.html Vibe [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	Pt. 2 - Animal Massage: the Touch that Heals April 20, 2006 8:40 AM Therapeutically, acupressure massage can help if your pet has arthritis in a particular joint, if they have a stiff neck or back and even if they have certain internal medical problems. The positive effect of touching and massage can stimulate different neurotransmitters such as endorphins, making them feel better and thereby stimulate the bodies own healing mechanisms. An example of massage helping a pet is in a case of an old dog with arthritis in their hip. There are three acupressure points around the hip joint. One point is just in front of the hip joint, one above it and one behind it. If you gently massage those points with one or two fingers in a counterclockwise rotation, they often times just relax and groan in ecstasy! There are also points on each side of their spine in small depressions one to two finger widths on each side of the backbone. These can also be massaged. When a dog has arthritis, it is not uncommon for them to hunch their back to compensate and they their back hurts. If they have arthritis in an elbow on the front leg, you can gently massage around the joint as well as the muscle masses around the shoulder and the neck. Again, feel for small depressions and gently rub those and see their response. Listen to your pet! If they don't like it, resist, growl, hiss or worse, stop immediately. Most pets usually love it though. There are times when you do not want to massage your pet. Avoid massage after your pet has just eaten. You should wait at least two hours after eating. If your pet is sick with an infection, a fever or a serious disease, they may not want to be touched; again, listen to them. Avoid massaging the back and belly of a pregnant animal. You could possibly, unintentionally induce premature labor. You also do not want to massage your pet after they have just been exercising intensely. First let the heart rate come down to normal and stop panting before massaging. Later that day, I am sure they would love some massage, just like you or I would. After performing a general full body massage and focusing on any specific areas that need more attention, you can finish off the massage or begin one with slow, gentle rubbing of the inside and outside of each ear. This will provoke wonderful sighs of contentment in your dog and exquisite purrs in your kitty. For further descriptions of pet massage with pictures, you can check out Dr. Michael Fox's book "The Healing Touch for Cats and Dogs" as well as a chapter in my book "Love, Miracles and Animal Healing". You and your pet can both mutually benefit from massaging them and sharing quality time and loving each other. Give and ye shall receive! Enjoy the magic of touch till next time! ~Allen M. Schoen, D.V.M., M.S. [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	Animal Massage: the Touch that Heals April 20, 2006 8:39 AM Animal Massage: the Touch that Heals Allen M. Schoen, D.V.M., M.S. Animal massage can benefit both you and your pet in many ways. It is a wonderful way to connect with them at many different levels and to share quality time together. It can be done while listening to music, sitting in your favorite chair or couch, laying down in front of the fireplace on a cold autumn day, or while watching T.V.. There are a number of massage techniques depending upon what your goal is. You can use massage just to help your pet relax or to bond with them, to enjoy the magic of touch or it can be beneficial therapeutically in certain conditions. If you notice, pets stretch on their own to relax and keep in shape. Certain yoga postures are actually named after animal stretches such as the dog stretch and the cat stretch! However, as animals get older and stiff, they can't stretch and move around as easily. There are many natural approaches to help this including nutritional supplements, acupuncture as well as massage. Let's review some basic massage as prevention and then we will go over some specific acupressure that you can do on your pet for specific conditions such as hip dysplasia or arthritis. Find a nice relaxing quiet place when your furry friend is not all wound up and ready to play and run wild. Sit or lay down with them and gently start brushing your hands over them from above their eyes, over their head, over their back and down to their tail. You do want to be cautious and not place your hand over an animals head that may be having behavioral problems and be dominant over you or other family members. If you have a problem like that, you should talk to an experienced animal trainer that uses humane positive reinforcement techniques to resolve such behavior problems or speak to your veterinarian if they have experience in behavior problems and training. Otherwise, if one doesn't have a pet with a dominance order problem, dogs and cats usually love to have their heads gently touched and brushed. When you follow the direction going forward to rear over the head, neck and back, you are actually following the acupuncture meridians. The most important thing to remember when massaging or just petting your friend is to watch their reactions and listen to them. They let you know in many ways if they are enjoying you touching them or not. If they don't like you touching a certain area regularly, check it out and make sure there isn't a problem there. This is actually an excellent way to conduct a superficial physical exam. For instance, if your cat was in a cat fight and has an abscess on its back under the fur and you go over it and they go to scratch you or hiss or bite, stop immediately! You may have just picked something up that you may not have observed otherwise until they got much sicker. So regular massage and petting can actually be a preventive measure where you may observe things much earlier. Another example is if while you are petting your dog and you feel excess heat over an area of their back, it may be an early sign of a "slipped disc" or arthritis in an area. So even, the most basic petting and gentle massage over the back can bring your attention to something important. If you find that your buddy actually rubs into you instead of away from you and kind of moans and groans in ecstasy, that is an area you may want to massage deeper or for a longer period of time. Acupressure points on the body are usually small depressions between muscles or between muscles and bones. You may apply steady rotating pressure with a fingertip to a particular acupressure point. If you want to relax the point, gently massage counterclockwise over the point. If you want to stimulate it and give more energy, rub clockwise. If your pet is generally lethargic and weak, clockwise movement will often perk them up. If they tend to be nervous or hyperactive or sore in an area, counterclockwise movement will usually calm them down and relax the sore muscles. This has not been proven by double blind studies by any means, but in chinese acupressure, this is what is recommended. While massaging your pet, breathe deeply, slowly and regularly and it will relax both of you and create your own rhythm. For if you are hyper and irritable and try to massage your pet, they seem to pick up on that and it can make them irritable and not want to be around you. So it truly is a wonderful way to slow down and relax for yourself. For prevention and enjoyment, you can massage your pet daily or as often as possible. Again, it relaxes both of you and offers innumerable benefits that way. (continued in next post...) [ send green star]
Kim C.	PIC April 18, 2006 10:28 AM THANKS FOR THAT PICTURE!!! Why is it I can't get Jag to do that to me?? LOL [ send green star]
anonymous	Adorable April 18, 2006 6:58 AM I actually give my furgirl Bass a massage every night with a hairbrush by brushing her for 10 minutes and then rubbing her shoulders, legs and back. She's been with me 9 years and she loves this. Like Yoga for pets. [report anonymous abuse]
Vibraceous N.	This picture's so dog-gone cute!!! April 17, 2006 6:14 PM I LOVE this PICTURE!!! Thank you, Dino, so much! Do you mind if I borrow it for the group pic? I think this is SO CUTE!!! Vibe! [ send green star]
Dino G.	Paws-On Massage Therapy Techniques April 17, 2006 6:07 PM [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	Massage Oils April 16, 2006 1:46 PM You can get essential oils, carrier oils, and other natural health products from All Natural HealthWorks! I have a wide variety of products...if you have any questions, just ask! Vibraceous, ND www.allnaturalhealthworks.com [ send green star]
Tara M.	oil sounds great April 07, 2006 7:23 AM Thank you! I have been researching food very hard to find lower protein low mag and phosphorus to keep the Creat and Bun low. I have seen some good foods but so high in phos level and dont want him on a binder so its all so confusing. I think what I would like to do is try is mix it with the kidney food.... Massaging oil sound wonderful where do I get these ingredients? Thanks so much [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	Kidney Tonic Massage Oil April 07, 2006 7:12 AM Hi, Tara! So sorry to hear about Romeo's troubles... Here's something you can try along with the massage...a little aromatherapy oil! Mix 5 drops each of juniper, birch and fennel essential oils into 1 ounce of carrier oil. (Any good quality cold-pressed vegetable oil will work fine, but jojoba in particular is nice for this purpose.) Rub this really good into his fur so he can keep smelling the smell. This would be a really good blend for him. Blessings to Romeo and you! Vibe P.S. Be sure you're feeding him organic food. Kidney problems are a reeeeeeeeeeal common side effect of eating commercial brands...even the supposedly "good" ones. If they're not organic, they are all full of meat that is not fit, and other ingredients, too. Companies put all the good things on the bag and then call it healthy. Things like antioxidants, flax seed, vitamins, etc. What people don't stop to realize is that all the good stuff in the world is no good if it's put in with things that are bad. I consider meat by-products to be "bad." By product meats are often derived from 4-D meat sources - defined as food animals that have been rejected for human consumption because they were presented to the meat packing plant as “Dead, Dying, Diseased or Disabled”. I know...this really goes on another thread, but I wanted to be sure to make sure you were aware. Artificial colors and flavors, preservatives, additives, not to mention antibiotics, steroids, and hormones...these all have to be filtered out, and the kidneys are often what pays. [ send green star]
Tara M.	April 07, 2006 6:43 AM This is so true MY kitty Romeo has been getting chiropractic relief for years my vet is great about massage too. Romeo seems not to like it at first and then begins to relax and love it. I always massage him his face jaws sides legs. He use to let me do more but has kidney problems so I am very careful..... If you please keep him in your prayers thanks so verymuch! Hugs, Tara [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	place your hands on with love and with faith April 06, 2006 9:16 AM YES!!! That's it exactly! There's nothing to natural healing that's really hard to figure out! It just comes NATURALLY! ANY touch given with love is healing! If they don't like it, you'll know! There's even healing power in just laying your hands on them and praying. You'd be surprised how much power is in that one act alone! All the power in the whole world! The most important thing is that when you are using touch, to always think happy and positive thoughts. Even your fear that they will not heal will reduce the healing effect, and perhaps even have a dis-empowering effect, so please believe your pet can be well, or else your doubt will be felt and this will drain energy. Envision them in perfect health, and hold this image of them! Vibraceous, ND [ send green star]
Kathleen N.	February 28, 2006 6:53 PM I've tried dog massage...we love it. It's funny, though. When I pet, I simply respond to my dogs' behavior, doing what they like, always changing and furthering the routine. When I read the book I have on dog massage, I was amazed how much I was already doing! It pays to pay attention! [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	February 14, 2006 10:47 AM The International Alliance of Animal Therapy and Healing gives us the following descriptions for various methods of therapeutic touch: Acupressure (similar to Acupuncture) Chiropractic Equine Therapy Integrative Manual Therapy: Physical Therapy and Physio Therapy Massage Therapy Reiki TTeam and TTouch [ send green star]
Vibraceous N.	"Paws-On" Techniques January 15, 2006 5:53 AM What types of hands-on on techniques have you used with animals? Massage? Reiki? Light Touch? Other techniques? Please share your methods and tell us how your pet liked being rubbed the right way! [ send green star]