All About Animal Massage

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Comment by Megan Ayrault on July 8, 2009 at 1:58am

So fun to see this group growing! Maybe there are already some discussion groups that could get started, such as people discussing equine massage/bodywork programs/process of training (one comment below), or canine medical and/or "geriatric" massage (another comment). Which reminds me, for the CO vet school canine massage program, or others that group members recommend, I would love to expand the listing of schools on AllAboutAnimalMassage.com so more and more people can find good resources to suit their needs/goals. The vet school massage class sounds very interesting, and I had not heard of it yet! Is that for vet students? LMTs? Anyone?

Comment by Regina McLendon on July 6, 2009 at 7:44pm

I'm working on my externship to be an Equine Body Worker (R) and wondered if there is anyone else out there who has completed a course for horse massage. I would love to chat with you about what I'm learning as I work on completing this course. Thanks

Comment by Debra J Smith on July 6, 2009 at 6:34pm

Presently I am only doing massage on my 7 year old golden retriever -- it is amazing...she will actually give me her leg to work on, relax the muscles so I can do some gentle compressions. I would like to learn more and have been eyeing my friends horses...have always wanted to work on them! Not sure I want to be underfoot one of these massive animals -- so very different from a dog!

Comment by Shelley Sheets on July 6, 2009 at 4:41pm

I just graduated this past October in Medical Massage for Canines from Colorado State University Vet School. I am now doing some private practice but my uldtimate goal is to be able to assist senior animals and their companions with late life and end of life decisions. I think that all beings are sacred and they all deserve to complete their lives with dignity and as pain free as possible. I'm excited about this group and hope to be able to share some information and ideas with each other.

Comment by Megan Ayrault on July 6, 2009 at 3:41pm

For the two comments below at this point, I can suggest a couple of resources to start with: www.AllAboutAnimalMassage.com, which has a small (to start with) listing of schools that may offer some of what you're looking for, as well as links to many other websites, including another network, animalwellness.ning.com. That network does have the beginnings of both a "rehab" group and a "workshops" group through which people are starting to share ideas, suggestions and contacts related to animal bodywork.
As for the pug, my first thought is that excerise without splints (if that's a possibility), including ideally some water/swim therapy, would be better than splints as long as there's still potential for the legs to regain strength. In the case of actual paralysis, protection with artificial support would probably be much more appropriate, and then I would suggest searching for a site I recall seeing at some point for pets (mainly dogs) with disabilities. This site had info/resources for "wheelchairs" for example. If you don't find it yourself, I'm sure I can track it down. Just not recalling the name at the moment. My concern with splints would be that the muscles you want to develop to protect the ligaments in the long run, might actually be weakened if the splints are doing their job. That said, without either seeing the dog or being the vet, I would not tell you the rule out the idea yet, as they may be helpful in that dog's particular case.
Let us know how things progress!

Comment by Denora Lum on July 6, 2009 at 2:59pm

Hi!

I am an animal lover. 3 dogs and 1 cat. At one point I was going to add animal massage to my list of massage interests however most of the CE classes where too far for a weekend. Any suggestions?

Denora

Comment by Martha C. Long on July 6, 2009 at 2:31pm

We are working on the sister of our pugs. She has lost some control of her back legs and has been living in a long haul truck for the past year. She came to us for some massage therapy and physical therapy. We have been able to get her a bit more active, better diet and exercise. I have been working on her legs, muscles, tendons and ligaments to help massage and strengthen them.
I am thinking we need to get her leg splints to help reduce the stretching on her ligament to help her get back to using her legs more.
Any suggestions would be helpful.
Martha Long
Titusville, PA
Our pugs name is Doser.... : )

Comment by Megan Ayrault on July 6, 2009 at 2:29pm

Welcome animal lovers! I look forward to growing group synergy that will spread the word faster and better, about how beautifully animals respond to and benefit from bodywork. And this, in turn, teaches people about what might be available to them as well, after experiencing it through their animal friends.

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