PetMassage Paw Prints

43rd Annual Pet Industry Christmas Trade Show & Educational Conference
October 2-4, 2009 Rosemont (Chicago), Ill.

Jonathan Rudinger is looking forward to his hour and a half presentation at this prestigious show for pet store buyers. Wish him luck on creating his first, ever, successful PowerPoint presentation.

Transitions, PetMassage Energy Work for the Aging and Dying Dog has been such a good seller and has evoked so many heartfelt compliments that we have decided to publish it as a soft cover, perfect bound book. the original version, spiral bound is still available and the newer version will be available in late September.

naturaldog interview published. Check out the 2010 Annual issue of naturaldog magazine, page 65, in the article, “How to Find Complementary Practitioners.” Also, please note that of the three Massage and Bodywork references for the article, one was IAAMB.org and the other was petmassage.com

Next PetMassage WaterWork workshop will be Nov 16-20, 2009

The body mechanics and techniques in water are so very different from those we use on land so we dropped the requirements of having to complete the first two workshops and expanded this workshop to five days. This is a Monday through Friday workshop, unlike our others that begin on Sunday. In previous newsletters, we’ve described the WaterWork program and its place in the forefront of the future of canine rehabilitation, conditioning and continuing wellness. Our students are creating pool facilities all around the country. They work –if you can call it “work”– with their canine clients indoors and in backyard pools. You can too!

By Mary McIntosh

Callie with Sadie (Golden) enjoying a practice session.

I’m someone who’s always been eager to learn more about pet care. I was reading about pet massage, and decided to do some more research on the internet. My interest led me to the Pet Massage website with Jonathan Rudinger. The workshops and other parts of the website had already captured my interest when I clicked on KidZone—Dog Massage. I thought the idea of children learning pet massage was wonderful. The benefits for both the child and dog can be great, not to mention therapeutic.

My granddaughter, Callie (6) has inherited my love of animals and has a very special bond with the family pets. She likes to play Veterinarian with her stuffed animals and her dogs instead of dolls sometimes. Callie accompanies me on pet-sitting jobs and has already learned so much about all different kinds of breeds and their care.

Callie with Rosie (Beagle) enjoying a practice session.

After I decided to order the KidZone package, I told Callie about the package we were going to get in the mail, and how she would learn to do pet massage. Callie was so excited. Children are remarkable—full of wonder, and they are sponges for learning. Their imagination knows no boundaries.

Callie and I have had so much fun watching the video and reading the instruction book together. The CD of songs make you want to sing along. One priceless moment came when Callie asked if she would need to wear her “scrubs” when she learned pet massage. The family dogs sit still as long as you massage them and are obviously very happy with all the extra attention. Having this well put together “kit” has been a wonderful experience and learning lesson for our family—both two-legged and four-legged!

We are anticipating a very exciting 6th Annual IAAMB Conference in Seattle WA September 3-5. The topic I will be presenting will be about our PetMassage for Kids™ program. I’ll talk about the demographics, the number of dogs in the US (approximately 75 million), the evolution of the acceptance of massage for humans and infants and how that impacts children. I’ll talk about the social conundrum of touch deprivation in our society and how children are withdrawing into cyber space and virtual relationships to meet their emotional needs. I’ll share how warmly Anastasia and I were welcomed at the National Elementary School Principals and Afterschool conference when we were in New Orleans a few months ago. I’ll share that ours was the only — the only — program that focused on social interactions between children and animals. We see the PetMassage for Kids™ program, as a means of teaching the importance of fundamental social concepts including understanding, acceptance, patience, repetition to develop skills, animal safety, human-animal communication, coordination, intentional touch, and the power of witnessing. There will be a lot more. If you want to hear it and the great presentations of our other speakers, there is still time to register to attend. Log onto www.iaamb.org.