Yak news - 08/29/04

Pampered pooches

Treat your pup like royalty with a relaxing rubdown

September is a busy time with heading back to school, getting used to a new teacher and starting after-school activities. Even though you have a lot to do, make sure you don't forget man's best friend.

The American Kennel Club has set aside Sept. 17 to promote better care for dogs. Dozens of dog clubs and other groups will hold events for Happy Responsible Dog Ownership Day. (To learn more, visit the American Kennel Club Web site at www.akc.org.)

But responsible dog ownership is a year-round commitment. So we recently visited Jonathan Rudinger, founder of the PetMassage Training & Research Institute in Toledo, Ohio.

Yes, there is such a thing as pet massage.

"I don't mean petting," said Rudinger, who has taught pet massage to 2,500 animal professionals and pet owners from across the United States and several foreign countries.

"Petting is mindless -- it doesn't have any actual intent behind it other than to soothe. The intent of massage is to comfort, to take pain away, to make the dog aware of its body so that it can do what it needs to do to heal."

Pet massage, primarily for dogs, is an up-and-coming career field, said Rudinger, who is also a registered nurse and licensed people massage therapist.

There are about nine pet massage schools in the United States, and junior colleges are starting to offer pet massage classes, he said.

In most states, including Ohio, only veterinarians or their staff can work on other people's animals -- though few do pet massage. So Rudinger teaches, using his own dogs -- Jacques-a-Poodle-Doo, 3, and Oskar, 8, a boxer -- in class demonstrations.

Most of Rudinger's students are mostly veterinary technicians, who are similar to nurses, but for animals.

He said he learned how to massage animals intuitively, or through direct, hands-on contact with his own dogs. His experience massaging people helped, and he now trains other masseurs and masseuses who want to expand their practices or work on their own pets.

He has two videos and book on dog massage, which will both soon be released on DVD. A brand-new DVD, "Pet Massage for Kids," is in the works. (For more information, visit Rudinger's Web site at www.PetMassage.com.)

The PetMassage Institute is about to open a health and fitness center, where dogs and their owners can swim together, bounce on trampoline and walk a labyrinth, or spiral trail.

Rudinger cautioned against trying these exercises with your dog at home. But he did urge kids to become their dog's "first line of defense against disease" by reporting any suspicious-looking lumps or other abnormalities on their pet to their parents and to the pet's veterinarian.

By Patricia Chargot

Photo by Jerry S. Mendoza/KRT

Published 08/29/04 - original article available here

Copyright © 2004 Detroit Free Press Inc.
Its national editions are syndicated by Knight Ridder/Tribune.