PetMassage for the Family Dog

PetMassage for the Family Dog is an excellent introduction to PetMassage. This book is for you if you are an individual who is happiest when you are rubbing and scratching your dogs; and you know in your heart that you want to help them discover their optimal wellness and balance.

This book was created for you, so that you can learn

• what PetMassage is
• how it can enhance your dog's quality of life
• how it can have benefits for you
• how to give a simplified version of a full-body PetMassage to your dog
• and how it can be integrated into your routine of daily care

With PetMassage for the Family Dog you will learn to create an ambient environment within your dog's body by combining skilled touch, active intention and compassionate awareness. An ambient inner environment is necessary for your dogs' physical and emotional balance and quality restorative healing.

With easy to follow instructions, abundant illustrations and a complete pictorial PetMassage demonstration, this is your guide to learning to massage your pet dog at home. Expand on the massage you already do intuitively, with the skills and theory of professional canine massage.

This book is guaranteed to change the way you touch your dog. It is great return on your dog's investment of his/her lifetime of unconditional love.

PetMassage for the Family Dog replaces the discontinued Effective Pet Massage for Dogs. It is also the new text for the PetMassage for Dogs Home Study Course.

164 pages with index, glossary, photos, First Edition.
Cover price: $29.95 USD.

PetMassage for the Family Dog: Contents and 1st chapter, "Guidelines"

Contents
Forward and acknowledgements 1

Part 1
Guidelines 3
The Importance of PetMassage 3
PetMassage is nonverbal communication. 7
What PetMassage is 9
Canines Benefit with PetMassage 14
H-E-A-L-T-H-Y dogs 16
Pay attention to what your dog is telling you. 19
Contraindications 20
Guidelines for massage 22
Location and positioning 24
Verbal support 27
Balance 29
Applying pressure 32
Rate 35
How to get your dog to sit still 36

Part 2
Massage Techniques 38
Hand positions 38
PetMassage terms and strokes you need to know 41
Introduction and Assessment Sequences 50
Therapeutic PetMassage Sequence 60

Part 3
Older Dog 91 How they are different 91
Benefits of PetMassage for your older dog 94
Effects of Aging 95
PetMassage of the Older (geriatric) Dog 98
Focus on the upper spine and back 105
Hip and upper leg 110
Exploration of Movement 113

Part 4
Specific applications 120
Respiratory Enhancement 120
Time and Space 124
PetMassage Acupressure 126
Visualization with Therapeutic Touch 127
PetMassage Off-the-body 128
Entering the body space 129
Observation, hydration, elimination 132
Grieving or Transitions PetMassage 135
Summary 136

Part 5
What’s next?
PetMassage workshops and online courses 137
PetMassage for kids 145
Appendix 1 146 Anatomy Terms: 146
Directions, Locations and Shapes 146

Appendix 2 147 Healing crisis 147
References/Further Reading 150
Index 152
More fine PetMassage books, DVDs, and CDs 155
About the author 164

PetMassage for the Family Dog
Part 1 Guidelines
The Importance of PetMassage

You already massage your dog. Everyone rubs and scratches, squeezes, stretches and ruffles up the coats of their dogs.

PetMassage for the Family Dog was created to teach you, the canine guardian and appreciator of all things doggy, new skills that you can use to enhance the way you touch and massage your dog. You will learn more ways to responsibly and effectively care for your dog. With PetMassage skills, you will be empowered. They will enhance the bonds you and your dog have with each other.

People often ask whether day to day petting counts as massage. I respond, “No.” Let me explain why.

Even though our dog obviously enjoys your massage, the skills that you will use in PetMassage offers more opportunities for self healing and wellness maintenance. PetMassage provides your dog a specific therapeutic experience that, when applied correctly, has the capacity for reduction of stress, the fundamental cause for every disease. The PetMassage view of imbalance is that it is an aberration in ongoing wellness and healing.

PetMassage is a deliberate and focused technique of touching your dog. Each stroke is controlled in pressure, direction and intention. Your hands become finely tuned tools of assessment, finely tuned sensing devices. They are also the conduits through which healing and love flow.

By giving your dog the gift of PetMassage, you are rewarding him/her for a lifetime of companionship and friendship.

Many of the same skills utilized in massaging humans are used with dogs. PetMassage includes many skills and lessons in body awareness in addition to human massage therapy skills. Some of them were adapted from the practice of T’ai Ch’i Chuan and Ch'i Gung, meditative martial art forms. There are adaptations of other bodywork disciplines that will expand your sensory vocabulary. An important part of the mix is understanding animal body language and behavior. Learning and incorporating some of your dog's favorite phrases from his body language dictionary will put your dog at ease and encourage him to participate more fully in the PetMassage experience.

These are all part of PetMassage. PetMassage for the Family Dog teaches you to increase your sensory perception and feel even more comfortable and connected with your dog.

When you tune into the particular frequency of your dog's life and times, you learn to take notice of the many subtle signals they use to broadcast to each other and to us. Your dog is always trying to tell you what he/she is thinking and feeling and needing. You are usually too distracted to be open and receptive.

As much as eighty-five per cent of human to human communication in normal conversation, is non-verbal. Our words are enhanced and given meaning by the way we stand and move. How we distribute our weight provides a lot of information about who we are, how we feel, and what our intentions are. Add the nuances of whether you are looking at the ground or your eyes are uplifted, if your hands are clenched or relaxed and open, if your knees are locked or softly flexed, if your arms are crossed or by your sides, if your legs are crossed, and if you are breathing easily or holding your breath. Whether you are aware of it or not, you and your dogs are constantly speaking and reading each other. You speak your bodies with your minds. You speak your minds with your bodies.

Learn to understand the beautiful language that you are already using. Consciously incorporate it into your responses as you become proficient in the language of touch. Conscious touch.

It is good that you have taken the initiative to learn PetMassage for your family dog. PetMassage will enhance your bond with your dog so that he/she can live a fuller, longer and happier life. This is an easy to learn program and one you will enjoy almost as much as your dog will.

As a complement to traditional veterinary medical care PetMassage is notable for its ability to increase blood flow and decrease healing time in post-operative situations. In some cases, in which soft tissue has been compromised, PetMassage has even been shown to be an alternative to surgery. Older dogs appreciate how PetMassage acts as an excellent tonic for their many joint problems and decreased range of motion. When your dogs are in pain or agitated, the soothing effects of PetMassage provide external support and redirection. PetMassage encourages the inner calmness necessary for healing to take place.

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