Value of Tiny Touches
- Aleks Woodroffe
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
As a massage practioner I often work on dogs after a long trial day or the week before a big event. The goal of these massages is to maintain the dog and keep track of any issues that might be reoccurring or indicative of something more serious. As someone who works on a wide range of dogs before and after peak events, these types of massage can help a dog reach peak potential and recover quickly and smoothly after hard events.
But there is also an incredible benefit of the tiny moments between these sessions. This is something I like to empower my clients with. It’s learning how to help their dog with specific massage techinques that can target specifically what their dog might have as a constant issue. Most dogs have a “thing”, usually a result of conformation/structure, previous injury, or overuse. If we know of these types of things (routine massages with an experienced practitioner), it’s possible to use simple techniques to address an issue as it pops up, before the body starts to compensate or make it a bigger issue.
Here is an example:
An older Nosework dog that has a tight hamstring. With a little massage, the owner can release the tension and allow full extension of the hind limb. This allows the dog to move smoothly through larger spaces, allowing easier covering the space and removing an effect of pain in their movement. This results in the dog being able to respond to odor information more efficiently, without stress or extra movement. This means odor communication is easier to read by the handler, allowing them to support harder odor puzzles or understand what the dog might be working. Essentially - a huge impact on performance, both team and dog.
A young and active agility dog with a minor injury in the past resulting in a predicable tension in the quad and adductor of the left hind. With just the right knowledge, using a bit of pressure and patience, a trigger point can be released and fascia maintained supple. As a result, the dog maintains jumping performance (not dropping bars), confidence in the weaves, and criteria of contacts. Tight muscles and trigger points can feel like a Charlie horse to the dog, causing them to limit their power and ability to maintain criteria.
A dog in their prime doing obedience that starts to show decrease in performance at an obedience or rally competition. When putting hands on the dog, the handler feels that the dog’s back is really hard and has points where they see flinching and spasms when touched. With knowledge of massage, the handler is able to gently release all the tension and relax the back to the point that the dog can relax and stretch. With this, the dog goes back to their normal heeling position and snappy response to the handler.
These 3 examples are just the tip of the iceberg that can be done with a little massage knowledge. I love empowering the handler to be able to help their dog IN THE MOMENT, which makes my job as a massage practioner much easier. It also helps the handler come to me with information and a baseline that we can work with to address any other issues or even an underlying issue.
If you think you can benefit from this info, I’d love for you to join me in my online class at FDSA! Offered once a year, this massage class is designed to build not only your knowledge in massage basics and canine anatomy,
But also provide an opportunity (and excuse?) to develop a relationship based in listening and trust. Such a different way we can interact with our dogs, especially when we are used to dog sports and “doing” things!
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