Canine Massage and Stretching First |
Massage is an enjoyable way of strengthening the bond
with your family dog. Apart from the physical and
psychological effects, you familiarize the dog with
being handled and this can be of great value in other
situations. |
As a dog owner you can massage and stretch your dog’s
muscles regularly. This enables your dog to maintain
good health longer through life and improves the quality
of your dog’s life. The risk of injury is substantially
reduced and you may be able to detect changes in your
dog’s health before they can be seen.
Massage and stretching will give you a happy and healthy
canine friend. Your dog will want a massage and will no
longer be content with random rubbing and neither will
you.
Here is an article from Jörn Oleby, author of the
book,
Canine Massage and Stretching – A Dog Owners
Manual.
How to Improve the Quality of your Dog’s Life!
When we take on a dog we
take on responsibility. This responsibility involves the
everyday care of our dogs in areas such as hygiene, coat
and paws, nutrition, exercise and training.
Many dog owners invest considerable time in activating
their dogs by obedience training, seeking activities,
tracking and protection exercises at training grounds,
out in the countryside or in the forest. These
activities allow us to spend time with our dogs while
also keeping them physically and mentally alert. Some of
us present dogs at shows and judge their appearance and
breed attributes. Perhaps we should also pay greater
attention to assessing mobility to encourage the sort of
care that can spare dogs unnecessary injuries in the
future. A well-functioning dog has retained its natural
elasticity and suppleness.
A dog with restricted mobility has short and stiff
muscles. When a dog has shortened musculature or
tonicity, pressure is exerted on the joints leading, in
turn, to decreased mobility. This ‘strangles’ the blood
vessels and impairs blood circulation. Muscles, joints,
tendons and ligaments then receive insufficient
nutrition and less oxygen. Reduced blood flow also means
that lactic acid accumulated in the muscles is not
naturally transported away. The lactic acid builds up
along with other waste products leading to irritation of
the pain receptors in the muscles. The dog experiences
pain. Pain, in turn, causes further tension and reduces
blood flow even more. A vicious circle arises and can
persist for some time if it is not discovered and
treated.
Short and stiff muscles are something that we ourselves
and our dogs can suffer from if we don’t take care of
our physical condition. Another illness that might
reduce our dogs mobility is Arthritis, and is usually
formed of fibrous connective tissue and cartilage and is
very common in older persons or dogs, especially
affecting weight-bearing joints. Articular cartilage
becomes soft, frayed and thinned. But also younger
persons or dogs might get Arthritis due to genetic
reasons, injuries or the combination of overweight and
too little exercise. A common symptom of Arthritis is
stiffness and lameness.
Studies on dogs have shown that regular massage and
stretching during a longer period of time are preventing
and reducing the effects of Arthritis and age related
stiffness.
Massage and stretching are an effective way to prevent
muscle related problems and strain injuries and improve
the quality of your dog’s life. Massage and stretching
are a complement to daily exercise, obedience training
and diet and build contact between you and your dog in a
natural way. Massage is an enjoyable way of
strengthening the bond with your family dog and your
canine friend will love it.
I now want to show you how easily you can preserve and
increase mobility and reduce the risk of muscle related
injuries. Here is an example of one of the basic massage
techniques:
“The greater part of the
pressure you exert should be applied by the flat hand
although your thumb and fingers are also engaged in
manipulation.”
Massage relaxes the muscles and is an excellent way of
letting your dog winding down after a long jogging or
cycling session. And it is enjoyable!
Warming up before activity has a preventative effect and
stretching is just as effective after the dog has used
its muscles. The dog should have warmed up and exercised
before you start to stretch the muscles and I recommend
that you allow your dog to wind down after physical
exertion. Let the dog walk for a while on the lead in
the same way a race horse runs an extra lap at half the
pace to round off the race. This helps to remove lactic
acid and waste products. As with massage it is important
that the dog is relaxed before you start this treatment.
“Hold
the dog’s elbow with one hand, grasping the wrist with
the other. Move the leg forward and upwards, stretching
the elbow joint and the flexor muscles of the foreleg
(shoulder joint). “
Warming up can involve walking with the dog on the lead
for 15 to 20 minutes before allowing it to run freely.
In this way the muscles soften up and are ready for
physical activity. Competitive or working dogs should
warm up in a more goal-oriented way. Below you can find a check
list that might come in handy when warming up. First remember that the dog
should have warmed up and exercised before starting a
competition or an active session. I also strongly
recommend that you allow your dog to wind down after a
competition or an active session before any stretching
activities. Here is a check list that
could be used before a competition or active session.
Let the dog walk slowly for a while and then increase
the tempo for 2-3 minutes. Let the dog trot for 2-3 minutes.
Let the dog gallop for one minute.
Then let the dog make some short explosive moves.
Let the dog wind down a little by going back to
trotting and then walking.
Warming up does not tire the dog but rather increases
blood circulation and warm up the muscles ensuring that
the joints are lubricated and more supple. The dog is
now ready to perform. After the warm up you could
also easily test your dog’s mobility using the eight
most common stretching techniques. You should be
sensitive to your dog’s signals. The dog should not
experience any discomfort. If it does, don’t hesitate to
contact the vet.
“Place
one hand directly above the knee joint and the other
hand on the lower part of the leg around the hock joint.
Lift the leg upwards so that the knee is bent. Push
gently upwards and backwards with the hand positioned
above the knee joint.”
After completing a competition or an active session let
the dog wind down and then carefully do some stretching
exercises. And when you
come home reward the dog with massage and you will get a
happy performing dog ready for new challenges. Massage and stretching is an
essential and a low cost investment in your dog’s health
and improves the quality of your dogs life.
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