Feel like I'm hitting my stride

It's hard to believe I've been back less than 3 weeks yet I've already completed second sessions with the majority of my case studies.

In the last few weeks I've also had a variety of responses to my new career. Some examples: "you do what????"; "did you say dogs?"; openly guffawing in my face; and my own personal favorite...someone looking interested, asking questions then in the end saying "oh you're serious...I thought you were joking with me"!!

I had the gorgeous Dukey again this week.  We made definite progress from last time and he was much more comfortable which was hugely encouraging.

I also had sessions with Benny, Stanley and Tusk.  Benny was a bit more distracted this week than last time; Stanley was similar to before; and Tusk I managed to give a pretty good Sports massage to whilst she was preoccupied with a cheese slice filled Kong!
I have never used a Kong so much...they're great for keeping busy minds occupied and Asha loves it when I stuff it with cream cheese and freeze it :)

Yesterday I managed to miss the rain when I visited the dog park to practice some more observation.  I felt a bit mean as I didn't take Asha when all her friends were there...I made it up to her with an extra long massage this afternoon.  

I also got to practice my low stress handling techniques on a visit to the Vet with Asha.  It's not as easy as the books make out...whilst she doesn't mind going to the vet, in fact she's quite happy with the whole experience and happily takes treats, it's when we need her to hold still that she gets concerned.  In the new year I'm going to take her into the Vet on random occasions so she can get used to it a bit more.

So to top off my week I went to Water Woofs for an hour with a friend to watch her pooch on the underwater treadmill - great way to finish the week!

Having fun with Case Studies and Observation

So I have now had initial sessions with case studies 4 & 5.

On Sunday I went to visit Tusk who is a 9 year old Dalmatian.  Tusk is fabulous and we know her from weekend walks along Point Chev beach.  She is very active - mind and body, so I figured I would have a bit of a challenge calming her enough to have a massage.  I was pleasantly surprised how easily she came into my space at the start and laid down...she got easily distracted though ;)  A few treats help re-engage her so we had a pretty successful session.  Hopefully next week's session will be even better :)

Benny the Beagle is case study number 5.  Benny is 3 we think, and has been with his current home only a matter of a few months.  Whilst having a reputation as a bit of an escape artist, the Benny I met was a total chill out merchant.  He flopped down for me, and I probably spent a good 35 - 40 minutes working on him.  He let me do some PROM, skin rolling, ischemic holding etc.  He is in an awesome home now but he's probably still learning the ropes so hopefully his ability to switch off and relax like he did with me will settle him in that little bit quicker an easier.  Next session with Benny is on Friday so watch this space for more updates on him!

And Today......I spent the morning at D'for Dog Training where I was learning to hone my observation skills.  
Observing canine body language is a huge part of my work - I need to be able to notice physical cues and nuances that when considered in context indicate signs of stress, fear, aggression, playfulness, and relaxation.  I was able to watch a couple of puppies interacting and training which was wonderful...and I even managed to give one of them a massage at the end of his school session...he was so relaxed he fell sound asleep :)
D'for Dog have a fantastic indoor venue and a really positive approach to training and behaviour - thank you for letting me hang out with you!

Learning a valuable lesson

It's Saturday morning and I am writing this on a total high!!

I've just completed 2 more case studies and they have given me a real buzz... I LOVE this work :) 

First let me tell you about Case Study number 2.....
On Wednesday I had my first session with Duke.  Dukey is a gorgeous 10 year old male Lab who is also an ex-guide dog.  I have met him before so I went into the session with a preconceived view of how he would respond based on my previous encounter.  Being very honest, that was my mistake. 
Don't get me wrong, we didn't have a bad session at all - a lot of trust building and a small amount of palpation and passive touch - but in hindsight I think I moved a bit fast for him. I've been pondering on it and had a skype call with my Dallas colleague (thanks so much Scott!) and it goes back to the type of touch we are using.  When performing a massage, we are touching with intent and many dogs are not used to this.  They love being petted etc but massage is different to that.  Dukey was fabulous, and he told me that he wasn't comfortable with certain things and I respect that.  
That's the point of the case studies right, for me to learn and hone my skills.  My approach in the next session will be quite different so we'll see how that goes, but thank you Dukey for teaching me this valuable lesson.

So when I went to my session earlier today, my approach needed to be different.  Stanley is a 10 year old male English Bull Terrier and I know Stan...he is Asha's boyfriend so I really didn't want to make the same mistake I made with Dukey and assume anything.
And OMG did I reap the rewards :) :) :)
He willingly came into my space, and wandered off when he needed a break which was fab...and in the end he even lay down on his side..unprompted by me.  Awesome!

Lesson: Each dog, like the individual, is different.  My job as a canine massage therapist is to read each dog and their signals, and then adapt to them.

Couple of photos - of Stan and of Asha. 
Case study number 4 tomorrow and 5 on Monday...

Case study #1

I can't believe it - I've already started my case studies....

Yesterday I had the immense pleasure of meeting Dotty who is an 11 year old Miniature Schnauzer.  Dotty lost her right hindlimb last year and has come to terms incredibly well with getting along on 3 legs.

We started some trust building with a few yummy treats but pretty soon phased those out and Dotty relaxed into it and allowed me to give her a good 35 - 40 minute massage.  I mainly focused on relaxation techniques for her, with some light compression on particularly tight muscles.  We had plenty of yawning and a couple of dog farts (which is a good thing!!!). I have high hopes for my next session - assuming I didn't put her off :)

I'm seeing her again in just over a week so I'll get some photos in that session.

Case Study #2 is tomorrow so watch this space....

On a separate note, Asha had a play date yesterday morning ;).  Her best friend Stanley came over for an hour and they ran amok through the house.  I just love watching the two of them play, they are delightful.  Having learnt so much more about canine behaviour while I was in Chicago I could see that it's all very friendly, and I now notice when one of them tells the other one they've had enough, or get a bit hyper over something!!

Home sweet home

Following a fun (if somewhat cold) few days in Chicago with Debs, I'm now thawing out back home. Sigh.

Asha has received 2 massages so far.  The first one I gave her went really well, she totally chilled out, but the second one she decided to mess about, rolling over onto her back and being generally silly....I laughed a lot but still managed to give her a relatively decent massage.  It's so good to finally be able to get my hands on her!!

Rob even managed to get a 10 minute shoulder massage, I was trying to find trigger points...there were many.

So now I am trying to set up my case studies, can't wait to start putting my learning into practice.

Oh yes, and my canine skeleton arrived yesterday so I can now start labeling muscles etc and testing myself....

One journey finishes but another one begins....

Did you know that classical piano can relax dogs? I found that out the other day – now it makes sense why they had some playing at the Animal Care League.

Even in the last 2.5 days we have seen more dogs than you can shake a stick at!  

The gorgeous Fifty came in again – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…he is fabulous :)

We’ve carried on learning, learning about pathology, and about massage for “special populations” such as palliative care, puppies, geriatric dogs and those differently-abled.  We had to work on our “elevator speeches” and role played them out….hilarious!  We’ve heard from previous graduates of the school about their experiences on starting this work and we’ve talked and discussed business practices.

We also had a hands-on test yesterday to make sure we understood all the massage techniques and could apply them appropriately.

I have had an incredible experience here at the Chicago School of Canine Massage.  I cannot recommend it highly enough.  Thanks to Denise, Erin, Kim, Pam, Deb, Jaclyn and Melissa– you’re awesome!!  And of course my classmates – you fellas rock ;)

My next challenge is to complete 20 hours of observation and 20 hours of case studies.  Each case study needs to have 4 sessions of an hour each so I need 5 dogs to work on.  Once I’ve done all that then I will get my certificate to show that I am a Certified Canine Massage Therapist :) There’s also an international exam that I want to sit –hopefully sometime in March.

I will keep my blog up to date with my ongoing experiences…all your comments and page views have been enormously encouraging. 

For the next few days Debs and I are going to explore Chicago and then I’ll be back in the land of the long white cloud next Tuesday. (You want to hope there’s no wi-fi at our Airbnb place so I don’t post after a few Vodka’s!!)

IPC, CACC & essential oils!

We have only 3 more days of the course left – I seriously cannot believe how fast it has gone.

In the last few days I have made my own essential oil; learnt about the lymphatic system (especially important to know where the major nodes are); cross fibre friction (great for the paws and forearms – human as well as canine); learnt much more about complementary modalities including reiki, acupressure and essential oils;  visited Integrative Pet Care (truly awesome facility); learnt how to write up SOAP notes; worked on the wonderful Fifty; observed gait on various dogs; learnt more about delivering a Pet Parent class; visited Chicago Animal Care and Control; worked on lots more dogs; oh yes, and played Trivial Pursuit – the canine massage version.

The afternoon visit to Integrative Pet Care was great.  They had arranged a full schedule for us so we watched various treatments in 30 min segments.  We started by observing one dog receiving laser treatment for her arthritic elbow while another was receiving shock wave therapy on a suspected torn ligament.  Our good friend Fifty then came in for a massage so watched a qualified canine massage therapist do that; then watched Eos the cat receiving laser on her back legs.  Fifty then got laser therapy which nearly sent him and us to sleep.  One of the Vets demonstrated acupuncture on her dog – he didn’t seem to mind one bit despite having about 10 needles in him.  We also observed a number of dogs getting hydrotherapy on the underwater treadmill….works wonders with some peanut butter smeared on the far end as motivation ;) 

It really is a great place, has a big gym room with lots of equipment and is very calm and inviting.  The dogs seemed to be loving it.

The visit to CACC on Saturday afternoon was full on!  They can take up to 400 dogs at any one time.  We saw a tiny number of them, I think 7 in all.  We were basically doing trust building, observing their gait and wherever possible providing some massage relief from their tight ischemic muscles.  They were all gorgeous dogs, sad stories have brought them there but they’ll soon find their forever homes.  Again, it made me think how stressful it must be for dogs to find themselves in a shelter, and the positive experience and relief they get from seeing us and getting some hands on treatment.

On Saturday morning we also worked on a 12 year old 3 legged Chihuahua, an 8 year old Rottie mix with a mean looking underbite ;), and a 10 month old Weimaraner with spinal dysraphism who finally calmed down enough for us to provide some good massage.

Phew – watch this space to see what the final few days have in store!

Debs arrives Tuesday night and I am good and ready to  p a r t a y  in Chicago on Wed night…….:)