What is dog massage therapy?

As dog owners, it’s only natural to look for different ways to keep our furry family members happy.

While balanced and quality food, regular exercise, oral hygiene and vet checkups are crucial, there is yet another wellness practice, that we, in Pocket Puppy School would like to share with dog parents - dog massage therapy.

Now this blog post is a bit special, because we spoke with a certified canine massage therapist, Grete, to uncover the many benefits of dog massage.

Why do dogs need a massage?

Throughout their lives, dogs experience many physical and emotional challenges. According to Grete, canine massage therapist, the most common reasons dogs can benefit from massages are:

Pain relief - through massage therapy, the body’s natural painkillers aka endorphins are released.

Also helps to ease discomfort from injuries, surgeries and chronic pain, improve range of motion and reduce stiffness.

Emotional well-being - dogs with anxiety or past trauma, a positive and relaxing touch can be incredibly calming.

Through massage practice, Grete has seen anxious rescue dogs who, over a few sessions go from stranding nervously to lying down and relaxing.

Muscle relaxation - active dogs, who do a lot of agility training or different competitions, often experience muscle tightness. But when you include massage sessions in, it can ease tension, reduce risk of getting injured and also enhance performance.

Another thing that show dog owners can keep in mind, is that their dogs can especially benefit form massages before competitions, to help dogs relax a bit and perform at their best.

When is dog massage particularly beneficial?

Like we mentioned, dogs will benefit from a massage in various reasons. There are also some more specific health conditions, where massage therapy can play a key role to make your dog feel better:

• Orthopedic issues

• Recovery from injuries or surgery

• Enhanceing mobility in senior dogs

• Relaxing working or athletic dogs (ex: Jack Russell Terrier, Border Collie, Australian Sheperd, Siberian Husky, Bernese Mountain Dog, Alaskan Malamute etc)

But in these kind of situations, where your dog has been actually injured, Grete highlights the importance of consulting a vet first, and then start with a massage therapy.

Choosing the right person

Most likely, when going through internet searches, you’ll find quite a few people, who provide that service. But it’s important to keep in mind that not all dog massage therapists are equal.

Canine massage therapist, Grete, advises pet owners to look for:

• Professionals with comprehensive certifications.

• Canine physiotherapy credentials is an added bonus.

• Dog massage therapists’ real-life experience and social media presence to get valuable and visual insights into their expertise.

According to Grete, online training and short courses are helpful in any learning journey, but you cannot compare it with 6 mo - 2 year school program.

How does one session look like?

Each massage session is modified to specific dog’s comfort level and unique needs. Grete prefers having sessions in the dog’s home. Because this is where the dog feels most at ease.

This is how a typical dog massage session with Grete might look like:

• Preparation - it’s advised to avoid feeding the dog about 1.5-2 hours before the session. It’s also good to take your dog for a walk, pee-break before the massage.

• Setting the pace - it’s good to take the first session slower and set the pace according to the dogs’ comfort.

  Grete notes, that with some anxious dogs it might be, that during the first session, dog feels more restless, so it might not be possible to do the full body.

  It is important to keep that in mind, because the goal is to show to the dog that it is not harmful, but rather relaxing and positive experience.

• Comfort comes first - the dog is “allowed to choose” their spot. Whether the dog prefers it’s own spot, carpet or sofa. Then from thereon Grete will adjust herself according to the dog and choosing the techniques based on dog’s comfort level.

• Gentle techniques - just like that, bit by bit Grete builds trust with the dog, using light pressure and soothing strokes. If she sees or feels that the dog feels discomfort or pain in a certain area, she avoids applying force and instead works around that spot.

Grete also adds that dog owners’ presence plays a big part as well. That gives the dog reassurance that everything is well. It is important to read the dog’s body language and respond to that accordingly.

Give it a try!

Now, after getting to know more about the canine massage therapy - do you still think it’s just pampering? Well, in a way, it could be, but as you read, it really has a lot of good benefits to your dog’s well-being - starting from easing pain, improving mobility or even reducing anxiety.

We, from Pocket Puppy School definitely encourage you to give this a try! Find a great professional, like Grete and start slowly from there to see how your dog’s over all comfort and health goes to another level.

Don’t forget to check out Grete’s instagram channel, where she shares very insightful info in her stories about dog massage, its benefits, some tips and tricks and posts about her work. 🤗

Haven’t heard about Pocket Puppy School before?

Pocket Puppy School is a completely free dog training app. Our mission is to make information about raising dogs accessible to everyone in the world.

But in addition to our app, we have a blog (that you are currently reading 🤓) where we talk all things about dogs.

We post some informational and fun content to our Instagram page and believe it or not, we even have a merch store. 🥹 In the store you can get a t-shirt or a hoodie with your own dogs’ picture that we will make into an awesome design.

Feel free to check out all of our channels, and if you have any questions, leave a comment down below.

Thank you!