Relaxation Time with Massage

Is your dog is stressed? Stress can be of physical or of emotional origin. Your dog’s personality, his disposition, his fear, his anxiety and sometimes his boredom can add to this nervous stress. Equally at the same time, a busy training schedule causes the athletic dog a lot of undue stress, both physical and emotional.  The physical stress of exercising, the workload, the endurance, plus the travels and the competitions, all result in musculoskeletal tension and nervous fatigue.

Relaxation Massage Routine

To help with your dog nervous fatigue, the Animal Massage Awareness video library offers you a great massage routine which sole purpose is to relieve the dog’s nervous stress in a quick and efficient way, the relaxation massage routine. This is done way by massaging methodically very specific areas of your dog’s anatomy.

The relaxation massage routine will achieve positive results right from the first application and even more over the course of several sessions. For best results your pressure should be very light, 1 to 2 pounds maximum and your rhythm should be smooth of 1 movement per second, or even calmer at 1 movement per two seconds.  But first of all, it is of the up most importance that you should yourself be relaxed as you perform this work.  As you breathe calmly and deeply, a strong sense of relief and relaxation will be induce onto your dog.

The relaxation massage routine concentrates on the nervous system. It only use pure nervous reflex massage moves over the spinal column - the poll, the ears, the neck, the back, the sacrum and the tail – in order to elicit the parasympathetic nervous response of the nervous system.

Short or Long Version

This relaxation work will clear nervous tension and blockages, regenerating the flow of vital energy through the spine to the rest of the body.  This relaxation massage routine can be done in a short version, within 3 minutes or in a longer version 5 to 10 minutes.

The longer version includes some variations such as ear work and a general stroking of the dog’s entire body at the end of the routine. This longer version is highly recommended for a dog’s first ever massage.  You can complement it with some gentle stretching exercises to further deepen the relaxation onto the entire body.

Once the animal has experienced and appreciated the benefit of the long version of the relaxation massage, you can trigger the same benefit with the short version.  We strongly recommend the use of the short version as a prelude to any other form of massage.  Your dog will feel a great sense of relaxation following these massage sessions.  Frightened dogs and/or character traits can often be smoothed by a regular application of this routine.

Set Up a Routine

The regular application of the relaxation routine will contribute to a great sensation of relaxation for your animal, allowing him to feel more rested and more giving after exercise, travel or when he feels fatigued or under other form of stress.  Remember that besides giving you prime feedback on your dog health, frequent massage applications also creates a stronger bond between the two of you.

The video offered on the Animal Massage Awareness library will give you all the visual guidance for you to start on the right track, just as if Jean-Pierre was there in person.  The relaxation massage routine will become a great part of your daily home health care for your dog(s) giving the opportunity to be actively involved in the life of your dog(s) and to safely and efficiently care for your animal friend(s) with canine massage and stretching.

I hope you enjoyed this article and found the information useful.  My goal is help you provide quality home care for the benefit of your animal.

Please visit our FREE library. Our many articles address important aspects of animal wellness and fitness. Take the time to scroll through our free library to find out how you can actively contribute to your dog’s wellness.

Animal Massage Awareness also offers a large video library with over a 100 mini-videos that will show you how to easily perform the various massage and stretching techniques talked about in this article. These videos offer you the correct start and visual guidance. With this knowledge, you will be able to develop a good home care program for the benefit of your animal friend.  He will love you for it.

Enjoy your new Awareness!

Jean-Pierre Hourdebaigt, MT

Recommended DVD Downloads

The “Relaxation Massage Routine” (CV004) and the “Stretching Exercises” (CV007) will definitely relax your dog and maximize the benefit of your home care program.

Learn More About Animal Massage in Our Comprehensive Courses

Ready to learn to improve how you care for your animal? Our complete courses offer a wealth of information in easy-to-follow video format.

Shopping Cart
Scroll to Top