Jonathan’s Helpful Hints

Dousing: Muscle Testing in PetMassageTM Limited uses for muscle testing While the muscle testing techniques described last week are good for personal dilemmas, like whether to order the cheesecake or…

Muscle testing   Natural remedies Anastasia and I were in a natural medicine shop looking for some natural type remedies that could enhance my life. I looked around at all…

All aboard  Last weekend I witnessed joy. My 12 year old granddaughter Lydia, on stage, playing Annie, spread her little arms, lifted her face to the front lights, and sang…

Acts of Kindness, Paid Forward: Random and Planned Randomness Gifted Recently, Anastasia and I were having dinner at one of the restaurants that is described in the travel books as…

Upgrading the public image Last month, I had 2 articles published in Massage Magazine print version and online. https://www.massagemag.com/6-essentials-for-equine-massage-marketing-success-34781/ https://www.massagemag.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/238lr-spread.pdf I noted with a bit of shaken ego that the…

Lola says “Oh Look: Squirrel,” and then… Easter Sunday Perfect Spring like weather. Sun shining in a pale blue cloudless sky. New green leaves of the forsythia dance in the…

Perfection Rainbow Eagle I recently had an opportunity to reconnect with a friend of mine who also happens to be a powerful resource of ancient Native American wisdom. He is…

Puppy PetMassageTM demonstration video Foundation Level class at Toledo/Northwest Ohio Area Humane Society On the final day of each Foundation Level class we go to the Toledo/Northwest Ohio Area Humane…

Time flies like an arrow Daylight Saving Time This weekend we will be having our semiannual time change to Daylight Saving Time. For those of us who live in cooler…

Dogs need to scale the utmost height and catch the gleam of glory bright Higher ground advantage Over 2500 years ago, Sun Tzu wrote in his military treatise, the Art of…

Just do it, already.  Have you been reading these weekly newsletters for awhile? Every workshop, we ask people why they chose to take their training in canine massage with PetMassageTM.…

Your PetMassage practice began long ago. Your PetMassageTM Way back when you were still in your pre-preverbal mode, you made the choice to help dogs enhance the quality of their…

RVTs and Veterinarians PetMassageTM Dr. Marty Becker has been encouraging you to strive to make your veterinary practice more “fear-free.” You’ve tried kneeling on the floor with your patients, greeting…

Pearly Gaits: You and Dogs Moving Balanced and Confident Confidence and balance There is a connection between the confidence and balance of the handler/PetMassageTM practitioner and the confidence and balance…

6th chakra: the sensory chakra The traditional set of chakras for humans does not include this chakra. This energy field is significant for all of us: people and dogs. It…

Moving to the beat of the heart Chakras 1-3 and 4 Last week we discussed the lower three chakras. The lower three are the foundation for maintaining life. As we…

Chakras in your PetMassageTM practice: Releasing Creativity Lower 3 chakras The lower 3 chakras are the foundation for the life force and healthfulness. If they are not fully functioning, balance,…

Going to a Happy Place I’m requested to meditate. During a recent Reflexology session I was asked to go to a happy place; that is, to meditate, while I was…

In the New Year, take control; take leadership of the journey The PetMassageTM lessons help you understand and take control of yourself so that you can develop a confidence, comfort…

News flash: Hokkaido Garden The news we are told Oh, the weather outside is frightful… It is so easy to be lured into the lurid and scary mass media hysteria.…

Outlines, an experience in contrasts We ran into a dilemma while creating the rolling titles for a new YouTube that will be downloadable from the website in January. The font…

PetMassageTM Assessment strokes and touches are opportunities for travel and adventure. Assess your dog’s body Assessment strokes and touches are some of the ways we assess our dog’s body. When…

Shadows and shinies Soften your eyes to know where to focus – or if you don’t look, you are probably missing a lot. Hold your hand in front of your…

Mission Statement One of your greatest resources is your business. So, this is the time to look at your Mission Statement to make sure that you are still on the…

Thanksgiving is a time for being grateful. In her book, How of Happiness , Sonja Lyubomirsky shares research that shows that maintaining a physical, written gratitude list lightens up your…

Anastasia’s Guides are talking to us During a recent meditation, Anastasia was guided to send the November, 2015 PetMassage Foundation students the following information, which also applies to those of…

In the glow of headlamps, there you are Driving on a highway at night, all one can see, or need to see, is what is being illuminated in the beams…

Time change This past weekend, many of us fell back an hour We all (except for people in some parts of Indiana) repeated the old mantra last Saturday night when…

Which side are you on? Noble Fringe offers choices Last week I attended a meeting of our local Green Party. It was an activist subset of our community’s well-intentioned citizenry.…

Permission It is not always a forgone conclusion that dogs always want to be touched. They are very much like humans in this respect. Sometimes they are too distracted, are…

New findings of PetMassageTM Research Re: The skin between your dog’s toes. Examining paws The pads are the first information receptors for the physical world around the dog. They communicate…

I’m pickin’ up good vibrations, bop bop. Awareness, or presence, or focus increases vibration frequencies. Whatever we focus on increases its vibration. This is a hot topic in the quantum…

Camille was fast asleep. Lying next to me, her head rested on the pillow next to mine. Her precious little brown face was even with mine. Camille’s REM (Rapid Eye…

Energy Work is part of every PetMassage Last week, I had the opportunity to PetMassage Dugan, a big, 80 pound German shorthaired pointer. He is a bird dog. He had…

If you are happiest when you are with dogs and your heart sings when you help them discover their optimal level of wellness and balance, you are already a member…

Anastasia shares what she witnesses: reactions as a family’s dog gets her first PetMassageTM Senior terrier needs to see her vet A few weeks ago, 12-year-old Lily went lame from…

The Look A workshop student became irritated that her dog had embarked on a barking jag. What had started as a simple call for attention had escalated into a loud…

Curtain of distraction Recently while walking Lola and Camille, I had a conversation with a neighbor who was watching her kids playing badminton using a structure made of 3” PVC…

Dreamy birthday Have you ever heard that when you dream, you are all the characters in your dream? You are the one having the dream. You are the one in…

The eye roll, not your everyday sushi. eye-roll·ing noun 1. the action of rolling one’s eyes, typically as an expression of exasperation, disbelief, or disapproval. –Oxford Dictionary Looking upward with…

Change is scary; and, change is the only way we grow. “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.”-Albert Einstein “If your…

If I had a hammer If I had a hammer, I’d hammer in the morning, I’d hammer in the evening, All over this land, I’d hammer out danger, I’d hammer…

Spray painting Here’s another helpful tip, the purpose of which is to enhance the delivery of your canine massage: We are instructed to spray of paint in a continuous movement,…

Bike light George is a friend of ours who lives and works in Chicago. His bike is his primary means of transportation. Chicago streets are often precarious. He has to…

PetMassage for Dogs Day: A Reason for Celebration PetMassageTM for Dogs Day is this Saturday, July 11.   Why is this so significant?   In most states in the US and…

We believe. Manifesto When you have a business and decide to devote your life to it, you need to be able to clearly state why you are doing what you…

Cherry tree needs light to flourish Here’s another helpful tip to enhance your canine massage:   One of our neighbors has had a quiet, little cherry tree in her front…

Two framed photographs  Reiki enhancement Attended a show at an art gallery recently. Saw two identical framed photographs one was priced $50 more than the other. The only difference was…

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. Alyce Sorokie, the author of Gut Wisdom, Understanding and Improving Digestive Health, shared a powerful poem during a recent presentation in Chicago.…

So, the dog on your table is a drooler. When he shakes his head, you are drenched in spit. Should you be concerned, or just grossed out? Just grossed out.…

Every once in a while I am reminded of my curious place in our science-based culture, and self-doubt creeps in. My massage/bodywork practice is eerily “complementary” and “alternative.” It is…

There is a variable in a dog’s behavior that I feel a need to discuss: the influence of the dog’s name. When I taught a master class in France, I…

Over the last two weekends, I had the opportunity to PetMassage over one hundred dogs. We were promoting the PetMassageTM mini-workshop for dog owners that we will be giving this…

The time has come for another high school reunion. How time flies when we are having fun! The class reunion committee asked us to complete a questionnaire for the event;…

Hawk m. Have you ever wondered what was under the shoulder blade, aka. scapula of the dog? What is that broad flat muscle under there? What does it do? Is…

Ask PetMassage: Help for dog owners and dog massage practitioners I often receive email requests for help. The scenarios are similar to this one that I got recently. When our…

Canine Massage Scope of Practice Canine massage is a profession. As such it has a description of what it can do. The description includes limitations for our practice. This blog…

Dog wants to jump away during massage or What was I thinking? Hi Jonathan, I’m trying to be aware of the pressure that I’m using and go lightly. Could it…

Ask PetMassage Hi Jonathan, Subject: Help! Today I massaged a dachshund who I have worked on before. Today I noticed that her gait was off a bit so I got…

Music to your ears. Background music for your massage. The music you choose plays an important part of creating the ambient mood you want for your massage. Play music that…

Private Canine massage sessions in Toledo Ohio  Of course PetMassageTM, the school, offers How-to books and DVDs for training dog owners to massage their dogs at home. http://petmassage.com/?page_id=992PetMassageTM, the school offers…

Post canine massage protocol Senior Cattle dog, Jess got her first canine massage. She loved it. She was clearly feeling better as she strolled leisurely out to the car. What…

Dogs Kids PetMassage You’ve adopted the perfect dog. Your kid plays too rough and needs to learn gentleness and respect for your new pet’s space. Now is the perfect time…

Sensitivity In the March 2015 issue of Massage Magazine, there was a letter to the editor in the Reader Feedback section that caught my attention. It was titled “Pit Bull…

Space is our only frontier The one who owns and controls the space is the leader. This goes for leading board meetings, giving presentations, performing in theater, playing music, holding…

Zippo dog massage or, Use a Lighter Tool for the Job You wouldn’t use a wrench to pluck an eyebrow, although you could; but you might hurt yourself. You wouldn’t…

Taking my own advice.  Last Wednesday, I blogged about Feng Shui. I talked about the importance of straightening and organizing our hidden treasure troves in drawers and file cabinets. I…

What’s a canine massage neuromuscular release? When dogs are stimulated during a PetMassageTM their bodies shift – making tiny edits to their internal dialogue. What is the internal dialogue? The…

Feng Shui – canine massage  During a recent Foundation workshop, Betsy asked about the role of Feng Shui in PetMassageTM. The class discussed a few simple precepts we can follow…

Telling, Very Telling – Dog Massage There is a significant difference of communication styles and opportunities in human and animal massage. People can tell you what the injury is, where…

Gant: Equine Massage – PetMassage Energy work On a very cold morning, in 1996, I got a call from the owners of the barn where I was boarding my horse,…

The elements that I needed to know were coming together. From my dad, I’d learned that it was possible to become an open receiver for psychic transmissions. Healing Touch taught…

The psychic experience shifted the direction of my life. My life would never be the same. Psychic experiences do happen! And, hey: I had one. We can do it. Then…

On Christmas 2014, I found myself rereading the pages of the book Transitions, PetMassage Energy Work for the Aging and Dying Dog. It has been over ten years since I…