PetMassage™ Blog Archives · Page 2 of 10 · PetMassage™ Training and Research Institute

Living the dream and including pets in Hospice care. Living the dream. I recently overheard a fellow describing his job as “living the dream.” When he said it, he used air quotes. I sensed that he felt defeated. A meaningful vocation was beyond his imagination. I too describe my life as “living the dream.” And,…

Learn PetMassage techniques from the videos on the PetMassage Training and Research Institute YouTube channel. This weekend, as you are searching for some meaningful entertainment on your mobile device, we invite you to visit our YouTube channel: PetMassage Training and Research Institute. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTLn7J2DR9LIwM1WzXu5B3w Watch, share, laugh, learn, massage your dogs -and please subscribe. Here’s…

Make some serious waves. Practice PetMassage. Imagine yourself sitting in your kayak in the center of an 82 acre pond*. It’s early in the morning. It’s quiet. The air is still. The sky is brightening. The water’s surface, smooth as glass. You turn to look around. Your boat gently rocks, bouncing gentle waves out onto…

Addressing the effects of isolation and getting the support we need. There’s a factor that is often detrimental to our success and the longevity of our canine massage practices. Most of us are working isolated. Isolation is a bane on our culture. It’s the cause of great stress and distress. Isolation is the theme of…

When Did You Know You Were a Healer? As canine massage practitioners we cannot claim to heal. Our manipulation of dogs bodies redistributes fluid to restore balance and function. Projecting a healing intention, infuses the entire procedure with the energy of health and wellness. Canine massage creates a friendly ecosystem within dogs bodies, which activates…

PSA, Public Service Announcement: Use PetMassage to help your dogs survive-and sleep through-Fourth of July fireworks. Independence Day fireworks are highly stressful to sensitive people and sensitive dogs. Let’s focus on the victim dogs. When the bombs start bursting in air, their percussive blasts can be devastating. Dogs shake. Dogs pace. They cannot sleep. Cannot eat. Cannot play. Cowering by…

We just got the following request for information. Message: Good morning! My name is —-, I am seventeen and am an upcoming junior in high school. I was wondering what you could tell me about your Canine Aquatic Massage program. Can anyone attend the workshop, and if so, do they have to have a background…

Have you heard of the Dunning-Kruger Effect? Do you know what you don’t know? What if you could find out what you don’t know? We can be confident about the things we have experienced with. Things we know. And there’s always another tier of experience just over the horizon that we are not sure how to…

Massaging dogs at the Humane Society “Bark in the Park” event. The above picture was pulled from this video. https://petmassage.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_4659.TRIM_.mov Last weekend the PetMassage School had a booth at a “Bark in the Park” summer fundraiser/ 5K race-walk for the Toledo Area Humane Society. The event was held in a grassy field adjacent to an…

Subscribers comments Thank you subscribers for taking the time to share your thoughts on my Dog Bite blogs. Here are some of the comments we received. Marianna T. Thank you for this. Looking forward to next weeks. I find myself overly cautious/fearful at times after a very bad bite several years ago. Tamarie P. (PetMassage…

Dog Bites, Part 2. Resolving PTSD from dog bites. Dog bites happen. Car accidents happen too; and we don’t stop driving. We’ve got places to go. So, we get back in the drivers seat and move on. For people practicing canine massage, a dog bite need not end the journey – and a career you’ve trained for. Your commitment to helping…

Thoughts on dog bites and how to recover from them. Part 1 A student writes, “I’ve been doing massages at our local shelter for over a year now . . . NO bites – a few signals that guided me toward not getting a dog out of his kennel, but no major problems. “However, during…

Here is the link to “Jonathan’s Helpful Hints Blog’: Thoughts on dog bites and how to recover from them. Part 1

Canine Massage Lymphatic Drainage Lymphatic drainage is a therapeutic massage treatment. The goal of lymphatic drainage in the massage is to increase the flow of lymph and reduce toxins in the body. The lymph system is part of the dog’s body’s immune system and helps fight infection. Lymph itself is a clear, slightly yellow fluid.…

PetMassage and Circulation PetMassage and Circulation. When we ask people to describe the benefits of canine massage, the first thing that comes to mind is that it improves dogs circulation. It sounds good; but what does this mean? What is circulating? Is circulation all that important? Can PetMassage really have an affect in the quality…

What do Positional Releases feel like? During positional release, we hold the dog’s body -in a position- and observe how in the tissues under our hands release tension. We describe these releases as shifts in the fascia. The movements can be obvious, like an inflated balloon releasing air, or very subtle, like your mood change…

I just responded to an inquiry from a RVT about our school. You may have similar questions. If you do – even if you don’t – please read on. She writes: Hello, I am an RVT from California currently working as an instructor at a college. I am interested in your program thinking of starting…

Grounds for exercises in intuition. As I was taking my morning coffee I noticed a tiny chunk of grit on my tongue. I looked down at my cup; there on the bottom was a smattering of coffee grounds. I grind whole beans before brewing, and when I dump the grounds into the filter not all…

The Benefits of Hydrotherapy was the topic this week on Dr Karen Becker’s blog on the Healthy Pets Mercola website. https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2019/04/11/pet-hydrotherapy.aspx Karen discusses aquatic therapy from the perspective of her holistic veterinary practice. Her subtitle: Soothes Sore Joints and Muscles, a Godsend for Injured or Obese Pets. I’d like to add my perspective to her…

What’s in Your Pet First Aid Kit? From the perspective of canine massage, first aid includes the gentle manipulation of the dog’s body, his environment and his activities. We use touch healing touch and /or Reiki acupressure and meridian rebalancing leadership through body language presence breath control anxiety control positioning for comfort and controlled blood…

Stretching at Joints In its most basic form, stretching is a naturally instinctive activity; it is performed by humans and many other animals. Stretching often occurs instinctively after waking from sleep, after long periods of inactivity, or after exiting confined spaces. This is an appropriate activity to foster and use, since it comes from our dog’s natural instincts. Stretching…

A Walk in the Woods is open to interpretation. Last weekend I attended a concert at our local university. In this essay I work through understanding how to experience a new musical form and how it relates (as everything does) to canine massage. The concerts entire program was original compositions created by faculty, grad students,…

Fascia Collaboration. Let’s learn about what it is, how to identify it, influence it to help our dogs, and share the love. In September 2019 I will be one of the instructors at a joint conference of the IAAMB/ACWT and the NBCAAM. (It will be open to members and non-members. The link for info about…

Practicing and Figuring It Out Some things come easily; some take practice until we get it right. I noticed a pattern in the way I mastered skills. I identified a natural talent, received some initial training, and practiced, modeling after my instructor. With perseverance, I figured out how to do what I wanted to do…

Alyce Sorokie, the author of Gut Wisdom, Understanding and Improving Digestive Health, shared a powerful poem during a presentation I attended in Chicago. I’d like to share it with you. Chapter 1 I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost… I am helpless. It…

Every Moment is Life Defining. Camille, our boxer slipped while we were walking around our neighborhood. She stepped on a patch of ice hidden under the snow. Her legs flew out from beneath her. She landed hard on her hip. Cami jumped back up, shook it off, and trotted on; but I could see she…

Feel secure with dogs, learn Dog Handling Skills In 1998, Jonathan and I adopted our first dog, Oskar. He was a 60 lb. boxer. I was clueless about caring for a dog. My entire pet experience had been with gerbils, hamsters and a cat that was mostly cared for by my daughter, Cheryl. We had…

Become a More Empowered PetMassage Practitioner with Advanced Training When I was in human massage school I loved the last six months. That’s where the magic appeared. I realized my calling, my gift, was in the realm of “energy healing”. My massage student friends described what they felt. They talked about the heat, the vibrations,…

Resource conservation. We all want to be as efficient with our resources as possible. Time and money, these are our scarcest resources. These are the reasons we get so many requests for home study programs. With online and home study courses you get to work from home at your own pace and save the money…

The first day of the PetMassage Foundation Level Program is filled with happiness, empowerment and wonder. Jonathan and I (Anastasia) greet our new students and welcome them into our PetMassage tribe of canine massage practitioners. Our students come from all walks of life and they have these things in common: they all love dogs and understand that…

PetMassage Canine Aquatic Massage – Happiness for the Dog, Facilitator and Dog Owner Many years ago, I was introduced to the warm water massage technique for humans called “Watsu”. Watsu, for me, is a deep healing, joyful session taking place in a very warm (98-104 degrees F) spacious pool or large hot tub with dim…

Pet Naissage? Anita Pitts, PetMassage Foundation Level Program of February 2017, wrote, sharing her moment when the light bulb went on. I recognize this as something significant that you can apply to your canine massage practice. Here’s her initial email, my response, and her essay. Anita writes: I’ve been doing pet massage and nail trimming.…

We talk a lot about PetMassage Programs and workshops. If you an experienced workshop attendee, you know what to expect. And, it’s all good! It is possible that you have never before signed up for a workshop; especially a vocational training workshop. “What are they?” “What can I expect?” “Am I comfortable taking 5 days…

That light in the tunnel. That light in the tunnel is not an oncoming train. It’s sunshine. Canine massage may very well be in your future. Register for the PetMassage Foundation Level Program and initiate the plan for your leave taking from your corporate nightmare. I had an uncomfortable conversation about life in the corporate world. Competent…

PetMassage for Active and Athletic Dogs Optimizing function is the name of the game. That’s what canine massage does. The dogs appreciate what we do. Their owners, handlers, trainers, and vets do, too. PetMassage is an appropriate and beneficial therapeutic practice for Active and sport dogs. These athletes have had tremendous success when they the get…

Lateral breathing in dogs Lateral breathing is often not included when we talk about breathing. We think of mouth breathing and nose breathing; chest breathing and diaphragmatic – belly – breathing. I use palmar breathing; and that’s demonstrated at https://youtu.be/EQPlxRXx9bw Lateral breathing includes the functioning of the structures on the sides of the dog: the ribs,…

The 8 Home Study Course offerings from PetMassage: Basic Anatomy of the Dog The “Basic Anatomy of the Dog” PetMassage™ Home Study Course was specially formulated to meet the practical needs of the beginning dog massage / canine massage practitioner. While administering a canine massage, it is imperative that you know enough about canine anatomy…

Host the hands-on training workshop for the PetMassage Foundation Level PetMassage Program. Would you like to host the hands-on training workshop for the Foundation Level PetMassage Program? The PetMassage School will come to you. As host, we request that you provide a room for lecture, and hands-on teaching and arrange for the dogs that we…

Choose the PetMassage for Dogs Workshops that best fit your needs and aspirations. PetMassage Programs are vocational training. They include on-site, one-on-one, hands-on training and home study modules. Programs with Workshops On-site at The PetMassage Training and Research Institute, Toledo, OH PetMassage for Dogs Foundation Level Program/ Certified…

Motivation From Daily Hands-on Inspiration You’ve heard or read about how I started PetMassage. I’ve described it in my books and it’s on our website. [https://petmassage.com/store/petmassage-dogs-art-essence-canine-massage-book/ ] It’s been a passion of mine for over 20 years. Every week of every year, I either teach a workshop, council students, write books and blogs, produce videos, manage…