The Life of a Canine Massage Practitioner
The Life of a Canine Massage Practitioner
- Wake up.
- Think about massaging dogs.
- Massage dogs.
- Do something that supports your dog massage practice.
- Go to sleep.
- Repeat.
All dogs love and appreciate whatever massage you give them. Your best efforts are good enough for them. Fortunately for them, your best, when you practice, can be better.
When I completed massage school (for people) I thought my massage was good. And it was, for the level of experience I had. 50 massage clients later, I looked back and realized how much more I was able to do. 50 sessions after that, my massages only vaguely resembled what I had been taught in school. They had become my own. As distinct as my handwriting.
With experience -time in the saddle- I gained trust, comfort, confidence, and the ability to more intuitively scan and address my clients harder to discover issues.
My practice moves through plateaus. When the skills I know become second nature, and this takes time and practice, I can then expand on them.
The way I learn is by attending workshops. That’s where I get additional training. At a workshop last month I learned that for re-education of motor skills (muscle memory) it takes 1000 – 10,000 repetitions. These are numbers that are achieved over years, not days.
So even though when I do a massage skill correctly for the first time I say to myself, “Okay, I’ve got this,” I also recognize that I will get better at it with time and lots of practice. Eventually, it’ll be so integrated that it’ll be a natural go-to in my repertoire.
You are massaging your dog or you are already in business massaging dogs. That’s great. Your best is already pretty good. Imagine how much better-more effective-your best will be with more practice and more training.
I invite you to invest in your future and the future of your dogs. Learn the PetMassage approach to canine massage. There are still openings in:
The PetMassage Foundation Level
The PetMassage Aquatic Canine Massage.
The PetMassage Refresher:
If you’ve already completed the PetMassage Foundation Level, you can repeat it for just $100. We call it the Refresher, and it includes only the hands-on portion; no tests, no documentations of sessions, no videos, and no research papers.
Discover more about PetMassage workshops at www.petmassage.com