The Flew

The Flew

Signs And Signals Of Stress In Dogs

There are overt signs and signals that we’ve learned to look for in dogs to determine the level of stress in their lives. We look at their top line to see if the hackles over the withers are flat or raised. We look at the eyes, the ears, the nose, and the tongue. We assess respiration rate. We look at how the dog is standing: is the weight back over his haunches or is the weight forward? This tells us whether he is settled or if we need to prepare to catch him should he lurch forward. Here’s another cue. Pay attention to the flew. 

Dog Lips

The flew is a fancy name for the dogs lips. It includes the skin that hangs down over the muzzle. It’s the skin flapping in the breeze when our dogs heads are out the windows of our cars. 

At a recent PetMassage Canine Massage workshop I noticed some peculiar behavior in some of the dogs. I saw it in the ones who were anxious when they were initially introduced to the warm water pool. The flews of their cheeks puffed out and pulsed; accompanied with a moderate bulging of their eyes. I had not really noticed this before. So, for the next couple of weeks, while driving around in my car, I closed my mouth, forced the air from around my tongue to in front of my teeth, until my upper lip puffed out, and considered the implications. Why, what, how, when, who? 

Acupressure Zones In Fascia

The first thing I noticed was the lip bubble created pressure up against the underside of my nose. We know from PetMassage and canine acupressure that there are a lot of sensitive areas around the base and sides of the nose. In fact, in our workshops we teach that acupressure points on the surface of the body are always in valleys. The more obvious they are, the more they are significant. There are several shallow valleys around my nose; and the valleys on and around dogs noses are deep and powerful. The deep slits on the sides of the nostrils appear to me as deep crevices. These are significant points that affect the sinuses and the balance and movement of body fluids.

I noticed when I puffed out my upper lip I increased pressure on, or stimulated, the fascia around my nose; fascia with acupoints in it. I can readily project how this stimulation might be affecting my metabolism and the energy flow throughout my entire body.

The well documented GV-27, AKA the Cardiac Point, is in the little vertical groove beneath the nose.  Stimulating GV-27 can help dogs that are in high levels of stress. Just behind it (the philtrum) is the frenulum, that vertical ridge of the thick skin on the inside of the inner lip. This is part of the connecting point pathway – a transition zone — between the Conception Vessel Yin energy and the Yang, Governing Vessel. 

Visualize the Chi flow through the last stage of the Conception Vessel meridian. Chi moves through the tip of the tongue, into the Jacobson’s Organ on the roof of the palate behind the front teeth, then through the gingival gap between the front teeth, through the frenulum and lip fascia philtrum where it meets the Governing Vessel meridian.

Limbic System

I have a mustache; facial hair, which in dog anatomy would mean guard hairs. When my lip expands, the skin space between the hairs on the upper lip, increases. The lips are important information gatherer’s for the Limbic System, our emotional brain. By increasing the surface area between touch receptors on the skin, we gather more information about our surroundings. The more we know, the safer we’ll be. 

The dogs in the pool had expanded the surface area of their flews to assess their safety. Their little cheeks pulsed the warm vapors into their noses. After a few minutes in the water, their flews quieted and relaxed. They no longer needed to find out if they were safe or not. They were safe. They acknowledged their sense of relief using this unconscious body language.

Nasal Stress Receptors

When the upper lip is pressed up against the nostrils it changes the shapes of the nares, the openings to the nostrils. It squeezes the stress-aroma receptors within the turbinates of the nostrils. We know there are different layers of information that we store in our minds and bodies. The layers of aromas for dogs might be like the layers of memories or physical conditions. There’s the superficial, the acute, and the chronic.

3 Levels of Awareness

What do dogs notice? There are the things that are always there, like familiar background noise. The scent of your carpet, the moss on the deck, the dried salt on your driveway, the upholstery in your car. There are the aromas that are expected to be there, like the comfortable scent of your behind where you sit on the sofa, the spot where you always place his food bowl, residual wall paint aromas, lingering cooking aromas, the smell of growing plants. And, there are the things that call out for action. Unnatural or strange aromas, environments, and situations that would trigger the Flee or Fight response.

When a dog gets on a massage table for the first time, he might leave a pattern of oily paw prints. Sweaty paws, like sweaty palms, shows that he is anxious. He’s nervous, scared, and stressed. Soon he becomes more comfortable and walks about without leaving any visible tracks at all. This is visual evidence of a dog experiencing and/or resolving stress.  Flew movement changes are similar.

When I force a greater pressure of air into the space between my teeth and cheek, especially around the sides, it alters the pressure in my ears. That has further implications.

A couple of days ago I was having a conversation with my brother. When I posed a question for which there he had no ready response, he instinctively puffed out his upper lip and his eyes bulged slightly. It was consistent with the dog behavior I’d seen! His body language had clearly said, “I’m not sure. This needs more consideration. I’ll get back to you on that.” 

Observe dogs flews as they are receiving PetMassage. The movements and shape of the flews can tell us what the dog is communicating to us about his health, wellness, and peace of mind. And if you don’t get the “what,” at the very least, you know “that” he is communicating about something.