Zippo dog massage: a Lighter Tool
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 use a sledgehammer to nail a picture hook on a wall, although you could; but you might damage the wall. You wouldn’t use an ax to tighten the screw in your glasses, although you could; but, well, you know. An overpowered tool can make the job much more difficult and will probably damage what you are working on.
Deep massage and Lighter massage
When we think about massage, we usually think about deep work. We ask for our therapists to dig their elbows into our tight traps or gluts. Strong thumbs dug into the soles of feet during reflexology can really break up knots in other parts of the body. While we people may beg for the exquisite pain that portends the release of tension; our dogs, not so much. The touch that your dogs need doesn’t require a lot of strength. The pressure to use with canine massage is very light. What makes dog massage significant and gives it life changing effects, are your control of pressure and intentionality.
Nerve communication
The tips of the hairs that you touch on your dog’s coat, as you lightly brush your hand across, transmit what they experience to the rich set of nerves within his skin. These nerves are interconnected to the matrix of fascia which communicates to your dog’s brain and throughout his entire body. The communication relates information about what is being experienced: the amount of pressure, the size, the footprint-shape, the direction, the duration or speed, the warmness or coolness, dryness or dampness, and the energy projected and felt.
Your dog understands and processes the lightest of your touches. Your dog feels a fly landing on his ear. Your dog feels a snow flake land on his eyelashes. Your dog feels a gust of wind ruffling the long hair over his hamstrings. When your hand is resting on his body, your dog can feel when you rock back onto your heels and when you shift your weight from one foot to the other. Your dog is highly observant; your dog’s body, highly responsive. Your dog can feel the weight of your thought.
Modalities using lighter touch
Even your lightest touch has a substantive effect on your dog. The light touch of canine massage is the depth of pressure used with many canine massage and bodywork modalities including cranial sacral work, myofascial work, energy work, healing touch for animals, and Animal Reiki. This light touch is especially effective redirecting Ch’i energy flow through canine acupressure points in TCM.
Reach for the Zippo! Crank up the heat with a lighter touch in your dog massage!