Whole dog approach

We go beyond just applying massage techniques to your dog. Our approach is to consider the whole dog and what is going on with them. Then we can discuss with you how various issues could be addressed. Our 20+ years of study in the holistic health field enable us to bring a comprehensive approach to your dog. Our training goes beyond dog anatomy, physiology, structure and movement, massage techniques and orthopedic pathology to include ongoing studies in canine nutrition, holistic approaches to canine healthcare, positive training methods, bodywork and energy balancing techniques.

We can suggest additional animal professionals for you to work with from our extensive network of holistic veterinarians, animal chiropractors, positive trainers, animal behavior consultants, animal communicators, specialty pet stores and nutritional consultants. Our goal is for your dog to achieve optimal well being on all levels, resulting in a long, happy and healthy life.

More than just massage

We enhance the effectiveness of massage sessions by incorporating energy balancing techniques
that we have been professionally trained in including:

• Therapeutic Touch, developed by nurse Dolores Krieger
• Reiki, a Japanese healing technique
• ARCH, a healing technique based on Hawaiian shamanism

Dogs tend to be more sensitive than humans to massage work and respond better if the practitioner can tune into what is going on with them intuitively. Because of our extensive training in energy work and our own sensitivity to bodywork, we can sense how your dog is responding to the session and adjust our technique accordingly. Dogs may sometimes have trouble tolerating massage, in which case we can work entirely with energy balancing techniques.

Benefits of massage include

• Maintains wellness
• Reduces pain and soreness
• Promotes recovery from an injury or surgery
• Improves gait and structure
• Boosts the immune system
• Assists with the elimination of wastes and toxins
• Relives stress and anxiety
• Aids healing of soft tissue injuries
• Promotes healthy skin and coat
• Dilates blood vessels, improving circulation and oxygenation to tissues
• Facilitates removal of toxic wastes from body
• Increases blood supply and nutrition to tissues, without adding to load of lactic acid (which is produced by exercise)
• Relaxes muscle spasms and relieves tension
• Improves muscle tone and helps compensate for lack of movement due to injury, illness or age
• Interrupts muscle habitual "holding patterns", which may help reverse chronic conditions
• Improves circulation and nutrition of joints
• Helps maintain flexibility and enhance range-of-motion of joints
• Stimulates lymphatic system, which enhances immune response
• Improves pliability of connective tissues, helping prevent and break down adhesions
• Helps accelerate the repair process with bone fractures by encouraging retention of chemical compounds necessary for tissue repair

Note: These benefits have been shown in humans. Massage is thought to do the same in dogs but it has not yet been proven. 

Additional resources

If you need assistance beyond our area of expertise, we can recommend other resources from our network of professional contacts including:

• Holistic veterinarians
• Animal chiropractors
• Nutrition experts
• Natural pet stores
• Animal communicators
• Pet sitters
• Websites
• Books
• Videos

We currently are not available for dog massage appointments. We recommend contacting Cindy Lloyd of Natural Pet who is trained in canine and equine massage as well as animal acupressure. If Cindy is not conveniently located for you, look on our member list for the Colorado Association of Animal Massage & Bodywork or go to the member list for the International Association of Animal Massage & Bodywork, and then choose the state where you are located.