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| Holistic Touch Therapy | Improving Life Through Touch August 2005 |
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| Welcome to the first issue of The Power of Touch, the Holistic Touch Therapy Newsletter. Each issue will bring informative articles about massage, acupressure and other topics of interest. Readers are invited to participate. Send a photo of your pet to appear in Zoe's Stars column or share a story and photo of a dog who has experienced positive results with massage and/or acupressure in the Touching Tales column. You are also encouraged to send in questions about massage and acupressure. Please drop me an e-mail and get involved. Sharing benefits our dogs and brings us closer together as a community of animal healers. |
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| in this issue | |||||||||||
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| Massage & Acupressure ~ A Powerful Combo | |||||||||||
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A happy healthy dog moves with grace and balance as he runs and plays. Massage and acupressure are ancient healing modalities that maintain health in the healthy and bring comfort and encourage healing in the ill and injured. Massage uses purposeful touch to balance the body, mind and spirit. In contrast, acupressure has a positive effect on the body, mind and spirit by stimulating specific acupoints to balance Qi, the body's life force energy. These techniques ease muscle and joint soreness, increase circulation, decrease anxiety, treat an assortment of illnesses and injuries, and strengthen the human-animal bond. Both, massage and acupressure, encourage the release of endorphins, the feel-good hormones, that ease pain and kindle joy and contentment.
Read more in my book, Balance Your Dog: Canine Massage, or register for my canine massage and acupressure classes. Let me teach you how to bring relaxation, comfort and healing to your dog and all your canine friends. |
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| Visit my web site to register | |||||||||||
| Canine Quotes | |||||||||||
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| Obesity, Lameness and Length of Life | |||||||||||
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Obesity, one of the most common problems seen by veterinarians, is linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, skeletal problems and shortened life span. Obese animals are also much less tolerant of exercise and usually require more time to recover from surgery or trauma. Two recent studies should make us think twice about how much our dogs are eating each day.
One study examined overweight dogs that limped due to diagnosed osteoarthritis. The dogs were put on diets and lost 11-18% of their initial weight. Following the weight loss, the severity of lameness was significantly decreased. Another study gives even more pause for thought. A group of 48 Labrador Retrievers was divided into dog pairs. From 8 weeks of age until death, one dog in each pair was fed 25% less food than its pair-mate. Annual blood profiles were evaluated and body condition was scored. The control group of dogs had an average body condition score (BCS) between 6 and 7 out of 9. This is considered overweight to heavy but certainly not obese. Food restricted dogs had an average BCS between 4 and 5 which is considered slightly underweight to ideal. However, the median life span (age at which 50% of each group was deceased) was 11.2 years in the control group and 13 years in the food restricted group. That's almost a two year difference! If you can not easily feel your dog's ribs when you run your fingers along his sides, you may want to talk to your vet about a weight loss and exercise program for your friend. Your vet can suggest the proper type and amount of food for your dog. Simple changes like remembering to always measure your dog's food can also help. Estimating food amounts can easily lead to overfeeding. Exercise should begin slowly and stay within the limits of your dog's ability. Don't take him out to run a mile if he has been perfecting becoming a couch potato. And remember, older friends have older muscles, joints and hearts. All of that considered, you may be surprised at the results an appropriate diet and a couple of very short walks each day can make. Adding to our pets' quality and length of life is well worth the effort. |
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| Bare Bone Facts | |||||||||||
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| Touching Tales ~ Blaze's Story | |||||||||||
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Soon after receiving my certificate in Canine Massage from Sue Furman of Holistic Touch therapy, I got a call regarding Blaze, a three-year-old Golden Retriever, who had undergone surgery on his right rear femur after being struck by a car. A metal plate was set between the two broken pieces of the femur, holding the compound fracture in place in hope the femur would grow back together.At my first session, Blaze was not using his right rear leg at all and was in a lot of pain that affected him physically and emotioanlly. The muscles in his leg were beginning to atrophy, the plate seemed to be protruding at each end, and severe scar tissue made his range of motion almost nil. I could see my work was cut out for me and was very excited at the propect of this first real case. I began working on Blaze twice each day in half-hour seessions to break down the scar tissue and increase range of motion. Blaze was very apprehensive at first, due to his pain, but gentle effleurage before and after deeper, more intensive work, calmed him into a deep state of relaxation. He really began to respond to the massage. Within weeks, Blaze was beginning to use his leg, putting more and more weight on it each day, and his range of motion increased each week and his mental state improved. Blaze still has a way to go, but the improvement I've seen is remarkable! Without knowing, it'd be difficult to differentiate the injured leg from the healthy leg, as his muscle mass is close to 100 percent. He's using his leg with each step and actually has a smile on his face every time I arrive for his weekly massage sessions. In fact, he gets so excited, that he grabs a toy out of his toy basket before coming to greet me. Together with the knowledge I gained from Sue Furman and the intensive massage experience with Blaze, I know massage to be beneficial in ways I never could've imagined. The physical and mental improvements I've seen in Blaze are nothing less than extraordinary. Thank you, Sue, for the guidance and knowledge, Blaze's owners for the opportunity and belief, and Blaze for his patience, understanding, gentle soul and acceptance of me and massage. Blaze's Story was written by Ginger Ferries and excerpted from Sue's book, Balance Your Dog: Canine Massage. Please share your Touching Tale of massage or acupressure success by sending it to Sue. |
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| Upcoming Massage & Acupressure Classes | |||||||||||
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The last 2005 canine classes are upon us! Register now for:
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