The Value of Therapeutic Pet Massage for Dogs

Our pets enjoy the relaxation experienced by being touched by hands too. There are situations where our pets can benefit from the trained hands of a therapeutic massage person who has been specially trained in pet massage. Dogs who are elderly or who do not receive enough daily exercise can benefit from massage.

Dogs are emotional creatures ask any dog lover how Fido reacts when they return home after fido has been left home alone for a few hours. Dogs not only have emotions they have thoughts too. They experience pain, loneliness and anxiety just like their humans do. Their past experiences can leave them with emotional issues that the touch of massage therapy can relieve. Those who are deprived of touch during their puppyhoods can have physical and emotional development issues. They can have reduced physical bodies, suffer from reduced socialization skills and depressed immune systems. A puppy deprived of touch will act and move in ways that are structured around trying to survive.

Touch gives a dog the feeling of affection and reassurance necessary for healthy living. Touch gives a dog the ability to process socialization, support and balance.

Pet massage stimulates circulation, enhances flexibility and can improve the dog's metabolic efficiency. The pushing and pulling of skin and muscles and the moving around of limbs in a passive range of motion way is a form of exercise. It develops the dog's muscle tone, increases the depth and rate of his respiration and gives him emotional benefits too.

Dogs who receive too little exercise can have more difficulty breathing because the food they eat turns to fat that puts a strain on their heart and joints. When a dog exercises they not only burn calories they increase their respiration rate that allows them to expel dust and chemicals they inhale in the air they breathe. The movement they experience during exercise and massage improves their large joint movement and increases fluid to tissue for their extremities, heart and lymphatic (immune system).

Dogs who are sedentary during most of their days really need pet massage to improve their health, especially joint movement and respiratory rates. Massage moves body parts that benefit older dogs and those who do not get enough exercise because they are indoor, stay-at-home dogs.

The humans who love and care for their dogs can learn therapeutic massage therapy. Many books and Websites provide classes and instructional manuals that teach how to perform massage on pets. Massage therapy is an excellent way to help a newly adoptive pet bond with their human companion, when applied by this same human. Dogs who have been adopted through shelters are especially prone to having suffered traumatic events such as abandonment, and physical or mental/emotional abuse. These dogs will respond positively to the benefits of pet massage. Massage not only has emotional and physical benefits for the dog, but for the person massaging as well. Knowing that you are having a positive, health promoting affect on an animal can really give you a sense of achievement.