{"id":1011,"date":"2016-11-07T06:06:27","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T06:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/happypetsinfo.com\/blog\/?p=1011"},"modified":"2017-07-17T14:58:42","modified_gmt":"2017-07-17T14:58:42","slug":"benefits-of-canine-massage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happypetsinfo.com\/blog\/benefits-of-canine-massage\/","title":{"rendered":"Benefits of Pet Massage"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Benefits of Pet Massage<\/strong><\/h1>\n

\"happy-pets-blog-pet-massage-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Everyone knows that petting and scratching dogs or cats is one of the great pleasures in life, for the pets and for their devoted people. When we pet and scratch them, we can see much our fur babies enjoy it. Petting, scratching and rubbing are aspects of pet massage<\/em>,\u00a0but they are not the whole story.<\/p>\n

Pet massage is substantially more and profoundly different. To understand, consider the difference between the results of a casual shoulder squeeze and the way your body feels after an hour-long therapeutic massage session.<\/p>\n

Differences between Human and Pet Massage<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

What are some of the differences between the massage for a human and a massage you would give a dog or cat?<\/p>\n

With a dog or cat, the practitioner must stay absolutely present, or else they will get up and walk away. A dog or cat will not tolerate deep pressure that induces pain.<\/p>\n

Dogs and cats live in the moment and do not have the capacity to project into the future that relief may come after enduring discomfort. If it hurts now, it may hurt forever unless the pet does something to make it stop.<\/p>\n

Dogs and cats use a wider, and different, range of senses than our paltry five. They are hardwired to notice sounds, movement and subtle nuances of smells. They are keenly aware of everything that is going on in the room and on the other side of the walls in the next room.<\/p>\n

How to Begin<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
    \n
  • Invite your pet to lie down, but don\u2019t turn this into a wrestling match. Think calm<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • Begin by petting your pet, especially on the spots you know your pet enjoys<\/li>\n
  • Then, as you feel him relax under your hands, begin petting with long strokes of your hands to relax him even more.<\/li>\n
  • When he sighs and stretches out under your hands, you know he\u2019s relaxed.<\/li>\n
  • Begin the massage at his head, gently moving your hands in small circles, and gradually work your way over his entire body.<\/li>\n
  • Use small soft movements with\u00a0cats\u00a0and small\u00a0dogs, and larger movements with bigger dogs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    When you first begin massaging your dog or cat, just do it for one to two minutes; just enough to introduce your pet to it. As you begin to feel more comfortable with what you\u2019re doing and your pet relaxes under your hands, you can increase the time. A small dog or cat massage covering the entire body might take four to five minutes. However, if you have a large dog, eventually it may take ten minutes to massage the entire dog.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n