Welcome back to the Senior Dog Digest from Grey Whiskers — In this week’s issue here’s what we are sniffing out

• Understanding the power of massage

• Resources

How pet massage makes an impact

Many of you know that I was a pet massage practitioner for years before I started grooming senior dogs. Everything I learned, practiced, and taught helped me develop the specific skills to work with your elderly dogs. I massaged dogs of all ages, but my specialty was seniors. Nothing was more satisfying than watching an old, stiff, achy dog settle into massage and enjoy it. They would give little sighs and yawns of contentment, and then fall asleep, sometimes even snoring. After the massage, my clients told me their dogs felt and acted so much younger. They woke up with more energy, fewer aches and pains, brighter eyes, better appetites, and more interest in play and exercise. Some people even told me their 15-year-old dogs bounced around like puppies!

Here’s the skinny on the technical value of massage

Massage supports improved overall comfort for aging dogs by reducing stiffness and restriction in both muscles and joints, improving circulation and blood flow to extremities, supporting immunity, and healthy skin and coat. Massage can increase energy levels, improve coordination and proprioception, soothe anxiety, promote better rest for dogs who have dementia and pace a lot, and improve and support digestion/appetite for those who need it. That’s a lot of benefits, and I only listed the most common ones!

The Story of Bayou

Bayou was one of my favorite guys to massage. Bayou was a Catahoula leopard dog who had a hind leg removed after a battle with sarcoma when he was 8. As he got older, he suffered from strains in his shoulder and soreness in his lower back and remaining back leg. This was probably a result of a determined puppyish spirit in an aging body, and of course, related to the extra work his front end did to make up for the missing leg. His mom tried laser therapy, physical therapy, and acupuncture. She didn’t see much difference with most of the therapies, and he didn’t care for acupuncture (which was a therapy that should have worked really well for him given his issues). But massage… that was just his sweet spot. On our massage days, he would greet me happily at the door and then immediately run to lay down on his bed. That was not normal Bayou behavior with visitors, so we knew he loved his massages. I would feel his body all over, finding areas of tension, warmth, stiffness, and sensitivity, and then make my plan and go to work. Bayou had a lot of different than normal muscle tension patterns in his shoulders, lower back, and remaining legs - things that were compensation for his missing leg. I usually focused on reducing muscle tension related to that, addressing joint pain and stiffness in his remaining legs, and supporting circulation and lymph drainage. If he needed something different, we did that. He would let me know if he didn’t like something by getting up and moving to another bed, or gently nudging my hand and looking at me with his big sweet eyes.

He communicated with me really well, and we developed a routine that kept him feeling as comfortable as possible while he was aging. He would let me massage him for 40-60 minutes, depending on how he was feeling. Everything I did was at his pace, with his input, and at his comfort level. Some days he lost patience with me sooner, especially as he got older, but he always felt better afterward. His family told me that he would get up and down and move more easily, with less awkwardness on his three old, tired legs, and had so much more energy. We planned his massages for every month when he was younger and healthier, 2 weeks when he was starting to show the effects of aging, and every week if he was in a rough spot. Bayou lived to be around 16, which is kind of unheard of in a dog of his size, and for a rescue who had a questionable younger life.

Massage Therapists Doing Great Work

Bayou was a wonderful old guy, and he was just one of many, many dogs I helped with massage. If you’d like to look into massage for your old pups, you might be surprised to see that it can make your senior dog act like a young whippersnapper again!

Here are some fantastic people doing amazing work with seniors.

…and for those who are DIY oriented, you can check out one of my favorite books on the topic:

🐶 Sniffing Out Senior Dog News 📰

🆘 Retired Police Dog Finds and Helps Missing Person While Celebrating His Birthday with a Long Walk

👨‍✈️ Pilots and Paws community honors Seuk Kim, a compassionate advocate for animals in need

Senior Dog Humor 🤣 

How did we do with this week’s newsletter?

• High Paws

• Pooped in the House