Craniosacral Therapy, Massage or anything I can do at home for Injured Dog

[MelissaC]

Hello-

I have a six year old golden retriever mix that after an initial injury, keeps reinjuring herself while playing toys. You probably say stop playing toys then LOL, and sadly I have reduced the amount dramatically, plus even when she wants too she can't go for long periods anymore and it is heartbreaking. This gal loves her ball and we can only play for a fraction of the time she did a year ago. I do use cold laser and chiropractic, but they are getting to feel a bit like a band-aid and the expense is adding up. I was wondering if craniosacral therapy, massage or anything where I could work on keeping her muscles loose after we play or even just on a daily basis, might offer us some options for healing and enjoyment. I would appreciate any input.

Thank you,

Missy

@beccak

 

[Dr. Christina]

Missy, there are certainly so many things that you can do at home.
Good for you to recognize that your choices so far, and they are good ones, are merely palliating. We spoke about that a bit on the Empower Hour this week, and November 2020, and other times too. Put "evaluating response" in the search box to see them all.

Tellington T touch, Reiki, Eden Energy medicine, acupressure, flower essences, at home EMF like Assisi Loop, fresh food diet, supplements can all help. We have done empower hours on all of these, also.

While craniosacral may help, you would again need to pay a professional, so I think for the deepest and most likely help, you may want to consult with a veterinary homeopath. As a member, you can become a client of Dr. Jeff ( How Do I Become a New Client of Dr. Jeff Feinman's Homeopathic Veterinary Practice in Connecticut?) who can consult by phone, or you can use one of your member benefit 15 min coaching calls with me or Dr. Jeff to choose another phone call homeopath if there is not one where you live.

Dr. Christina

 

[MelissaC]

Thank you Dr. Christina! I will start looking into all of the modalities you mentioned. After my conversation with Jen, I realized I had forgotten about a great many tools that may be of benefit here.

Thank you for helping me with the search term too, that will make things a lot smoother!!

All my best,

Missy

 

[beccak]

Hi Missy,
I am so sorry to hear your Golden Girl is having problems. BUT, I agree with you, there are still more things you can do to help!
I am a small animal CranioSacral Therapist and, obviously, a huge proponent of CST!!
I was very spoiled years ago when my first homeopathic veterinarian, Dr Susan Beal, was/is an incredible CST therapist/instructor. During that time Dr Beal showed me the ability our animals have to self correct/heal through homeopathy and CST.
Years later, when physical distance prevented my animals from seeing Dr Beal, I had a similar situation to yours. My girl, Fina (GSD 6yrs), had a significant limp any time she would hold something in her mouth. I started Fina with my human CST therapist (who is beyond wonderful!), then to a veterinarian chiropractor and lastly to an allopathic vet. Fina's limp continued to get worse.
Having previously learned the animals ability to self correct and a strong sense that Fina could self correct what was going on, I sought the small animal workshops so I could help her. After attending the first of two workshops, Fina did some amazing work and was back to full life.
I write this, not to say you have to go through the CST workshops (although it is very cool and I highly recommend it to everyone!), but to stress that it is helpful when the person working with your dog has a very strong understanding (not just love) of dogs. And, to encourage you to seek out CST for your Girl. I am not saying it will fix everything, but I do believe it will help.

I do strongly believe that any touch full of positive power, love and healing intentions is more powerful than we will ever understand.

Keep doing your best, Missy!

tagging @LisaP as she is familiar with the results of CST with her dogs.

Becca

 

[MelissaC]

I had a GSD too, they are great!

I don't mind taking classes. I will start looking on YouTube for more information about CST. Would you share how this works differently then say massage? And are there any simple actions I could apply now while I learn? I will mention that she had some rapid breathing issues for a while that have calmed a bit, but if her front end gets tight it does affect her breathing--it's more than rapid breathing for pain, it's like she cant get a deep breath.

Thank you for replying and anything you can offer.

Missy

 

[beccak]

Hi Missy,
Sorry for the delay getting back to you.
Here are two videos that, I think, do a nice job answering your questions.

Workshops are offered through The Upledger Institute. You would need to start with CS1 to be able to move on to the small animal workshops. This is the path I took.
Upledger is offering a number of virtual workshops during the pandemic. Unfortunately there are no small animal workshops scheduled at this time.

CranioSacral Therapy 1 Hybrid Virtual and In-Person (CS1)

shop.iahe.com

I will post in a fb group to see if there are any small animal therapists in your area.

I hope this answers your questions, please be sure to ask if they do not or if you have more questions.

Becca

 

[MelissaC]

Becca,

Thank you very much! I can see why I would need classes.

I appreciate all of your help!

Happy New Year!!

Missy

 

[LisaP]

Hi Missy,

I am so sorry to hear that your pup is having such a hard time. I'm chiming in here because I really can not tell enough people about the amazing benefits of CST. Becca (@beccak) truly gave me another year with my Pyr. I am convinced that without her help and her connection to him, we would have lost him much earlier. As a puppy he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and they told us he would have problems as he got older. At the time we started CST, he was a 125lb 12 year old Pyrenees. He was getting chiropractic work done, laser therapy, we used the Assisi loop, I bought a TENS unit, the list goes on, but I can honestly tell you that none of the treatments listed above resulted in the visible positive changes that I saw with Becca and CST. Their connection was amazing to watch and warmed my heart every time.

One other short story, we also have a German Shepherd/Lab mix, Abby. She was struggling a bit to lie down and she would have an occasional limp. I called Becca to see if she could help her. We had to lift Abby onto the table. Becca worked with her for a few minutes then she gave her a break. We helped her off the table and she walked around. When Becca was ready to work with her again, I motioned for Abby to get on the table and she jumped up on her own!

I wish you the best of luck with your Golden. I can assure you, you won't be disappointed with CST.

Lisa

 

[MelissaC]

Hi Lisa,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience! It makes it much easier to step into a new therapy option.

Happy New Year!

Missy