According to famed dog trainer
and TV personality Cesar Millan,
whether your canine is an "athlete"
or not, these are the top reasons you
should get your dog a massage:
• Stress and anxiety reduction
• Healing and recovery
• Improved function
• Overall well-being
• Strengthens the human/canine
bond and relationship
Millan says massaging your dog can
"help to rehabilitate, reduce pain and
swelling, heal strains and sprains faster,
and keep scar tissue to a minimum …
A massage [also] can increase your dog's
circulation, decrease blood pressure,
improve lymphatic fluid movement,
strengthen his immune system, aid
The Fluffy
Weekend
Warrior
How Bodywork Benefits
Animal Athletes Too
By Karrie Osborn
For the weekend warrior, a
massage helps both recovery
time and future performance.
If you're taking your favorite
four-legged friend with you on
those weekend adventures,
there's a good chance they could
use some bodywork as well.
Massage offers the same benefits
for the athletic canine as it does for
humans: from muscle recovery to better
flexibility to improved conditioning,
massage helps build peak performance.
16 Body Sense 16 Body Sense
For All Walks of Life
In addition to being a great therapeutic tool for elite animal athletes, including million-dollar racehorses, animal
massage can help critters deal with all sorts of issues, including easing the pain from arthritis, comforting an animal
in grief, providing support during hospice care, assisting in postsurgery rehabilitation, and much more. For an animal
massage therapist near you, go to www.massagetherapy.com or ask your massage therapist for a referral.
digestion, stimulate the kidneys and
liver, and encourage deeper breathing."
1
So, if Fido went with you on
that 10-mile hike this weekend, had
an exhausting round of catching
the Frisbee, or ran along the sandy
coastline by your side, consider
booking a massage for him afterward,
just as you would for yourself.
B
S
Note
1. CesarsWay.com, "Why You Should Give
Your Dog a Massage," accessed June 2018,
www.cesarsway.com/dog-care/muscular-skeletal-
care/Why-you-should-give-your-dog-a-massage.
