Canine Therapy

How to best start this blog? 

Canine myofunctional therapy is all about the muscles of the dog. I see dogs that have hip displaysia, sprains, strains, arthritis and dogs who have seizures. What many don't realize is when I see a dog that has a symptom, not only do i treat the area but the whole body also gets the treatment. You see, when one part is in pain, the rest of the body will compensate which means stress and strain on the other part of the body muscle which could lead to injuries if nothing is done about it. So when ever I start my treatment, I pay attention to the muscles, the fascia, the hair follicles of the dog, the gait of a dog and I know when a dog has over used his front legs, or his back legs by feeling the muscles. Many think that it's simple, just massage the dog, yes i agree general massages you can get away with it but if you were to go deeper and don't know what you are doing, you may get bitten and you may even injure your dog further causing him more pain. It's like going to a massage place and having an inexperience person massage your body and coming out battered and bruised. I know I have done that before. Now I only go to a person who is qualified and who would not abuse my body. The philosophy of no pain no gain just doesn't work sometimes. 

For dogs, if they are in pain, they will not hesitate to warn you, by growling and if you ignore it, they will bite. My treatment does not necessarily mean they won't feel pain, they will fell it depending on how severe they're condition are but the difference is this, I pay attention to their behaviour, what they tell me and adjust accordingly. I can't tell the dog "No Pain No Gain"..they will just inflict the pain on me! :D 

As an experienced canine myofunctional therapist, i've learned to look out for signs from the dogs through their eyes, their character, trusting my hands when I treat them. I've seen hyper dogs when I start therapy that calms down at the end of the therapy and sleeps. Trust with myself and the dog is very crucial and at the end when the dog feels relax and happy and well he will wag his tail the next time he sees me. Now that is reward in my eyes. 

My dog after therapy session happily sleeping away.

May!

May is here! How fast time flies. The election is over and the cries of foul play on the results are on everyone's lips. The race card was played by the government for losing most of the people's votes. How far have we come..?! Apparently, we haven't progressed as much as we would like to believe. Yes new buildings come up, condominiums, high end apartments, huge houses but when one's thought process does not evolve, we have not gone very far at all. When responsibility is being thrown around and no accountability for the action is the general theme of our society today.

The time leading up to the general election, I have felt the energy. The highly charged wanting for change energy. The people's need for change. So much so that everyday when i wake up, I'm tired. I do not get enough rest. I felt really drain. After the election, there was a sense of pride, relief and worry. I didn't feel so drained as I've learned to protect myself. I was relief that the election is over, and saddened by the result. The struggles of our country still continues to fight for fair result.

A few days ago, with all the stress going around the country, I stepped into the garden. There were my two big dogs, the boxer and rottweiler who was playing tug of war on a toy. It was such joy to see them play and for a minute or so, all the worries just melted away. Watching them play with such candor just made me forget the going ons today. Look at those faces and tell me you don't agree with me.

WALKIES!!

Shoes! Shoes! Shoes! How often do you walk your dog or dogs? Once a day, twice a day, three times a day or none at all? What shoes do you wear to walk your dogs? Like the ones above which is very practical and comfortable, a pair of flip flops or in malaysia we call in slippers, a pair of heels, very impractical or none at all? Well, I'm not here to talk about shoes but about walking your dogs. You may think that having a small dog, she or he does not need any exercise because they get enough exercise running around the condo unit. How wrong you are. Dogs like a change of environment. They need the exercise for their physical health as well as for their mind. Yes you heard me right, their mind. The brain is a muscle too. It needs stimulation, how they get that is by sniffing the grass, playing with their friends and even a new scenery. You see, when the muscle do not get exercised, it will waste away and in the case of the brain not being exercised, the dogs will develop dementia just like a human would. Not many people think about the brain as a muscle hence there are many dogs who gets dementia early in their life. So why not give your dog a better way of living and for yourself too. Walk him / her, exercise not only the physical muscles in the body for the both of you but also the brain muscle. Hopefully in sensible shoes!! :D 

Animal Communication Workshop

2 DAY WORKSHOP

Finally I've decided to hold my first ever workshop on animal communication. It will be held on the 20-21 April 2013 @ the Happydogz Holistic Centre, 110 Jalan Terasek 2, Bangsar. The two day workshop is aimed at opening up your ability to communicate to your pets. To understand why your pets behave the way they do. It will develop a closer bond between you and your pets.  It will be a full 2 days.
The workshop consist of:

Grounding

Meditation

Protecting yourself

Communicating with your past animals

Finding lost animals


Energy Exchange for the workshop: RM700 (payment before 10th April 2013) Thereafter RM850.

So if you are interested in participating in the workshop, call me on 016-3940968 or email me @
irenefrancine@happydogz.com.my

Canine Myofunctional Therapy

With a blink of an eye, I realized that I've been a therapist for dogs for 5 years and yet my profession as a canine therapist is undervalued and looked upon as new. I admit that while I haven't done much to advertise, what I do, on the main stream. I set up booths during SPCA events or any other doggy events that others happen to have. I sell holistic products to bring awareness to those who owns dogs and try to raise the care of their dogs and in turn create a healthier dogs. However, this is a slow endeavour. Malaysians aren't very perceptive to change just yet. I stand corrected, a majority of Malaysians are slow to take on to the changes in animal care. In this day and age, it is no longer acceptable to just keep your dog outdoors, ignore it for hours and just feed it once a day. It is no longer acceptable and it is frowned upon to chain your dog up for hours or keep him or her in a cage! It is considered as animal cruelty. In my years growing up in Malaysia, I have seen changes in how dog owners care for their dogs but alas not everyone treats their dogs as part of the family.

Dogs are very much a part of the family. They crave attention and love just like a child. Therapy is also part of what the dog needs because as we 'humanize' our dogs, they do not live in their natural environment anymore. They crave touch and in the wild they will massage themselves by rubbing on a bark of a tree. These days, with animals living in condominiums, there aren't many trees they can massage themselves on to create fresh oxygen in their body.

Muscle therapy helps in keeping the animal's muscle supple and prevent muscle injury. In fact one treatment you can actually see the difference in your dog and the way he / she walks. I have a client which have been ongoing since 2008 which was diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy - early stages of spinal degeneration. The first time I treated her, a miniature pinscher, named Eppy fell into a deep sleep for hours. The owner was so worried she called me. I assured her that it was normal and that her body was repairing itself. Eppy used to suffer from spasms where her muscles would stiffen and she wouldn't be able to move during her attacks. She would just stand for 10 minutes or so during her attacks. The result, her muscles were very stiff and hard. She would limp and she couldn't lift her head. It was very painful for her. After a few treatments, her spasms lessen and in time her treatment was reduced from once a week to once every two weeks to once a month. After 6 months of treating Eppy's attacks lessen. In 2011 she had mild attacks. Today after 5 years of treatment, she has had no spasm. Her last attack was in 2011. Today she's a happy little girl, she greets me with her monthly 'bark' (she's actually scolding me because I don't see her as often these days which I don't mind). When I treat her, she just sits in her bed quietly and falls asleep. A dog knows when something good is happening in his / her body. Her muscles are back to normal and she can now lift her head. Her owner is very happy on her progress. She has maintained a monthly therapy so that Eppy's attacks never occurs again. Eppy was also said to not live a long. She was 6 years old when I started treating her. Today Eppy is 11 years old and going strong. I am quite happy to see her up and about and her progress after her treatment.

This photo was taken by my client recently on me treating her dog at my holistic centre in Bangsar. She has hip dysplasia and her gait was a little bit off. After this treatment, she had a bounce in her walk and was feeling quite happy. Look at her face during treatment. She looks so content and happy.

So why not give it a try? Your dog may not necessarily have any ailments, start early when they are healthy. Eventhough you may not see the obvious result on a healthy dog, at least you know they are in good hands and will have a healthy life. You know the saying, prevention is better than cure.

Dog training

Being a canine therapist, I'm constantly being asked, how to house train pups. I'm a therapist not a trainer but I understand where they are coming from. I've had dogs all my life. Honestly, I cannot remember how I potty train my dogs. The most recent memory I have was to lay down newspaper all over in the kitchen then as the pup chooses her / his spot to pee, slowly remove the paper one by one day by day. It did work. Then eventually I moved the pup into the toilet, bought a pee pad and she just went there.

I must admit, it is easier when there is another older dog around the house when bringing home a new puppy. When we adopted our poogle, she was trained to pee on the rug. I don't understand why people teach their pups to pee on the rug because we have lots of rug in the house and the pup cannot understand which rug to pee! Worse if you have a carpet and they think it's ok to pee on that too! So out came the pee pads. At first she didn't know what she was suppose to do, then she slowly learned that she was suppose to do her business there, big and small, but she still peed on the rugs..what to do, what to do? Now what happened next was quite surprising. We have a 5 year old west highland terrier, male. He has stopped marking the house for 4 years. He only does his business outside, on his walks. I didn't realize this at the time, but this new puppy was observing and learning from him. Within a few months, she stopped doing her business indoors. She would hold her bladder until she got out, she would poo during her walks too! Eventually, the pee pad was made redundant and was kept away.

A year later, we adopted another dog. This time it was a Rottweiler. He was 6 months old when we got him. I admit, it was my husband that trained him. It didn't take him that long to train him. By this point we had moved to a house, with the house came a 10 year old boxer who was a family pet. She was trained to never go out of the house when the gate was opened. This was what the Rottweiler picked up. He's constantly watching the other older dogs and learning new things. He doesn't run out of the gate anymore when we come home. Of course, with learning new things, he also picks up the bad habits from the older dogs as well...they are after all like children. So, we will still need to discipline him not by beating him, but by stern words just like a child.

Ever heard of monkey see monkey do, well it applies to our dogs. :D Having one dog while is brings companionship to the human owner, taking another dog will bring joy to the house. It is true, dogs do keep each other company when the human owner is not around.

Our two adopted dogs and the youngest in our house.

Holistic Centre

For years I've been thinking about opening up a base to provide my canine myofunctional therapy to other canines instead of travelling around by car to the houses and finally, I found a place where I can call 'home'. It is based in Bangsar and it is by appointment only. I state by appointment is because I still want the place to be nice a quiet and the dog I am treating will not get distracted during therapy. If any of you find your dogs limping, twisted the leg, old arthritic or just want to prevent any injury, please do give me a call on +6016-3940968.

I also have retail where I personally handpicked so that it is unique and cannot be found in most stores. Visit my fb page on https://www.facebook.com/HappydogsPetTherapyCentre . I will have my shop open this Saturday from 11-5pm 29/9/2012. So come and browse around and ask me about the therapy. I'll be happy to answer any queries.

Happydogz Holistic Centre
110 Jalan Terasek 2,
Bangsar,
59100 K.L

This is the newest addition to our family Bruno. Now he is 11 months old.

SPCA

Today I had an appointment to visit SPCA to take some photos for the SPCA on the dogs that needed a home. It was difficult like all dog shoots. These dogs were nervous, hyper, sad but all looking for a forever home. One that is loving and be part of the family. That's not asking too much is it? So, as I am setting out venture into pet photography, I decided why not help these poor dogs to find a home. Take great photos of them to increase their chances of adoption. These are two of such photos that I took today. I do hope and pray that these dogs get adopted.

Animal Communication

In the past month, I've had phone calls to find the owner's missing pets. I am surprise that I get these calls as my work does not entail in lost pets. Why don't I do it?
1. I need at least 3 communicators in order for me to start the process
2. The pet can only be located within 24 hours

I do not have the resources. With myself alone doing the process, it will take me 3 days to recover.

People do wonder what is animal communication? Do I talk to them verbally? The answer is yes I talk to animals and no not done verbally. Every communication I have done is through energy work. There are surprises when I 'talk' to the animals. They can reveal the secrets of the owner, the family, the house or sometimes they don't say anything at all. With each communication, my energy dissipates. I have learned to protect myself in order for my energy not to get drained. With the work on lost animals, a bigger energy is needed in order to find the animal. How I do it? I connect to the animal to where he or she is and the message is conveyed that way. A lot more energy is needed when I do so and hence 3 people to share the work load. Finding lost animals is a huge endeavor for the communicator.

Why 24 hours? Again is is because of energy. Each pet has energy within them. So, as each hour passes and each day passes, it will become thinner and thinner which will make it difficult to locate the animal.

So when I decline to perform a 'search' of lost pets, it is not because I do not want to do it, it is because each 'search' for lost pets will be draining for me. It is not to say that I don't take the search for lost pet, I do but only on discretion and depending on circumstances.

Photo Shoot

On Saturday, I had a last minute doggy shoot. I looked at the clouds and prayed that the skies would not open up and bless us with a shower. Besides being therapist, I am also a photographer. There were three little dogs, very young and very energetic. Thankfully, my friend brought her maid to help out. No sooner did we turn our heads, one was off running the other direction! So there was the maid who was chasing after one dog, another got lose and off goes the owner in the other direction for the other dog! But all ended up well. After requesting that the dogs be taken for a VERY long walk to tire them out, it was time for their photography session. It wasn't as easy as sit, stay and click. They could not sit still. So as a photographer, my job is to be patient, clear instruction to the owner and the dogs and be ready to click the camera! The result, a beautiful shot of the three little ones below.

Canine Muscle Therapy

I am constantly being asked, how long is the session? What does it do? The statement I often hear is, "I can do it myself too!" Here's the short version of muscle therapy for dogs.

I can massage my dog too!

Yes I have no doubt that dog owners can massage their own dogs. In fact I'm sure lots of dog owners do. What I do is very different from just massaging the dogs. I work the muscles of the dog. I pinpoint which part of the muscle that needs to be 'unknotted' and sometimes the dog I work with will experience some discomfort but the result is, they normally end up relax and will fall asleep for a long time. I am a qualified therapist for dogs and have studied the musculoskeletal system of the dog. I am aware of the contraindication whereby I cannot and will not provide therapy for the dogs as it may injure them further.

How long does one session last?


For the first session, it may take up to an hour. The first hour I will sit with the owner and find out more about the dog and it's medical history. The diet that the dog is on, if there are any x-rays that I need to be aware of. Then I take a look at the dog's gait / movement. Which way he is swinging or favouring, whether he is lame..etc. Then I will sit and do a session on the dog. As it will be the dog's first session, it may not want to sit still and will fidget. The session may last only 20 minutes with the dog. As I do not believe in forcing the dog to sit still for the session, I will call it a day. The session will take time for the dog to adjust but he/she will feel the benefits from the first session. Eventually, the dog will be begging for a longer session!

Benefits of muscle therapy.


The benefits of muscle therapy for the dogs are many. For healthy dogs, it maintains their optimal level of health so as to ensure that their muscles are healthy and supple. This would in turn lessen any vet visitation. For dogs that do have health issues like hip dysplasia, muscle degeneration, sprain, strains, arthritis, this therapy will benefit them in helping them to loosen up their muscles. Dogs that have hip dysplasia will have better movement for their legs. Please note that this is not a cure for hip dysplasia. This treatment mainly helps the dog to ease the pain that they experience from hip dysplasia and gives them a better movement. Also note that if a dog suffers from hip dysplasia, they will be more reluctant to move or take their walks and their weight will slowly increase which in turn is bad for their hip, hence a vicious cycle. I have seen dogs that just got up after a treatment and started running around because she felt so good! For older dogs that suffers from arthritis, this is when the muscles and joints stiffen, this treatment will allow them to move around. Wouldn't it be great to see your dog being able to run again?
I currently have a dog that I have been treating for 3 years that was suffering from muscle spasms which is caused by muscle degeneration from her neck area. Since I started treatment with her, her spasms have stopped. Now her treatment has been reduced to once a month.

How often does the dog need treatment?


The frequency of treatment will depend on the vitality of the dog. For dogs that have health issues, I advise treatment once a week.  I will then observe the dog for a period of time and see how he / she is progressing. If he / she is improving, the treatment will then be reduced to once every two weeks and eventually once a month. The observation of the owners is also very important as I can keep up to date on it's progress.

What does this therapy do?

Muscle therapy helps in oiling the muscles, create fresh oxygen flow and releases the toxins in the body. When the muscles are in optimum health, there will be less injuries and the dog will have a long and happy life.

What are the charges and where am I based?


Currently I do house calls. The charges for 2012 are as follows:
One time consultation fee RM10
Small dogs     RM65
Medium dogs RM75
Large dogs     RM85
There are packages that I'm offering. Please email me for details on happydogz13@gmail.com
I will also be available on the 12 February 2012 for the lovers and leashes event organized by SPCA at Jaya One from 12-8.