Clio - Opening up her World

When I first met Clio she hadn’t been outside for a walk in almost two years; she refused to leave the house.  She hated the car, and couldn’t climb stairs; her world had shrunk to the ground floor of her home and the back garden.

A little bit about Clio; hopes and dreams.

Clio is a 14-year-old Lhasa Apso who lives with Lesley and family, including her partner in crime Meg, another Lhasa.  Clio has a sweet nature and the most beautiful smile. 

Lesley contacted me, a Clinical Canine Massage Therapist, on recommendation from Buchan Vets.  Clio’s vet and Lesley understood the importance of making Clio as comfortable as possible in her senior years, including trying not to become reliant on conventional medication.  An increasing number of owners are now looking for complementary therapies such as massage, hydrotherapy or acupuncture because they are concerned about the side-affects for their dogs living on long term non-steroidal medication prescribed for pain.

Clio was diagnosed with reduced range of motion in both hips with suspected arthritis and spondylosis with lumbar muscle spasms.  It is essential to obtain veterinary consent when undertaking Clinical Canine Massage Therapy, Veterinary Act 1966 & Veterinary Exemption Order 2015.  Also the owner may not be aware of any contraindications. Obtaining additional information from the vet will highlight any pre-existing medical conditions; Clio has a heart murmur.  Clio’s heart murmur affected how massage treatment was introduced, therefore it was important to know this.

After a long chat with Lesley, it was decided that the use of facilitated stretch would be the best approach for Clio; this being a gentle introduction to massage and wouldn’t put undue pressure on her heart.  

Lesley’s greatest wish was that Clio would want to go for a walk again.  She hoped that Clio could be comfortable enough to be taken on family holidays in the motorhome and nobody had to be left at home to look after Clio; Lesley wanted Clio’s world to expand and give her a greater quality to her life.

Clinical Canine Massage Therapy

Unsurprisingly, when I first met Clio, I had to gain her trust.  She’s a little poppet whose quality of life and confidence had become limited, she was initially unsure of me coming into her home and needing to get close enough to her in order to massage her.   

Because Clio hadn’t had much exercise for a while some of her muscles had atrophied (reduced in size).  Her fascia was no longer lubricated and was, instead sticky and tight.  Fascia is found throughout the body, between muscles, muscle fibres, under the skin, around nerves; it is like an amazing cobweb that keeps everything moving smoothly against each other.  If the fascia becomes sticky it means the muscles underneath are unable to move properly.  Clio had painful trigger points, areas of irritable fascia, behind both her forelimbs and in front of her hind limbs, and strains in her neck just in front of the forelimbs and the gluteals.  Poor Clio was sore.

Trust is very important between the dog and the therapist.  Clinical Canine Massage Therapists work into muscle, tendons and fascia to reduce pain, increase movement and maintain and improve quality of life.  Sometimes what we do can be nippy for the dog.  

However, Clio quickly realised what was going on and she relaxed which allowed me to complete a limited facilitated stretch routine during our first session.

After just one session…

Three sessions, over three weeks, should show results, however because every dog is different timescales will vary. 

Lesley opened the door to me for the second session and excitedly informed me that Clio had been going up and down the stairs all week; I even received a demonstration!  The loosening of muscle and fascia during facilitated stretch the week before had perked Clio up and quite quickly she was undertaking activities that she hadn’t achieved in a long time.

Over the next couple of sessions Lesley and I spoke about how we would get Clio to go out for walks again and if she would ever manage to go on holiday.  Due to Lesley’s perseverance Clio did indeed start going on walks, not long ones, but enough to start increasing muscle mass.  This improved her quality of life allowing her to experience the smells and enjoyment of being outside.  With patience and understanding Clio also went on her first holiday in the motorhome.

And she was off…

After completing the initial first three sessions Lesley was so happy with Clio’s new found love of life that she asked me to continue seeing Clio on a fortnightly basis.  This allowed me to monitor Clio and help to retain her soft tissues in as good a condition as is possible; Clio is 14, unfortunately massage cannot make an old dog young but it can help to maintain her mobility and enjoyment of life.

Today Clio enjoys two short walks a day, goes on holiday in the motorhome and has begun to enjoy a car ride to the local beach.  She continues to go, unaided up and down the stairs and retains the position of chief poppet and much-loved girl of the family.

Lesley says: “Canine massage has given Clio back her life.  She’s gone from being a little dog who hardly moved to taking regular walks, running up and down stairs, following me everywhere and generally acting like a much younger dog.  Every dog who needs it should have access to massage, the results I’ve seen have been amazing.”

Clio is a darling who has, at the age of 14 begun to experience the world beyond her front door again.  Thank you Lesley for allowing me to help Clio regain some quality back into her life, it has been a privilege.