Touch Time -- Snohomish Massage Therapist Helps Stressed, Injured Pets

Does your dog freak out as you put it in the car for a trip to the veterinarian or the groomer.

Maybe it trembles when it sees you approaching, after it has thoroughly enjoyed itself excavating your favorite rhododendron garden or barking incessantly at a neighbor?

Possibly it's a young fear biter or a geriatric patient suffering from a terminal disease with precious little time remaining.

Well, folks, it's touch time.

Martha Jordan of Snohomish, a licensed body massage practitioner, says it works on pets as well as people. She should know. She has been putting area dogs and cats - now three to four weekly - and their owners at ease for several years.

The bulk of her caseload involves canines suffering from sports injuries, sustained while chasing Frisbees or after competing in field trials, agility and herding meets.

"Our pets are asked to perform some unbelievable feats," she says. "Just being a dog means you are an athlete. But some are suddenly called upon to be weekend athletes after being couch potatoes or lap dogs all week."

This charismatic "body worker" practices a combination of massage, a therapeutic technique called the Tellington TTouch and movement/training exercises.

"The aim is to encourage the body to help itself. I can't make cells grow or create relaxation. But I can help facilitate this when the patient is resilient. The key to effective massage or TTouch is making certain the animal is in a responsive mode."

Many of her clients arrive in a frenetic state. "What you see isn't always what you get," says Jordan. "Some dogs appear totally stressed out. But the root of their problem is sometimes injury." If it's an ailment that requires treatment, Jordan encourages clients to get the pooch to a veterinarian.

Some have been to a practitioner already - even X-rayed - yet a solid diagnosis is lacking. "These are usually soft-tissue injuries which are not reflected by X-rays," she says.

Jordan credits her ability to pinpoint injury and trouble spots to her health-sciences training. She is a wildlife biologist and a former licensed practical nurse.

"A dog's behavior is often a reflection of what's going on in the household," she emphasizes. "They can carry tension in their mouth, muzzle and rear end." Canine stress is produced by a myriad of sources - apprehension over toenail trimming, loud noises such as thunder and lightning, aging, car sickness, arthritis, hip dysplasia, post-surgery blues, fear of contact with other dogs or people, etc.

"Surveys have shown," Jordan says, "longhaired breeds tend to have fewer behavioral problems," she says. "Some of that can be traced to daily or weekly grooming which begins at an early age. These animals learn to accept being touched and manipulated.

"Dogs are social animals just like us. Most of us enjoy being touched or hugged. It helps relieve tension."

While massage tends to address pain or soreness in a localized area, the TTouch, a series of circles are drawn by finger gently over an animal's entire body. Imagine a clock face, beginning at 6, push the skin gently clockwise all the way around past the 6 and finish at 8. The TTouch has been refined by its creator, Linda Tellington-Jones, to 15 hand positions and movements. The technique is effective at displacing physical tensions, allowing emotions to follow. Aggression or neurotic habits tend to dissipate, too, adds Jordan.

The touch can have everlasting effects on the doer as well as the recipient, according to Jordan. The owner becomes more aware and focused when dealing with the animal. The hallmark of this interaction is respect and mutual acceptance between man and animal.

Stress knows no limits, says Jordan. It can appear in a select show dog as well as your basic Heinz 57 mix.

After assessing each case, Jordan provides the owners' knowledge with which to massage their pets daily, anywhere from five to 30 minutes.

"I look at my work as an adjunct to canine behavior training and nutrition. It's a form of holistic healing."

Jordan recalls attending a Delta Society conference addressing pet loss a couple of years ago. "Everything was centered on how to cope with loss, which for most, is monumental. It never focused on making your pet comfortable in its final months.

"Daily massage and TTouch from five to 30 minutes can spark an eternal flame in that old-timer, no matter what its condition. Even if the massage produces only a tail wag, it's been worth it."

Jordan emphasizes, however, "I have no expectations and establish no limits on the dogs. If I did, I'd leave myself open for disappointment."

She has found the TTouch of the renowned Tellington-Jones, author of the new Viking Penguin volume ($21), "The Tellington TTouch," to be effective but emphasizes it's only one facet of her treatment technique.

No one, including Tellington-Jones, knows why it relieves fear, discomfort and tension at the cellular level. The chief benefit: It stimulates neurological pathways to the brain in nonhabitual ways, producing an increased sense of awareness.

Don't think for a minute you possess a special healing quality, cautions Tellington-Jones. "You don't have to be a specialist or a therapist. Because you are not manipulating energy, bone or muscle, you do not have to be proficient in anatomy and bioenergetics."

She likes to compare the TTouch to a car battery giving one a jump start. "Once the initial contact is made, the car that needed the boost can drive off very nicely under its own power and doesn't need the other anymore."

TTOUCH SEMINAR

The Trumpeter Swan Society will present A Special Evening with Linda Tellington-Jones at 7 p.m. April 1 in the University Plaza Hotel.

She will demonstrate the TTouch technique and will be available afterward to autograph copies of her new book, "The Tellington TTouch." To register, call Martha Jordan at 334-7720.

-- Mail information regarding dog events to Classified Division, attn. Marilyn Fairbanks, Dog Events, The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111. Be sure to include a public phone-contact number.