Massage Class Going To The Dogs

It’s a rainy Sunday morning at My Dog's Place in Mystic and a min pin, terrier mix, border collie and their owners trickle in for a class. The class will involve effleurage, palpation skills and cross fiber friction.  Sound a little strange for a training session with dogs? That's because in this class the humans are in training.

It's an advanced workshop on canine massage.

"Not only does massage feel good to the dog, but it also has tremendous health benefits and rehabilitative qualities,” said instructor Suzin Webb.

Webb enjoys teaching classes in both basic and advanced techniques in canine massage at My Dog's Place in Mystic.

The class begins with an explanation of the anatomy of a dog as everyone settles in. Webb walks around introducing herself to the dogs before demonstrating the techniques.

Today’s class of canines is initially a bit rambunctious and curious about their surroundings but after a few minutes the dogs really start to relax into the process. 

Little Rocco, the terrier mix, stretches out, blissfully pressing down against the floor reveling in the sensation of a massage technique involving direct pressure on the spine.

"Both Chloe and Rocco seem to really enjoy massage and I can see the difference it makes in how relaxed and calm they become,” said Rocco’s owner Villie Tine of Avon, who owns two senior dogs.

In the class Webb teaches both energy work and body work. Energy work teaches how to assess the energy field, the heat coming from areas that are inflamed or injured. Body work includes palpation, circular friction and cross fiber friction.

Webb spent most of her professional life working in a laboratory as a molecular geneticist, but always wanted to work with dogs. In 2008 Webb received her certification from Bancroft School of Massage Therapy as a Small Animal Massage Therapist. The following year she graduated from the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy.

The class measures success by the dogs' reactions.

Cindy Willis of Ledyard signed up for the class with her 12-year-old min pin. She said the class and what she learned helped with her dog’s aches and pains from a degenerative disc disease and with old age in general.

"I have used it successfully for both of my dogs and plan to continue doing so.  Tyler and Selena are very happy their mom took the class," Willis said.