Helping pets with a gentle touch

JUST as we, as humans, develop less than perfect posture and have areas where we carry tension (eg tight shoulders), so too do our pets.

Your dog may have a really tight tail or might carry his head quite high indicating tension in the neck.

He might carry tension in his muzzle and bark excessively.

These patterns of tension and blocked awareness of certain areas of the body can create stress elsewhere in the body, potentially affecting the animal’s posture and behaviour.

The technique TTouch helps to release tension and to improve its balance, co-ordination and posture, which influence behaviour: as posture improves, so does behaviour, and often unwanted behaviours diminish.

The animal becomes calmer and more focussed, learning to respond rather than react to situations.

Exercises can seem a little different to typical animal training techniques, as they do not directly address specific training or behavioural issues, but by teaching the animal to have better balance and coordination, more self-awareness, and to be able to self-calm, they give it transferrable skills to take into its wider life.

TTouch can help with issues such as inappropriate aggression, fear of thunder/fireworks, fear of the vet or being groomed, nervousness of new situations, lack of focus, over-grooming, pulling on the lead, training issues and general wellbeing. It is a great way of strengthening the owner-animal bond as the animal really learns to trust their owner on a deep level.

Tellington TTouch is being used by pet owners and professionals alike – it is used in rescue centres to help rehabilitate animals prior to rehoming.

In conjunction with other supportive treatments (eg hydrotherapy) it can help animals recovering from spinal or neurological injuries . It is so gentle it can be used on puppies and kittens as well as ageing pets. Your vet might know a TTouch consultant.