\”My dog\’s just not right – he was fine yesterday, we went for our usual run on the beach, and now he just wants to stay on his bed, and he looks miserable…\”
\”Ok then, let me look at my day… Hmmm – looks like I can get to you at around four this afternoon – would that suit?\” I asked.
\”That would be a great relief,\” came the reply. \”I\’m really worried about him.\”
It had been a busy day, and I finally made my way to the door, briefcase in hand, festooned with my stethoscope. He must have been waiting for me, because the door popped open before I had a chance to even knock, and I was gently ushered out the back.
\”He\’s over here on his bed,\” I was informed.
I could see a big blocky dog on a bed. He lifted his head to look at me, and wagged his tail a bit, but was obviously not going to move.
\”Just leave him there for a second, and I\’ll collect your details and get them into the system here,\” I explained.
The dogs dad was obviously keen for me to get straight into looking at his dog, and reluctantly sat down on the edge of his seat. My fingers clattered over the keys as I got all the data entered, then I stood up, and went over to check him out.
\”Will he get up at all?\” I asked.
\”He can, but he\’s very reluctant to, and seems terribly stiff and sore when I do get him too.\”
I introduced myself, and he gave my hand a sniff. I gently eased my hands over his body, which was tight and shivering. He rolled his eyes at me, obviously worried that I was going to hurt him. I kept my touch feather gentle, and as soon as I reached the middle of his back, I could feel a mass of screaming, knotted up, spasmed muscles. His temp was normal, and everything else was ok too.
\”He\’s hurt his back,\” I explained to his dad. \”He must have just jinked it somehow when he was playing, and now it\’s all locked up with muscle spasms. I\’ll do some gentle work to release the pain and tension, and we\’ll see how he responds.\”
I laid my hands on his back, and gently went to work. My fingers flowed here and there, seeking out the key spots, feeling the tension dissolve and melt away. The dog was very nervous at first, keeping one eye carefully watching me, with a very worried look. Before too long, he took a deep breath, and let his head relax down onto the bed. His eyes went sleepy looking, and I could feel the pain ease out of his body. I gently rocked, and released, and worked out the pain and tension, moving deeper and deeper through the layers of pain and tension locked up in the muscles and connective tissue, and he relaxed more and more deeply. Finally, I ran my thumbs along both sides of his spine, from the base of his skull, right down to the base of his tail, stretching the whole spine out. He took another deep breath, and gently stretched himself out a bit on the bed.
\”See if he\’ll get up for us?\” I asked his dad.
He called his name. Then he looked at us, before steeling himself to make an effort to get up. His eyes opened in surprise, when it didn\’t really hurt so much. He got up a bit gingerly, and walked around before going over to his water bowl for a big drink. He wagged his tail, and then went out onto the lawn for the biggest pee I have ever seen a dog do.
\”That\’s amazing!\” his dad told me. \”All that was just a sore back! You must have magic hands.\”
\”A sore back can be really debilitating- and he has responded better to what I did than most. I think he\’s improved enough not to need any pain relief, but see how he goes. Give me a ring tomorrow, and if he\’s still a bit sore, he might need another session.\”
His dad rang me back the next day to let me know that he was totally back to normal!