Agility Dog

Jumping, Navigation, Obstacles, Balance, Control and Speed all play a part in the performance of your Agility Athlete. The Canine Massage Therapy Centre can help to enhance the performance, muscular health and mental focus of your dog.

Benefits of massage for the agility dog:

• Prevents Muscle Injury & Imbalance
• Restores natural movement and ability
• Faster times
• Better focus
• Better Jumping
• Smoother weaving
• Easier contacts
• Promotes faster recovery time from performance or injury
• Loosens connective tissue movement can be achieved
• Removes "knots", stress points, spasms and areas of repetive use that may be strained or over exerted and impeding performance
• Promotes Mobility, Flexibility & Focus
• Loosening muscles, joints and connective tissue for better "reach"
• Provides a hands on check by masseuse for areas of micro trauma and injury

If any of the following apply, your dog could benefit immensely from Canine Massage:

• Practice/compete on a regular basis
• Knocking down jumps
• Unsteady on contact equipment
• Reluctant to weave
• Lack of focus
• Has slowed down
• Not extending back legs properly over jumps
• Lame after performance
• Unable to perform certain on
• Certain equipment eg: long jump
• Stiffness after exercise/limping

Massage aims to improve the suppleness and flexibility of muscles by addressing soft tissue imbalances in the body. By skilfully easing out areas of tension, adhesions and paying attention to over exerted areas of stress the musco skeletal system is encouraged to work at its optimum capability.

Your dogs body uses different muscles to perform different actions. They are all working separately yet together at the same time. The dog is loaded 70% at the front and 30% at the back. The front is used for steering and braking and the back legs are used for drive, propulsion, jumping and standing.

In the agility dog we see particularly shortening of the hamstring muscles and tightness of the quadriceps and gluteals (bought on by repeated contraction of jumping), lumbar back pain is often evident as this area is not stabilized by rib cage and is so put under immense pressure. Common areas of pain in the front end come from the deeply layered muscles of the neck eg: cleidocephalicus, splenius , the shoulders (trapezius and deep rhomboids) and just behind the shoulder blade (Serratus Ventralis Dorsalis` a large fan shaped muscle that is used to stabilize the shoulder blade).

Massage may help in relieving spasms, contracture, overuse, repetitive strain and soreness in the agility athlete whose owners have noticed their dog is unable, unwilling or uncomfortable during their agility participation.

Human athletes use massage as part of their training, performance and recovery as the benefits have been proven over the years; why should your dog be any different?

"Being a competitive agility dog Fudge is prone to bouts of stiffness in some of his muscles. Fudge had 3 treatments and the following day after each massage he ran alot more freely and could make very tight turns. After the second session I noticed a drastic improvement in his speed and a noticeable ease of movement when he trotted and ran. Now his gait has improved and he has got a real lick on in the agility ring!

I would recommend a massage from the Canine Massage Therapy Centre for any dog experiencing stiffness either due to their age or because of their lifestyle. The fact that you can see noticeable, beneficial changes gives you a really satisfying feeling that you are doing something proactive for your dogs health"

Dawn Wood and Fudge 6 years old (aka Trailblazer)

1st Place at Crufts Mini Circular Knockout 2006
1st Place at Crufts Mini Pairs 2005 & 2006
3rd place overall at the Kennel Club International Agility Show Peterborough 2006