We all love a kind hand bringing comfort when our bodies are sore, which is why having a relaxing senior dog massage can be the best thing in the world. A massage can help relieve pain, ease swelling, and reduce inflammation.
Why not let your senior dog enjoy the pain relief of a massage?
Best of all, you can do it yourself, letting you bond even more with your furry bestie in their golden years. By using the correct massage techniques, you can bring relief, improved mobility, and reduced swelling to your dog’s life. So roll up your sleeves, and let’s begin.
What Is a Dog Massage?
Therapeutic dog massage involves a therapist or the dog’s owner using their hands to palpate tender muscles and soft tissues, releasing muscle tension and improving the dog’s overall muscle tone.
Several different hand positions are used, and with training, you can alleviate pain, improve circulation, and soothe your dog’s discomfort. However, when applied incorrectly or insensitively, your dog may experience bruising, pain, and further inflammation.
As a dog owner, you can also engage in dog massage by using your hands with minimal pressure and carefully monitoring your dog for signs of pain or discomfort. While you may not achieve the same deep muscle therapeutic effect as a trained specialist, you can bond with your dog and show them you care and are aware of their pain.
Types of Senior Dog Massages
There are several forms of dog massage, and the differences depend on the type of movement and hand positions used while working on the dog’s muscles and soft tissues.
1. Passive Stroking
Gently run your hand using medium pressure over your dog’s body. This technique is ideal for evaluating your dog’s body, checking for lumps, bumps, and areas with heat and discomfort.
2. Effleurage Patting
In humans, this method is a patting motion, but you may think of it as intentional petting in pets. Simply keep your fingers together on each hand, forming a type of cup in the palm of your hand. Now, stroke your dog or gently pat them down, feeling the movement of muscles and softer tissues.
3. Petrissage or Kneading
Unlike effleurage, where you pat your dog, you now work in a kneading motion, pushing a little harder into the muscle groups. You can also use your fingers and thumb to palpate the muscles.
How Massage Helps Your Senior Dog for Pain Relief
A massage can help your senior dog in many ways, such as relieving pain, improving its overall health, or comforting it when it feels distressed.
Here are some of the fantastic benefits of massaging your senior dog (but you can totally massage a younger dog, too):
- It improves circulation, which helps muscle regrowth as nutrients can reach the muscles
- Reduces discomfort by releasing muscle tension
- Stimulates the lymphatic system, which increases immunity and speeds up healing
- It improves your bond, soothes anxiety, and aids in developing a better mental state
- It helps keep your dog calm while they receive palliative care such as injections and more
Target Areas for Massage for Pain Relief in Senior Dogs
When massaging your dog, working carefully, slowly, and while listening to your dog’s body is essential. They will tell you when something hurts, if they feel uncomfortable, or if they need you to stop.
To start, you’d use light pressure, as if working your fingers into cookie dough. Never apply more pressure than you would to your own muscle groups, and avoid pressing on joints or raised tendons.
Always work toward the fur’s growth, never brushing back on fur, as this would trigger nerve reactions that may upset your dog.
1. The Back, Spine, and Neck
You can work these areas while your dog is lying on their side, lying on their stomach, or standing. When they are standing, you can support them by sitting with your knees and thighs placed under their stomach and chest for larger dogs.
Start by gently applying smooth pressure with a flat hand, running it from behind their ears in long strokes down to their tail. Work on either side of their spine, applying gentle pressure on the spine but not forcing anything.
The strokes can extend from the point of the shoulder down into the front legs, and when you reach their hips, you can run your hands down their back legs. Note any heat, bumps, and swelling.
2. Leg Muscles
Working dogs may have muscle cramps, which, if not treated, can lead to inflammation and degenerative conditions. Start with passive stroking, building to effleurage on larger muscle groups, and gentle pinching petrissage on smaller muscles or long tendons behind the legs.
Don’t forget to palpate the toes gently, loosening any blockages and calcification that may form.
3. Ribs and Stomach
The third area to focus on is your dog’s underside. The best way to perform a massage to this area is to roll your dog onto their back, if they are able, or you can work on them while they stand (supported by an assistant holding them up).
Again, run your hands down the chest and stomach area, moving from the head to the tail. Use gentle pressure, never pushing hard over bony areas like the ribs. Proceed to apply cupping pressure with effleurage, then move into petrissage to gently close the area you worked on.
Take special care over the stomach area as older dogs often suffer from indigestion, which can make their stomachs painful to the touch.
Look for signs of relaxation, such as your dog stretching and yawning. You can also combine hot and cold compresses on muscle groups to alleviate inflammation and reduce swelling. Consider red light therapy if your dog still has pain in large muscle groups.
FAQs
Can you also massage your dog’s ears and head?
Your dog will love a head and ear massage, not to mention a cheek massage. Simply start by stroking these parts, following the direction of the hair growth. Next, use your middle finger and thumb to apply a circular motion to ease tension and discomfort in the ear pinnae (the outer ear). Massage the cheeks with the ring and middle fingers using a circular motion.
Where should you never massage a dog?
When massaging any dog, avoid areas such as open wounds, where there are heat spots, infections, and if there is extreme pain. Broken bones should also not be massaged. It’s always best to get a vet to assess the extent and cause of pain before massaging your dog.
What holistic solution combines well with senior dog massage?
Older dogs find great pain relief when soaking in a warm bath with Epsom salts. Epsom salts are well known for releasing tension, easing inflammation, and reducing swelling. Ensure the bath is warm but not uncomfortably so. You should fully support your dog to lie comfortably in the water, so use old pillows and towels to lift their head, hips, and legs.
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The Last Rub
The final and often underestimated benefit of massage for pain relief (for humans and animals) is in touch. When you spend hands-on time with your dog, you offer compassion, comfort, and warmth.
Any living being that is infirm feels fear and loneliness, but dogs feel it more than people because dogs are social animals and see movement as life.
Touching them, helping to ease pain, and just making time for them will help alleviate stress, relax them, and help them feel like they still matter. It doesn’t take all day to massage your dog, and you can give them a soothing session in less than 10 minutes a day.
Don’t wait until your dog is a senior to begin. Young dogs and puppies love being touched and stroked. Use these early years as the chance to get your dog used to massage, touch, and love. You won’t regret it.
Learn more about canine rehabilitation in our friendly guide.