Friday, August 1, 2014

Back Massage for Your Dog

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit the folks at Kroger for a blogger tour. On the second day of the tour, we visited the Pet Suites Pet Resort and Spa, a really nice boarding facility in the Cincinnati area.

And while we were there we met Dr. Heather Oxford, a veterinarian who specializes in integrative holistic medicine, including massage for you dog.  With her focus on rehabilitative medicine and treating canine athletes, we were particularly interested in what she had to say.

Dr. Oxford shows us some rear leg stretches
Dr. Oxford showed us a few good stretching exercises, similar to ones I'm already doing with Rocco, including front and rear leg stretches and the cookie stretch, a great neck stretch where you lead your dog's head back toward their tail with the help of a cookie!

She also gave us a really nice demonstration of how to give your dog a back massage. I was able to capture this on video so I could remember what to do once I got home.

And now you can try it yourself. Take a look!




I also met a group of really great bloggers who I'd never met before because most of them were food bloggers. Honestly, I thought Kroger must've made a mistake when they invited me!


The reason Kroger invited all of us, including me, was a big mystery for everyone. And they made us wait through a full day of fun cooking activities, before they revealed the big surprise.

So guess what?! You're going to have to wait too! Next week I'll post about the reason why we were all at Kroger, share with you our fun cooking challenge and there will be a great giveaway too! 
Some of our new blogging buddies from the Kroger tour.
But now, back to massage… lots of our agility pals take their dogs for massage and there's often a canine massage therapist at our trials. Some vets say that massage can help dogs recover from illness, injury and stress.

Rocco has enjoyed a professional massage when he was dealing with some muscle soreness. Have you ever taken your dog for a massage or do you massage your dog yourself? Does your dog like massage? Let us know in the comments below! 

And finally… you may notice a new person in one of our co-host chairs. We're super excited to welcome Joy and Emma from My GBGV Life as our newest FitDog Friday co-host. We're sad to see Peggy leave us, but as her blog has been taking a different direction, she's decided to pass along the FitDog torch to a new co-host. It was a pleasure getting to know Peggy and co-hosting with her and we wish her the best and hope to still see her around! 

Please help us give Joy and Emma (and Bailie too!) a big FitDog Friday welcome!

The fun and games continue every Friday with FitDog Friday, the weekly Blog Hop brought to you by To Dog With LoveSlimDoggy and My GBGV Life to promote a healthy active lifestyle for pets (and their people, too!). Join in every Friday by linking up your FitDog story or visiting the blogs in the Hop.

23 comments:

  1. Thank you for the nice intro! We are thrilled to be a cohost for FitDog Friday because we feel so strongly about fitness! Mom went to Bloggy Boot Camp last fall and 95% of the ladies were mommy bloggers, the others were bargain/deal bloggers, she was the only pet blogger. It was strange since she was used to BlogPaws, but it is also interesting to meet another group and really it is all quite similar, just a different subject. Feel free to come by and give me a back massage anytime, it sounds heavenly!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emma, I think you'll love a back massage! So excited to have you as a new co-host!
      Diane and Rocco

      Delete
  2. LOL peeps say she could do with one of those herself, back massage that is. Oh no now we will have to wait to find out why you and the others were invited. On the edge of our basket waiting in anticipation. Have a fabulous Friday.
    Best wishes Molly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Molly! Happy Friday and weekend to you!
      Diane and Rocco

      Delete
  3. I could use a back rub right about now!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bentley sends his love for this awesome video! He will benefit from a back massage today!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cool video! This was a really interesting post about massage for pets!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mr. N got a brief massage from a canine masseuse at a store opening (it was free). I thought he still looked squirmy but the masseuse said she could feel him relaxing a little bit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it takes time for them to get used to it. It took Rocco about 20 minutes to relax!

      Delete
  7. My cat just came up and demanded a massage (she has bad arthritis and is very bossy- she likes it mixed with a light scratch). Dogs won't be far behind.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cody and Sierra should give ME a massage!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe you can get them to walk on your back… that kind of works! (while they are singing, ha!)

      Delete
  9. We really haven't tried massage with our dogs, but it sounds interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can't wait to try this, the video is great. I would try right now but my dog Laika is trying to sleep, I guess I should wait a bit lol. Looks like it'll be another good and useful way to bond.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a fabulous post, thanks so much fur sharing!

    Happy weekend

    Epic Purrs

    Basil XOX

    ReplyDelete
  12. Rodrigo and Sydney's trainer taught me the T-Touch technique and I still use it today with Rodrigo. Whenever I sit on the floor, he comes to sit in front of me for his massage and I love it. I did it for bonding when they were puppies; today, I do it for a home exam and affection.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm so glad you filmed the massage technique, I'm totally going to try it on Niles. :) She's had a professional massage once at an Agility show and ever since then I've wanted to do it with her.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Bella, Terra, & Kronos love massages! Though I'm definitely no professional and could learn a thing or two about proper technique-I'll have to try the massage shown in the video on them and see what they think =)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good review! I have read your post. Everything I fully expected of these tools. Great review!
    Thank's for sharing.

    ReplyDelete