Acu-Dog: A Guide to Canine Acupressure

Profiles

Introduction

Dogs & Us

Dogs are our best friends, our children, our protectors, helpmates, playmates, inspiration, and a connection to a simpler, more loving world. We identify so much with our dogs that we tend to interpret their body language, expressions, and sounds in human terms. As much as we anthropomorphize the domesticated dog, they are descended from the wolf and have dog-needs. It is up to us to provide for their needs.

The bond between our two species dates back thousands of years. Many authoritative texts have been written by historians and biologists about the origins of the domesticated dog. Scientists have studied canines from their bristly whiskers to the tips of their wagging tails. Behaviorists and trainers have produced volumes to help us enjoy our relationship and share our homes with our dogs. Rather than attempt to restate any of these perspectives of the domesticated canid, ACU-DOG: A Guide to Canine Acupressure, offers you the opportunity to understand and care for your dog in an entirely different manner.

Modern medicine has finally caught up with Traditional Chinese Medicine. Today we have the opportunity to make optimal use of both the conventional western and ancient eastern approaches to medicine in caring for our animals and ourselves.

Given the growing awareness of the benefits of ancient healing techniques and how they can be effectively combined with conventional medicine, more people are learning and sharing these healing techniques to benefit dogs. Many positive, new and renewed methods of supporting our dogs’ health have come to the fore. Acupressure is one of the bodywork modalities that has proven to enhance dog health, comfort, and emotional well-being.

Acupressure is noninvasive and gentle, yet it can profoundly impact humans and animals alike. Acupressure is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine and has been continuously used in the east for at least 3000 years. It shares the same theoretical base as acupuncture and is currently practiced in China even more widely than acupuncture.

Acupressure offers dog enthusiasts a way to actively participate in dog health. By supporting your dog’s well-being, you can contribute to years of optimal quality of life. Both conventional medical studies and thousands of years of clinical observation have proven that acupressure:

Relieves muscle spasms

Builds the immune system

Strengthens muscles, tendons, joints, and bones

Balances energy to optimize the body’s natural ability to heal

Releases natural cortisone to reduce swelling and inflammation

Releases endorphins necessary to increase energy or relieve pain

Enhances mental clarity and calm required for focus in training and performance

Resolves injuries more readily by increasing the blood supply and removing toxins.

Dogs understand the language of touch. By learning canine acupressure, you can in some measure return your dog’s loving tail-wags, faithful service, and honest pleasure in being part of your life.

Combining conventional medicine with acupressure, allows you to enhance and maintain your dog’s health. When your dog is ill or injured, you’re encouraged to consult your wholistic veterinarian to receive the benefits of technological advancements. Western medicine is a great resource for resolving physical trauma, offering surgical solutions and using the latest technology to diagnose problems.

This new book, ACU-DOG, offers you and your dogs’ access to a powerful healing technique while helping you connect with your own healing abilities. The added benefit of learning acupressure is that you can contribute to your sense of partnership with your dog and to his complete wellness.

To achieve these goals, we have distilled the essence of a vast and complex body of knowledge to provide you with a place to continue your journey into Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupressure. Over the past 20 years, we have received hundreds of letters, emails, and phone calls from grateful readers. People report exciting results from simply following the acupressure session protocol presented in The Well-Connected Dog. This new book includes more in-depth information regarding the theoretical basis of acupressure, assessment methods, techniques, and highly specific acupressure sessions to address common canine conditions.

We look forward to hearing from you about your adventures and achievements in supporting the health and well-being of your dogs. Please contact us: www.animalacupressure.com

Chapter One

Transformation From

Wolf to Dog

The human-dog connection has no comparison. This interspecies relationship began about fifteen thousand years ago when wolves first risked living on the outskirts of human settlements to feast on garbage.

The wolves that were less fearful of humans were most likely to survive. Those wolves that felt safe and didn’t run when humans approached to dump garbage were the first to grab the goodies and thus ate more of what was deposited than others in the pack. It seems that the wolf took swift evolutionary steps toward becoming the domesticated dog due to its weakness for a good supper.

Scientists surmise that the transformation of the wolf from wild hunters in organized packs to scavenging proto-dogs could have occurred in as short a time as 150 years.

It was as if the wolf, motivated by its desire for a relatively easy meal, transformed itself into the domesticated dog, canis lupus familiaris. A Russian study has shown that when the fox, a distant cousin to the wolf in the Canidae family, was bred for the single trait of tameness, within only ten years its coat color changed to black and white and its ears became floppy.

Genetic studies have found that the original dogs came from eastern Asia. Over the centuries, humans have brought them to every continent as their constant companions. The dog has an extraordinary capacity to adapt to its environment. From the sled dogs in the arctic regions to the hairless healing dogs in South America, dogs have constantly adapted to the climate and needs of their humans.

Selective breeding for natural tendencies, temperament, distinctive appearance, and a host of other traits has yielded amazing dogs. Seizing upon the dog’s love of his dinner bowl, humans have made the dog the most varied in body and head shape of any mammal species on earth. The Chinese were the first to define a distinctive breed, the Pekinese or Lion Dog. This dwarf-breed with its black, brachiocephalic, monkey-like face and soft, downy ruff and coat served to guard the temples in the emperor’s palace.

Other dog breeds were developed to respond to our needs for survival. Throughout history dogs have served to protect us from danger; they transport and guide us through forests, jungles, and snow; provide warmth; hunt for our meat; they kill rodents that consume our food; they herd our livestock, and assist in our livelihood. For example, without the herding skills of a border collie, it would be difficult to manage sheep on craggy terrain. Having a well-trained retriever fearlessly dive through perilous water to triumphantly emerge with a prize of a fowl has provided meat for the table over generations.

Humans have relied on the domestic dog for his instincts, his extraordinary sensory capabilities, and his willingness to serve as a helpmate and companion – the dog expands our ability to sustain our lives and our communities.

However, as beneficial as selective dog breeding can be for humans, it can be disastrous for the animal’s health and well-being. Breeding selection for too few traits, can lead to the dog’s suffering.

For example, if a line of Golden Retrievers were bred for even two or three generations just for temperament, the possibility of having health issues increases. Hip dysplasia, poor-texture coats, and other serious complaints can creep into the line.

Terriers that have been bred solely for their ability as ratters for a few generations can become dangerously aggressive and not be fit for family life. Dobermans repeatedly bred as guard dogs may be unable to enjoy being around humans. Reproductive problems are plaguing many popular breeds. Unfortunately, dogs are the unwitting victims of behavioral and physical issues resulting from breeding for a single attribute or too limited a palette of traits that are too finite.

Humans have continued to broaden the dog’s role due to urbanization and other social changes. We have given them highly specialized jobs in our modern society based on their original instincts and keen senses including: search and rescue, cadaver-location, drug-sniffing, disaster detection, police and military work. They also work as guide-dogs for the visually impaired, service dogs for people with physical challenges, hearing dogs, seizure-alert dogs, cancerdetection dogs, and adored companions.

As we have reshaped the roles dogs play in our lives, they’ve been expected to adapt to us. They have been so successful in achieving these shifts in morphology and temperament that we often forget dogs are direct descendants of wolves. But dogs themselves have never forgotten it. From the smallest Pug to the giant Great Dane, a real wolf lurks inside each of these human-designed, domesticated dogs. We tend to forget that they are wolves in disguise because they’ve adapted to our world so effectively.

That is why we are taken by surprise when our soft-eyed, snuggly pet chases a rabbit and breaks its neck in one quick shake. A dog is a wolf in a variety of sizes and clothing.

Although dogs may not look like wolves, they have similar needs – to exercise extensively, eat real meat, be mentally challenged by activities, bond with a social group, and be out of doors in the elements.

By not recognizing that dogs are animals with distinct animal needs, we can cause our dogs’ undue stress. Being confined indoors or in a crate for hours without being able to urinate or defecate is stressful and can become painful. Eating manufactured food can cause serious health problems. Because dogs are highly social, not having enough interaction with humans and other animals can lead to emotional distress. Outdoor exercise and mental activity are vital for their sensory acuity as well as their psychological and physical health.

Urbanization has brought dogs into a more stressful environment yet. Taking a dog too far away from where he’s most comfortable is a big issue.For instance, a Border Collie was designed for the strenuous work of herding. Taking a Border Collie into the city to live in an apartment can lead to a miserable dog and possibly a dangerous situation for the guardians. This breed has little capacity to contend with confinement for an extended period of time.

Due to selective breeding, many dogs are hard-wired to perform certain tasks in which their breed specializes. These tasks include herding, hunting, flushing badgers, killing vermin, etc. So when your sweet little Dachshund constantly digs holes in your townhouse patio, it can be frustrating for both of you, but that’s what a Dachshund does.

Currently, there’s a tendency to breed dogs for temperament and appearance rather than for specific tasks. Unfortunately, a lot of dogs haven’t gotten the message and continue to act in accord with their natural instincts. While humans are looking for a jolly companion, the dog wants to go out and chase rodents or nip the heels of children in the park to herd them. When the dog’s inbred instincts clash with our social environment, difficult situations can arise. This is why we have included this discussion of the dog’s descent from the wolf and the issues surrounding breeds in this book.

You can support the health and well-being of your beloved companion using canine acupressure to add physical, emotional, and energetic balance. Plus, when acupressure is used as a preventive care technique, your dog will have a stronger immune system and stronger muscles, tendons, and ligaments. His entire body will feel healthier and be more likely to ward off illness and injury.

This gentle yet powerful healing modality is intended to complement the dog’s entire lifestyle. Dogs need to live in clean environments, eat quality foods, enjoy outdoor exercise, play well with other dogs and humans, be mentally engaged, and receive adequate rest. You can make acupressure part of a healthy approach to enjoying life with your dog for many years to come.

Chapter Two

Canine Acupressure &

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Acupressure connects you and your dog with thousands of years of natural healing. It’s a gentle yet powerful healing tool based on (TCM). Our dogs need not know the theories and concepts that underlie acupressure and TCM. They will thoroughly appreciate the feeling of health and well-being leaving the understanding and richness of knowledge to you.

The ancient Chinese understood that all living beings, human or canine, are part of the universe. We share the stars and planets over head; we tread the same earth beneath our feet. We all must eat, sleep, work, play, and engage our minds and spirits. Seasonal shifts affect all of us in similar ways – a commonality of all living beings that the ancient Chinese understood.

The questions that concerned the ancient Chinese were: How is the human or animal functioning within his environment? Is this dog coping well and healthfully in the spring when the winds are blowing? Does this animal have respiratory issues during the fall as the temperatures cool? They looked at the animal in his entirety within his environment and recognized that each animal is unique, thus the approach to managing his health and happiness must be specific to him.

Chinese Medicine has always focused on health. When an animal succumbs to illness it means he’s not coping with