From the day she arrived we thought that Salma’s eyesight was not too good. This perception has been confirmed as time has passed. She sees movement, even at a distance, but static objects present a problem and she may bump into things. How can this be? All our previous beardies have had excellent eyesight and [...]
The other day I took Mimi, our little mini pinscher, to visit Leticia Sánchez-Moral who is a myofascial therapist. During our chat she offered an interesting tip to overcome the reluctance some noise sensitive dogs have to having a harness put on due to the noise that the clip makes when it is closed. I [...]
In TTouch classes we place great emphasis on Edie Jane Eaton's concept of listening to the whispers so that our animals do not have to shout to be heard. Some time ago now with my last beardie, Sasha, I had the chance to see how important it is to pay attention to these small [...]
Oxytocin is a hormone which acts mainly as a neuromodulator* in the brain. It evokes feelings of wellbeing, reduces anxiety and promotes tranquillity and a sense of security. This is the reason why oxytocin is believed to play an important role in the inhibition of areas of the brain associated with controlling behaviour e.g. fear [...]
Mimi is a 10 year old mini pinscher who came to us with her mother 5 years ago. Unfortunately her mother is no longer with us. Her mother, Ophie, was a stalwart and fearless little dog but her daughter is quite the opposite, fearful and hypersensitive and this has increased since losing her mother who [...]
TTouch tail pulls are another excellent way of helping animals release tension in the spine because the stretch and slow release allow the vertebrae to relax and realign. The technique is very simple. Taking the tail in one hand and placing the other on the animal's body to help stabilise, we lean backwards and thus [...]
As we know, the tail is an extension of the spinal column and as such is part of the nervous system. Many animals, humans included, tend to accumulate tension in the shoulders and lumbar area so working with the tail can help to release this tension. Tail circles are very simple to do. Taking the [...]
There are around 200 acupuncture points in the ears. Using TTouch ear work we can therefore connect with the whole body of any animal. The first way we can work with the ears is simply to hold the ear flap between the thumb and fingers and slide from the base of the ear to the [...]
Among the very valuable tools TTouch offers us are hair slides. As we know, the hair is a part of the peripheral sensory system which means that hair slides can have a direct effect on the nervous system. The relaxing efect of hair slides is true both for the animal who is receiving them and [...]
And suddenly one day you realise that your dog is growing old. It isn’t that he suddenly grew old. It isn’t that you hadn’t noticed small signs of change, but suddenly one day a “tipping point” seemed to be reached and the reality was there staring you in the face. What might those little telltale [...]