Pooch masseuse proves popular as owners pick the holistic path
A WOMAN has made it her mission to help soothe the aches and pains of Scotland’s dogs – by giving them massages.
But rather than offering a luxury pooch spa for pampered pets, Catriona Dickson carries out canine massage therapy, helping ease the pain of soft tissue injuries and conditions such as hip dysplasia and arthritis.
Five years ago graphic designer Catriona decided she needed a career change, but was also keen to help her mother’s dog, which sat awkwardly.
She said: “My mother’s dog sat unsteadily and she had said it looks like she will have a sore back when she’s older.
“I had a strong feeling I would love to help her. So I went off to try to find a suitable course.”
Since finishing her canine therapy course Catriona has set up K9 Massage Clinic in Stirling, along with other clinics across the country, treating dogs both at her centre and on house calls.
Many of her patients are dogs taking part in competitive sports, such as agility, flyball and canicross - where owners and dogs do cross country running together.
She said: “People are wanting a more holistic approach to their own health and really looking for that for their dogs as well rather than going down the medication route.
“These sports are hard on dogs. It’s about keeping muscles fit and supple and reducing risk of injury.
“Some dogs are in just in for a maintenance fitness massage. It’s the same way as sports people get a massage.”
Like with human massage, Catriona uses a blend of four styles of massage: Swedish, sports, deep tissue and myofascial release while working on her patients.
She added: “We are rehabilitating soft tissue injuries commonly seen as lameness and supporting orthopaedic conditions like arthritis. It’s non-invasive support for many conditions.
“I’m finding more and more vets are getting very interested in this as an option. It’s another thing in their toolbox when medication or surgery is not possible.
“One vet referred an old dog to me. The owner was wondering if it was reaching the end and time to put her to sleep. It couldn’t take medication due to medical issues and had arthritis.
“After one session the dog was out trotting again with her head held up.”
Vets must give consent before Catriona works on the dog. For best results the dog has three sessions and if there is no improvement they go back to the vet again for further investigation.