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STEP 2
STEP 4 STEP 5 If you're not sure if you can lift your dog, I suggest using a bag of dog food close to the weight of your dog for practice. We never want to drop the dog at any time during this therapy! Place the bag of dog food on a low table or on a chair - something similar to the dog's height. The reason we're using a bag of dog food is the weight is awkward and uncooperative, which is close to the way your dog will be the first few sessions of hug therapy. The only part this won't help you with is getting used to the dog's flailing legs. STEP 6 STEP 7 STEP 8 If you see this reaction in your own dog, discontinue hug therapy until the questions about pain have been investigated by your veterinarian or orthopedic specialist. (I'm not following my own advice here because Raspberry was our only large dog available for the photo session. However, I will be very careful to not put pressure on her back for the rest of the session.) STEP 9 STEP 10
STEP 12 STEP 13 Each time you do hug therapy, you should be able to progress one step. Very timid dogs, abused dogs, and arthritic dogs will take much longer to progress each step. I get the best results when I do hug therapy three times a day for five to fifteen minutes each session with a dog new to the process. Depending on the dog, I decrease the amount of sessions within one to three weeks to a single fifteen to twenty minute session a day. After about a month, I decrease the sessions to every other day or once a week, depending on how much the dog and I enjoy the sessions. Some dogs love the sessions so much that hug therapy becomes part of our daily routine. Young, bold, active dogs aren't that crazy about being still for fifteen minutes and I'll do hug therapy with them once a week just for the bonding aspect of the process.
STEP 15 STEP 16 STEP 17 Megan is giving me a submissive kiss. It is the same kind of kiss she would give her mama if she thought her mama was upset with her. I use my voice to reassure her and I allow her to kiss my neck for as long as she feels it is necessary. The dogs who do this anxiety-relieving kisses usually move to kissing the inside of a person's wrist as the anxiety reduces and finally stop "grooming" the person as the anxiety dissipates or she realizes the grooming isn't effective. STEP 18 |
STEP 1
s
2 thru 4, I suggest consulting a professional who has proven positive
results with many types of aggressive dogs. (Small dogs and Terriers
may growl or bark during the lift or carry because they are now "taller"
- which isn't normally an aggression issue but a training issue. When
a small dog is scared or near large dogs, people have a tendency to
swoop up the small dogs. That makes the small dog "taller"
than the large dogs or the scary situation, plus the dog now has the
person as a back-up. This is training the small dog to growl or bark
when picked up.)
STEP 3
of hug therapy for most dogs, Steps 5 thru
9 are all about the lift. Use your strongest arm for under the belly.
Your other arm is flat on the chest, palm of hand on the chest, between
the dog's front legs. If you're wearing a long-sleeved shirt, roll up
the sleeves so you can "read" the dog's muscles and heartrate
through your arms.
This is the first time for Megan losing body control.
As you can see, she doesn't like it one bit! I will hold her like this
until she relaxes a little. Because the inside of my forearm is on her
chest, I can feel her heart racing. I need to feel a little reduction
in the heartrate or a small relaxation of her muscles before I can completely
lift her for the carry to the chair. If I get neither one in a couple
of minutes, I will put her down and try again tomorrow.
Nell is an old pro at hug therapy. Her leg muscles
are very relaxed. Her heartrate stays steady. She doesn't struggle.
Her tail is tucked, but Nell is a Whippet and a tucked tail for this
breed does not carry the same significance it does for Border Collies.
If I moved Nell back and forth, her feet would sway from side to side
because she's so relaxed.
This is the first part of the modified lift for large
dogs. Raspberry is showing a reaction to the lift that gives us our
second health check. When I lifted her back end, she gave a growl and
whipped her head around towards me. Since she's usually an easy-going
gal, I suspect an arthritis problem in her hips or spine. I suggest
to Nikki that Raspberry should have an examination and a set of X-rays.
This is the second part of the modified lift. Notice
that Raspberry is comfortable with the front leg lift. Her heartrate
and muscles stayed relaxed. If a dog has arthritic problems in the shoulders,
upper spine, or the neck, then this lift would cause a growl, head turn,
cry or whimper, or muscle tightening. If you see this reaction in your
own dog, discontinue hug therapy until the questions about pain have
been investigated by your veterinarian or orthopedic specialist. If
the dog is comfortable, go to Step 11.
Carry the dog to the chair. Be careful as this is a
loss of body control session. Practice this step with the bag of dog
food if you're not sure you can safely carry the dog. Meg hasn't had
a hug therapy session since she was a young pup, about a year ago. The
tucked tail, full stiffened extension of the legs, and rigid toes show
how uncomfortable she is. Essentially she's gone into the "freeze"
choice of the basic "flee, fight, or freeze" fear reaction.
STEP 11
Ease yourself and the dog into the chair. (Getting
in and out of the chair while safely holding a potentially scared dog
is not easy. Practice with the bag of dog food.) Let the dog choose
a position. Let the dog relax for a few minutes. Go to Step 27 (opening
your arms) and you are finished with your first session of hug therapy!
chair, so I gave
her a light, quick, wraparound hug. This was the end of our hug therapy
session for the day and I immediately went to Step 27 (opening your
arms).
STEP 14
Meg isn't comfortable, but she hasn't panicked. Notice
the stiff legs and the rigidly splayed toes. I'll hold her in this position
for ten minutes or until her toes relax a bit. The toes on the back
legs are a good indicator of stress that we can easily read in all steps
of therapy. (Normally, this is where I'd go to Step 27. I continued
with Meg to show some of the struggles incurred with the next procedure
only to get this photo session accomplished. Since Meg has some experience
with hug therapy, this won't damage her.)
Put your chin over the dog's nape of the neck. To the
dog, this is a loss of body control because it is a dominating posture.
Nell has no problem accepting this position. Distrustful dogs, dogs
with arthritic neck or shoulders, and bossy dogs dislike this position.
(If you suspect arthritis, stop hug therapy until your veterinarian
or orthopedic specialist examines your dog.) I would go to Step 27 (opening
your arms) at this point for distrustful dogs and take the time needed
each day to succeed at this step. Bossy dogs will continually try to
out-maneuver us on this step and I won't make a big issue of acceptance
before going on to the next steps.
This is a typical struggle for a dog experiencing one
of the loss of body control steps. Don't let go and don't drop the dog!
Only let go if you truly know the dog is in actual pain. The emotional
pain induced by some steps in hug therapy may make a dog cry and whimper,
but we must work through to the healing side of hug therapy.
Megan's gone into "freeze" for a few seconds.
Once she realizes I won't let go, she starts thrashing again---trying
to "flee" from the experience. If your dog goes into "fight"
at this stage, go to Step 27 (opening your arms) and consult a trainer
with a good success rate with bold personality or aggressive dogs.