Ttouch for Dogs

Dusty and I had a consultation with Andy Robertson in Galston (Sydney) who outlined the procedures that would help Dusty with her back pain, and with her shyness around strangers. Andy wrote up the program after our visit and emailed it, which was a great help in remembering the specifics. Linda Tellington-Jones book, Getting in Ttouch with Your Dog, gave us the details.

The program has three elements:

1. the ttouches,
2. The leading exercises,
3. the confidence course.

For Dusty, Andy recommended:

TTouches

• the Ear Ttouch, which calms and soothes;
• the Lying Leopard Ttouch in waves, approaching closer to her rear end as she built up a tolerance, which is relaxing and confidence building;
• the Mouth Ttouch, which influences emotion;
• the Tail Ttouch, which reduces fear;
• the Tarrantula Pulling the Plow, which desenitises skin and improves circulation;
• and Leg Circles, which improve gait and balance.

Leading exercises

• The body wrap

Confidence course

• Cavaletti
• Wobble board / see-saw
• Ladder
• Labyrinth
• Slalom with cones

The confidence course is very much like a pre-agility program. We did a lot of this work in the early days, so it's good to have a reminder that this work should be ongoing.