| |
Bev’s canine Massage saves the day
Lesley Wilks honestly thought that her B/W collie
Kayos would be out of action for the rest of this year until Bev Hotson worked her magic on
her. After a brilliant Dogs in Need where Kayos ran superbly, gaining five places and
qualifying for the Grade 1-5 final on Sunday, Lesley was so elated that she wrote this brief
article.
|
 I
have a black and white collie bitch who competes at Grade 5 in agility. She ran at
Watford show in June, got clear in the Jumping and was placed in the Mini/Maxi pairs. She
didn’t seem happy at home, however, refusing to play with the 'puppy'. She was definitely
not her usual bossy self, and did not even want to do any Heelwork to Music moves for
which she usually gets lots of treats.
What to
do?
Worried by her increasingly morose behaviour I took her to the Vets. She was trotted up
and down the car park but showed no sign of lameness. After a thorough examination, the
Vet diagnosed a pulled muscle in her right hind stifle, prescribed painkilling tablets
for five days, and lead walking for 14 then free running and building up.
Whilst talking
to Jan Morse at Rugby Agility show I discovered that her daughter, Beverley Hotson, was
doing a course of Canine Massage with the Institute of Complementary Animal Therapies (ICAT)
and had already passed the first examination with distinction. I'd heard that Bev
had treated some of Mary Ray's dog so I decided to take a chance.
I was away for
a week at the end of July. Although never lame, Kayos showed no sign of getting back to
her normal self, and we were due to take part in the Laser Knock Out Pairs Final on 8
August. I was increasingly worried and made an appointment to see Bev on 31 July, hoping
she could put my little girl right.
Bev went all
over the dog very thoroughly and could find nothing wrong in her stifle but her left
front leg and up into her shoulder and across her withers was very sore, possibly
compensating for an earlier problem in her rear hind leg. Her pelvis was also slightly
'out,' but Bev was able to massage it back in. Kayos was given a thorough massage and
soon relaxed into it and seemed to be enjoying all the attention. Bev worked on her for
about an hour and advised me to rest her for 24 hours and she would probably be thirstier
than usual. |
Remedial Massage Therapy
RMT uses a series of Swedish massage techniques and stretches to support the management
of, or recovery of musculoskeletal problems and to alleviate painful or debilitating
conditions relieving pain and discomfort. Massage therapy is appropriate for a variety of
ailments such as:-
-
Muscle and tendon strains
-
Related sports injuries
-
Arthritis
-
Post-orthopaedic surgery
-
Back problems
-
Relaxation
-
Reduces stress and tension
-
General well-being
-
Flexibility and mobility
It is essential that a correct
diagnosis is made of your dog's condition and, therefore, a referral from your veterinary
surgeon before initial therapy is required.
It is ideal for dogs competing in sports such as Agility, Obedience and Heelwork to
Music. |
I made another
appointment for 6 August. Kayos trotted in very pleased to see Bev again. This time she was
really chilled and practically went to sleep whilst being worked on! Bev was very pleased with
her. Her back, pelvis and hind legs were fine and the previously knotted muscles in her left
fore were much more relaxed.
Now for the big question
Would Kayos be able to take part in the Pairs final in two days time? Bev saw no
reason why she shouldn’t but she had to have another 24 hours of reasonable quiet. I was also
shown some 'warm up' massage I could do with her before competing.
So there I was at
Dashin' Dogs, waiting to take part in the finals, with a dog I hadn’t trained or jumped for
over six weeks. Running second, we were behind at the baton change but she flew round the
course, doing a superb clear round. We were only beaten by inches in the end.
I would just like to
thank Bev a thousand times for getting Kayos back for me and wish her all the best for her
final exams. Kayos is now much happier at home, back to playing with the puppy and being her
usual devilish self. For this dog the massage has worked wonders, given her a new lease of life
and turned her back into a happy, exuberant dog again.
Bev's analysis of
the problem
When Lesley and Kayos first visited me I was
informed that they had visited the vet who had diagnosed a stifle strain in the right hind leg.
Kayos had been on a course of anti-inflammatory medication but afterwards had shown little sign
of improvement and still displayed lameness after agility. Upon a thorough examination there
appeared to be no swelling, heat or changes within muscle mass and condition of the hind leg. I
examined the rest of Kayos and found a problem in the left Pectoral Caudal muscle in the front
left leg, to which she was reluctant to put full weight through. Kayos had two very obvious
hard muscle masses that had gone into spasm. The muscle spasm was the size of two golf balls
which produces secondary problems in the thoracic vertebrae of the spine. No wonder she was in
discomfort! At first, I performed some gentle massage to the affected area and then later
included some deeper massage techniques and stretches.
By the second treatment, kayos had
improved dramatically, and by the third treatment was back to her normal fit self.
About Bev...
Bev Hotson has been involved in Agility for the past 17 years and has also
competed in obedience. She began agility with her Golden retriever Jasper and qualified through
to the first ever ABC final at Olympia where they came third. Unfortunately Jasper died at the
age of five of gastric poisoning. Bev’s next dog was Streak, a golden retriever X collie. and
after a successful career with him had to unfortunately retire him as the result of two
cruciate repairs. Bev still competes with the family goldie Glen, a blue merle collie Keya and
occasionally running Streak in any size jumping classes.
Bev’s love of dogs encouraged her to
apply for a place on a canine massage course where she successfully passed level one with a
distinction. She is currently on level 2/3 and qualifies in February and plans to set up in
business as Doggy Massage (www.doggymassage.co.uk ) and has also secured a day slot in a
Coventry Veterinary Clinic working with animals referred to her by the vet.
Bev lives in Rugby with her mother so
is quite central for the Midlands. She is happy to travel if a group of people wanted their
dogs looking at. You do need a form, signed by your Vet, before she is able to work on a dog.
Her email address is bevhotson@btinternet.com or
you could write to her at Bev Hotson at 11, Blackberry Close, Brownsover, Rugby CV23 0UJ
About the
author...
Having played around with ponies for many
years with some success in Prince Philip mounted games, Show Jumping and One Day Events,
Lesley Wilks had seen agility from Olympia and always wanted to take part. After all, you
can’t fall off a dog, only over it! It wasn’t when she moved to Daventry that she found a club
that trained the discipline.
After sailing through their Obedience
course, she commenced agility training and, five months later, was let loose on the agility
circuit at her very first show. That was it. She was bitten by the bug and have been an addict
ever since!!
Lesley's first dog thoroughly spoilt
her for anything else as he achieved a clear round at his first show, went from Starters to
Advanced in six months (although the category wasn’t around at the time) and qualified for
every major final, cumulating in a win at Crufts in 1995.
Since then, she's had two more Senior
dogs, a superb Flyball dog who helped her team qualify for every final they contested, a
'failed' sheepdog that she took over from her husband at 22 months old and now she is training
yet another youngster.
Lesley has travelled the length and
breadth of the country, met some super people and, best of all, had fun with her dogs. And she
is still enjoying competing after 20ish years!
| |
|
