As a child I had many animals in my home; several cats, gerbils, tortoise and goldfish but never had a dog.

When I was in my early twenties my partner had a German Shepherd who was such an amazing boy very friendly, walked well off lead, well behaved in the house and great with people. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy which was devastating to watch.

Moving on several years (more than I would like to say) I moved to Dunoon and I was able to have dogs of my own. Welcome Ceana the first addition for Dale and I, our naughty but nice Irish rescue Jack Russell and then Otis the pedigree Jack Russell who was led astray by Ceana ;)

 Ceana and Otis have had a huge impact on my life starting with the dog training journey. I realised quickly that I needed to start training myself on how to work with reactive and nervous dogs which is what I did and I am continually learning more and more about dog behaviour as I work with more owners and dogs. I became a pro dog trainer and also approved by the dog training college. I have recently become a UK Bronze Scent Detection Instuctor  and I continue to grow my knowledge with ongoing courses with the IMDT. 

I previously qualified as a human massage therapist in 2002 and I have also completed courses in Aromatherapy, Myofascial Release, Deep Tissue, Menopause Massage and also level 2 Reiki.

Whilst I was on the dog training journey, I noticed that there was often a link between pain and behaviour.  Ceana and Otis are classed as senior dogs which led me to become increasingly  interested in learning more about Clinincal Canine Massage and the benefits it provides in  helping to improve dogs’ quality of life. 

I enrolled on the Clinical Canine Massage Practitioner programme in 2021 which is externally accredited by LANTRA My study involved over 800 hours of practical & theoretical study which included Anatomy and Physiology modules, Neurology, Orthopaedic conditions, Pathology of Soft Tissue injury  and Fascia 

Practical sessions included; Art of Palpation, 4 Disciplines of Massage, 50 Techniques, Passive Range Of Movement, Body Mapping and Lenton Method which is a 3 tiered approach developed by Natalie Lenton and has been used in clinical studies by Winchester University.

Lenton method involves:

 Advanced Palpation and Evaluation

 Body Mapping

 7 Protocols

I also learned about how activities of daily living can cause stresses to dogs and how they can impact the body, cause mobility and health issues in dogs. After care plans or maintenance sheets may also be used to help owner with the care of their dog.

After completing my 12 case studies which consisted of 3 sessions over 3 weeks, I had some great results which was lovely to see for myself and the owners and more importantly the dogs could feel the results :)

Completing this course along with Animal reiki and ongoing learning with animal aromatherapy I have been able to further my career in working with dogs helping to rehabilitate them from injury and help provide pain management for orthopaedic conditions and senior dogs. This has been a life changing decision for me and I look forward to helping as many dogs and owners that I can throughout my career.

Thanks to Dale, Ceana, Otis and my mum for supporting me on this journey