Muscles & More

💚🐾 𝗦𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗗𝗢𝗚 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 🐾💚

Earlier this week, something pretty special happened with Tucker.

I've had her since she was eight weeks old. She's 27 months now, and in all that time I've never been able to give my own dog a complete therapy session without her growling.

I'll admit, that's been really hard for me.

Not just because she's my dog, but because of what I do. I pride myself on being able to read the dog beneath my hands, give them space and change my approach when they're telling me something isn't right.

But Tucker has challenged me more than most.

I've had to pull every tool out of my toolbox. Try different techniques, back off, reassess, learn new approaches and, most importantly, learn her.

And this week, something finally clicked.

For the first time, Tucker relaxed under my hands for an entire therapy session without a single growl. I was able to work through her body, stretch her and do everything I would normally do in a session.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲, 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹.

As her person, it meant the world to me.

As a therapist, it reminded me that no matter how many years I've been doing this, there's always another dog capable of teaching me something.

𝗧𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘀𝘁.

This was never about stopping her from growling. Her growl was communication, and I needed to listen.

It was about Tucker being comfortable enough to let me in.

𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜'𝗺 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗴. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲'𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

And this week, that trust reached somewhere new. 💚

Janine
Muscles & More

💚🐾 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦 𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗧 🐾💚

A little quieter work for Miss Scout.

Not everything I do needs pressure or big movements.

Sometimes it's about slowing things right down, using very gentle contact and feeling what the body is giving me.

Scout settled beautifully into this work.

And that face pretty much says the rest. 💚

Muscles & More

🌿 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞…

The other day I was walking Midge and Tucker along the footpath and something really stood out to me.

Midge was moving along fairly quickly, catching her toes and scuffing her feet at times.

Then we found a little patch of bushland.

So, in true Muscles & More fashion…

𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞. 😂

And that's when things got interesting.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐩.

They weren't just walking anymore.

👃 Sniffing
🌿 Exploring
🔎 Investigating
🐾 Negotiating changing terrain

Different surfaces. Different smells. Different sounds. Different things to work out.

They were making decisions about where to go and how to negotiate what was in front of them.

Adjusting their bodies.

Changing their foot placement.

Processing what was around them.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬.

It got me thinking about all the years I've spent exploring different environments with my dogs.

There is so much more happening on these adventures than simply getting exercise.

And environmental enrichment doesn't have to mean disappearing into the bush for hours.

It's about giving our dogs opportunities to sniff, investigate, navigate, problem-solve and experience the world around them.

𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨.

🌿 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐈'𝐦 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬…

Where does your dog light up?

What do they love doing when you get out and explore together?

I'd genuinely love to hear what your dogs get up to. 🐾

💚🐾 𝗔𝗕𝗕𝗜𝗘 🐾💚

Abbie the staffy has been coming to see me since her TPLO surgery around three years ago.

She's a little pocket rocket, full of s***k and charisma.

Tucker and Abbie absolutely adore each other, and it's beautiful to watch whenever they catch up.

Every now and then Abbie tweaks herself and pulls up a little sore, which gives her human heart failure. When that happens, she pops in for a bonus session between her regular maintenance appointments to make sure she's tickety boo.

Keeping this little pocket rocket comfortable, moving well, and enjoying life has been so much fun.

💚

Janine

Muscles & More

💚🐾 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗬𝗼𝘂... 🐾💚

She may look sweet and innocent...

But she's got plenty of cheek.

She's full of s***k.

She keeps me on my toes...

And always makes me smile.

I absolutely love spending time with this gorgeous girl.

She has such a big heart. 💚

🐾💚

𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 & 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲

Every dog has a story.

I simply help them tell it. 💚

🦁 Lions Mane Mushroom 🍄 is not only good for your dogs noggin but it also helps slows the growth of dog cancer cells, triggers them to self destuct & reduces their ability to spread.

🐶🍄🦁 LION’S MANE MUSHROOM MAY DO MORE THAN SUPPORT THE BRAIN.

A new peer-reviewed laboratory study published in Veterinary World found that a Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus) extract slowed the growth of canine mammary (breast) cancer cells, triggered them to self-destruct, and reduced their ability to spread. Even more encouraging, it had much less effect on healthy dog cells than on cancer cells.

Researchers discovered that Lion’s Mane appeared to fight cancer in several ways at once:

🔬 Slowed the growth of canine cancer cells

💥 Triggered apoptosis—the body’s natural process of removing damaged cells

🚫 Reduced the cancer cells’ ability to migrate, an important first step in metastasis (the spread of cancer)

🔒 Shifted cancer cells toward a less aggressive state by changing genes involved in tumor spread

🍄 Identified 17 naturally occurring bioactive compounds, including erinacines and hericenones, that may contribute to these effects.

One of the biggest surprises of the cell culture study was that the extract appeared to attack cancer cells while leaving most healthy dog cells largely unaffected.

💚🐾 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗬𝗼𝘂 🐾💚

Thank you so much Rob's Veterinary, for your kind words and for trusting me with Humphrey.

It was an absolute pleasure meeting you both, and I'm so pleased Humphrey enjoyed his treatment.

Your recommendation means a great deal to me.

Thank you. 💚

💚🐾 𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗗𝗢𝗚'𝗦 𝗝𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗦? 🐾💚

When we think about movement, we often think about muscles.

But movement does so much more than that.

As your dog moves, it helps circulate the joint's natural synovial fluid. This fluid nourishes the cartilage, helps lubricate the joints and supports the exchange of nutrients and waste products.

This is one of the reasons appropriate movement is such an important part of helping many dogs maintain their mobility.

Not harder.

Not further.

Just the right amount of movement for the dog in front of you.

With Midge, I don't focus on her arthritis.

I focus on helping her keep moving.

I don't expect movement to cure her arthritis.

What I do see is a dog who's happier to head out for her walks, enjoys moving and seems more comfortable afterwards.

For me, that's reason enough.

It's also one of the reasons I love being a Canine Myofunctional Therapist.

My role is to support muscles, movement and mobility, helping each dog move as comfortably and confidently as possible so they can keep enjoying life.

Because sometimes, the greatest gift we can give our dogs...
..is simply helping them keep moving.

💚🐾