Cushla Lamen

After spending many years training as a human fitness instructor and developing training programmes for human athletes, when I started competing with my own dogs I always wondered whether equivalent training techniques could be transferred to them and whether their performance and recovery could be enhanced by these techniques. Initially I had no idea where to obtain such information, but a friend suggested Galen Therapy, which seemed to be able to answer all the burning questions I had.

After initially attending a Galen Therapy Workshop on Canine Athletes and having learnt valuable warm up and cool down techniques for dogs and seeing at first hand the benefits that the canines gain from these exercises, I enrolled on the challenging Galen Myotherapist course.

Having lived with an arthritic dog for many years, I could immediately relate how Myotherapy (soft tissue manipulation) would benefit our canines. Massage can help to ease pain and discomfort in a variety of conditions, such as elbow and hip dysplasia, OCD etc. It works both on a physical level, by relieving tension in supporting muscles and enabling flexibility and core stability and on a psychological level by helping to soothe and relax an anxious canine.

Since being immersed in Myotherapy I have had the opportunity to see first-hand the beneficial effects that canine massage can have on all dogs, of all ages with a wide variety of issues. I feel passionately about the benefits of canine massage and strongly believe that all dogs, whether pets or canine athletes can benefit from this treatment.