A Loyal Friend Canine Massage

🟢 Pain, fascia, behaviour, and the nervous system…

This is something I’ve found myself thinking about more and more in practice recently.

I often say that I’m not a behaviourist or dog trainer, although I’ve completed a number of behaviour-related courses over the years. Behaviour is such a complex area, and I have huge respect for the people who work within it professionally.

One of the things I really value in this profession is being able to learn from others particularly veterinary behaviourists, trainers, vets, and rehabilitation professionals. Conversations with some incredibly knowledgeable people have made me increasingly interested in how pain, fascia, the nervous system, and behaviour may all influence one another in dogs.

For years I’ve heard phrases like “the body stores trauma” or “fascia holds emotional memory.” I’ve always been curious about how that might actually work physiologically, so I’ve spent quite a bit of time reading around the topic.

Recently I came across an interesting paper by Kotler, Mannino, Fox & Friston (2026):

📖 The body does not keep the score: trauma, predictive coding, and the restoration of metastability.

What I found particularly interesting was the idea that trauma may not literally be stored in tissue itself, but that the brain and nervous system can become locked into protective prediction patterns.

In very simple terms:
🐾 the brain begins expecting threat
🐾 the nervous system stays on alert
🐾 the body continues responding protectively, even when danger may no longer be present

Behaviourists
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When we think about anxious, reactive, hypervigilant, or chronically painful dogs, this starts to feel highly relevant.

Dogs living with pain, repeated discomfort, injury, chronic stress, or negative experiences may show:

• increased tension and muscle guarding
• altered posture and movement patterns
• exaggerated responses
• difficulty relaxing or settling
• avoidance behaviours
• persistent protective patterns long after healing has occurred

To me, this doesn’t lessen the importance of fascia or the body’s role in pain and behaviour, if anything, it reinforces how interconnected the nervous system and body really are.

Therapists
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In rehabilitation work, we regularly see how pain can influence behaviour, and equally how stress and behavioural state can influence pain, movement quality, posture, muscle tone, and recovery.

🟢can you help?

It’s an area I’d genuinely love to understand more deeply.

I’d be really interested to hear thoughts from:
🐾 veterinary behaviourists
🐾 accredited trainers
🐾 clinical animal behaviourists
🐾 rehabilitation professionals
🐾 vets involved in pain management

Especially around chronic pain, nervous system dysregulation, fascia, and behavioural presentation in dogs.

There’s still so much for all of us to learn together in order to better support dogs living with pain.

🟢 What Is Fascia?

Fascia is a three-dimensional, collagen-based connective tissue system that permeates the entire body. It surrounds and interpenetrates muscles, bones, organs, and nerves, serving both mechanical and communicative roles.

Key properties of fascia include:
• Tensile strength and adaptability
• Viscoelasticity—fascia can deform and return to shape depending on load and hydration
• Neural richness: Fascia contains a dense network of mechanoreceptors and nociceptors (Schleip et al., 2006)

🟢 The Neurology of Fascia

According to Schleip and colleagues (2006), fascia is more densely innervated than muscle tissue, especially by:
• Ruffini and Pacinian corpuscles (pressure/stretch sensors)
• Nociceptors (pain receptors)
• Interoceptors, which link fascia to emotional and autonomic regulation (Craig, 2002)

This explains why manipulating fascia can have immediate effects on pain modulation and parasympathetic activation—key components in trauma recovery and chronic pain management.

🟢 Fascia and Trauma

Fascia is believed to “record” physical and emotional stress through changes in tone, stiffness, and glide. Prolonged trauma—whether mechanical (injury, overuse) or psychological—leads to:
• Densification (Stecco et al., 2013)
• Neurological sensitisation
• Altered biomechanics and compensation patterns

Without intervention, these adaptations become chronic dysfunctions.

🟢 Why Skilled Fascia Work Matters

Releasing fascial tension is not simply about applying pressure—it requires clinical skill, palpatory sensitivity, and a deep understanding of fascia’s multidimensional behavior.

Effective myofascial work:
• Identifies and follows lines of tension—not just superficial restrictions
• Uses low-load, sustained techniques to engage tissue at a neurological level
• Responds to visceral, emotional, and somatic cues the body presents in real time

Only trained and experienced practitioners can accurately perceive and influence these patterns without causing reactive guarding or further sensitisation.

🟢 Advanced Myofascial Release in Practice

In equine and canine work, these techniques offer a significant advantage by:
✔️ Resolving deep fascial adhesions and densification
✔️ Addressing compensatory movement patterns
✔️ Supporting neurological regulation and parasympathetic shift
✔️ Helping animals with trauma histories restore postural and emotional balance

References:
• Schleip, R. et al. (2006). Fascia is richly innervated with sensory nerve endings. Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies.
• Stecco, C. et al. (2013). Fascial densification as a cause of musculoskeletal pain. Current Pain and Headache Reports.
• Craig, A.D. (2002). How do you feel? Interoception: the sense of the physiological condition of the body. Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

💚 Don’t Feel Guilty 💚

So many of us – myself included – carry an overwhelming sense of guilt when it comes to our dogs.

We worry that we aren’t doing enough, or that we could have made different choices. This feeling is so common, and many of us carry that burden quietly.

We wonder if their behaviour is our fault, or if their orthopaedic conditions happened because we played too much ball, let them run the stairs, or competed in sports like flyball or agility. We ask ourselves: could I have prevented this?

But here’s the truth ⬇️
We all do the very best we can with the knowledge, time, and resources we have. Life with our dogs is a journey. Yes, there may be things we’d do differently if we could go back – but that doesn’t mean we should carry guilt.

💚 Don’t feel guilty if you can’t afford every therapy or treatment session – physio, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, swimming, or specialist training.

💚 Don’t feel guilty if your busy life doesn’t allow you to attend every class or activity.

💚 Don’t feel guilty if you can’t buy the most expensive foods, supplements, or training plans, and instead choose what works for your budget.

👉 What matters most is that your dog feels loved, safe, and respected.

You are doing a fantastic job.
You are an amazing dog owner. 🐾

Pain Changes More Than Movement—It Changes Behaviour Too.

When a dog lives with pain for weeks, months, or years, it doesn’t just affect the sore joint, muscle, or spine. Persistent pain can change the way the entire nervous system processes information.

Think of the spinal cord as the body’s pain highway. Every pain signal travels through it before reaching the brain. With ongoing pain, this pathway can become increasingly sensitive—a process known as central sensitisation.

As this develops:
~ Pain signals are amplified.
~ The nervous system becomes hyper-responsive.
~ Normal touch or movement may become painful.
~ The body can remain in a protective “high alert” state, even when the original injury has improved.

This doesn’t just affect physical comfort—it affects behaviour.

Pain influences how a dog perceives and responds to the world around them. Dogs experiencing chronic pain may become reluctant to exercise, avoid being touched, struggle to settle, sleep more or less than usual, appear withdrawn, or become more reactive. Some may show irritability around people or other dogs, while others become quieter, less interactive, or lose interest in activities they once enjoyed.

These behavioural changes are often a form of communication rather than “bad behaviour.” A dog that growls when handled, hesitates to jump into the car, avoids stairs, becomes less tolerant of grooming, or suddenly seems anxious may be trying to tell us that something hurts.

Pain can also reduce a dog’s ability to learn and cope. When the nervous system is constantly processing pain, stress hormones increase, sleep quality declines, and emotional resilience is reduced. This is why addressing pain is often a crucial first step before expecting behavioural improvement.

Pain is not simply a symptom—it is a disease process that affects physical health, emotional wellbeing, behaviour, and quality of life.

Early recognition and appropriate pain management are therefore essential for good welfare.

✔️A comfortable dog can learn.
✔️ A comfortable dog can rest.
✔️ A comfortable dog can move confidently.
✔️ A comfortable dog can engage with their family.
✔️ A comfortable dog has a better quality of life.

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If you suspect your dog may be living with pain, trust your observations and speak with your veterinarian. Dogs are remarkably good at masking discomfort, and behavioural changes are often one of the earliest indicators that something isn’t right.

References
• International Association for the Study of Pain. IASP Terminology and educational resources on central sensitisation and persistent pain.
• World Small Animal Veterinary Association. Global Pain Council Guidelines for pain recognition, assessment, and management in companion animals.
• American Animal Hospital Association & American Association of Feline Practitioners. 2022 AAHA/AAFP Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats.
• British Small Animal Veterinary Association. Resources on chronic pain, osteoarthritis, and recognising pain-related behavioural changes in dogs.

☀️ Well… we’re having a lovely summer, aren’t we? ☀️

I don’t want to be the one complaining about the sunshine, but after so many dry days without rain, there is something we really need to think about when it comes to our dogs.

The ground beneath their paws matters.

Prolonged dry weather can leave some ground areas extremely firm, compacted and uneven. Farmland, tracks and fields can develop deep cracks, holes, ruts and changes in surface consistency that may increase the risk of slips, falls, twists and awkward landings—especially when dogs are running at speed.

Many of my wonderful clients and customers enjoy sports and activities with their dogs—agility, Canicross, running, jumping, retrieving and much more.

There is growing evidence from veterinary sports medicine that the surfaces dogs exercise, train and compete on are an important factor when considering performance and injury risk.

A 2022 study published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science surveyed over 300 canine agility athletes to investigate how different ground surfaces affect performance and injury. The researchers found that many injuries involved the forelimbs and digits, and that handlers consistently identified surface characteristics—including firmness, consistency, moisture, traction and maintenance—as important factors affecting both performance and the likelihood of injury. Although further research is needed, the study reinforces an important message: the condition of the ground our dogs exercise on matters and should be considered when trying to reduce injury risk.

This does not mean every hard surface will cause injury, but when you combine:

🐾 High-speed running
🐾 Repeated jumping
🐾 Sudden changes of direction
🐾 Uneven or unforgiving ground

…the forces travelling through muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints can increase.

This is particularly important for:

🐾 Senior dogs
🐾 Dogs with arthritis
🐾 Dogs with spinal problems
🐾 Dogs returning from injury
🐾 Dogs with previous joint or soft tissue injuries

Thankfully injuries are rare but they do happen. In my own clinic, I have seen injuries associated with dogs catching a limb or digit in furrows, cracks or uneven ground, including:

🐾 Ligament sprains
🐾 Muscle strains
🐾 Toe and foot injuries, including fractures
🐾 Cruciate ligament injuries
🐾 More serious trauma following an awkward fall or a limb becoming trapped in uneven ground, resulting in life-changing injury

So please take extra care over the coming weeks.

A few things you can do to help keep your dogs safe:

✅ Walk over and check the ground before allowing high-speed off-lead exercise.
✅ Look out for cracks, holes, deep ruts and uneven areas.
✅ Avoid repeated sprinting, sharp turns and jumping on very hard or inconsistent surfaces.
✅ Check agility areas carefully before asking your dog to jump or perform obstacles.
✅ Consider reducing or avoiding impact-heavy activities during periods when the ground is extremely dry and unforgiving.

And remember—our dogs often don’t know when they should stop, especially when they’re having fun!

Enjoy the sunshine ☀️, but please remember that the surface beneath their paws matters too.

🐶❤️ Stay safe and have fun out there!

Reference

Jimenez IA, Canapp SO Jr, Percival ML. Internet-based survey evaluating the impact of ground substrate on injury and performance in canine agility athletes. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 2022;9:1025331.

A Lifetime with Dogs

When I look back over my lifetime with dogs, it really is incredible to see how much has changed.

My first experience with a dog was when I was a tiny little girl. I’m not going to tell you how many years ago that was—but let’s just say it was a very long time ago!

The dog was my grandma’s dog, Bonza. He was a mixed breed, certainly with some German Shepherd in him, and he was absolutely enormous. Looking back now, he was my very first introduction to dogs.

Bonza had a very different life from the dogs we know today.

Back then, it was simply the norm for dogs to have some breakfast usually scraps from the table and then be sent outside for the day. There were no lead walks, no training classes and very little supervision. Bonza would disappear, joining the other neighbourhood dogs, and nobody really knew where they went or what they got up to until they came home in time for tea.

There was no training, no real control, very little thought about welfare, and certainly no veterinary care that I can remember. But that was considered perfectly normal in those days. There is no blame attached to the owners because this was simply how dogs were kept. Society accepted it.

Ironically, Bonza probably thought he had a wonderful life. He had the freedom to roam wherever he pleased. There were plenty of stories about the adventures he got up to, and I’m sure he fathered more than a few puppies around the neighbourhood! He probably caused a fair bit of mischief too, but that was simply part of life back then.

One memory that always makes me smile is his poo, it was white! Those of you of a certain age may remember that white dog poo was actually quite common. It was largely because dogs ate far more bones and therefore much more calcium than they do today. It’s funny how something as odd as white dog poo has become a little piece of history.

Fast forward to today, and thankfully so much has changed.

We could never imagine dogs simply roaming the streets all day now, and that’s a very good thing.

Today, so many dogs are lucky enough to have wonderful owners who genuinely care about every aspect of their lives. They receive proper veterinary care, preventative healthcare, rehabilitation when needed, medication, insurance, training and enrichment.

The opportunities available to dogs today are incredible. They can enjoy agility, scent work, scurry work, hoopers, canicross, flyball and so many other activities that keep them mentally and physically fulfilled.

We also have outstanding dog trainers, behaviourists and canine therapists who are helping owners understand their dogs better than ever before. Education has come such a long way, and we’re beginning to appreciate that our dogs need mental stimulation just as much as physical exercise.

Nutrition has improved enormously too. More people are understanding the importance of fresh food, species-appropriate diets, raw feeding where suitable, and the role that the gut microbiome plays in a dog’s overall health and wellbeing.

Most importantly, many of us are now putting our dogs’ welfare first. We think about their emotional wellbeing as well as their physical health, and that makes me incredibly happy. We’ve come such a long way during my lifetime.

But despite all this progress, I still believe we have a long, long way to go.

My dream has always been for every single dog to have the welfare, respect, love, healthcare, training, enrichment and understanding they deserve. I’d love every owner to see their dog as an individual with emotional as well as physical needs.

Realistically, I know I probably won’t see everything I hope for in my lifetime. But I do see more and more owners embracing positive, kind and educated care, and that gives me enormous hope.

So here’s to the next chapter.

Perhaps, many years from now, someone else will look back over their lifetime with dogs and tell the story of just how much things have improved again.

I hope they’ll say that every dog has access to excellent healthcare. That every owner understands canine behaviour. That training is kind, welfare-led and based on science. That dogs are treated with the respect they deserve, not because the law says they should be, but because society believes they should be.

Until then, let’s keep doing what we can.

Let’s keep learning.

Let’s keep advocating.

Let’s keep speaking up for our dogs.

We’ve come a very long way—but we’re not finished yet.

Together, let’s make sure the next generation of dogs has an even better life than this one.💚

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What are your early childhood memories of the first dog you met?