The TTouch workshop - part 1...

What an amazing experience Dandy and I had at the workshop!  Prior to Dandy coming back to us, I knew very little about TTouch.  I did know that one of New Ratittude's Georgia and Michigan foster parents used TTouch methods with their foster dogs and had good results.  Once Dandy was back with us,  I decided I would look for a TTouch practitioner and lucky us, we found Lori Stevens who has done wonders with little Dandy boy!  Dandy has had 3 private sessions, all tailored to his needs/issues.  When I found out Lori was teaching a TTouch workshop, I couldn't sign up fast enough as I knew I would learn a lot which ultimately would help me, Catty and the foster dogs.  Lori and I spoke about bringing Dandy and we decided it would be a good idea as long as we were able to make it a safe and good experience for him.  Sure enough we were able to do this thanks to Dandy's trust with Lori, myself and the participants in the class who just let Dandy move at his pace during the workshop.  This was a day full of tons of new experiences for Dandy and he once again showed us what a wonderful, resilient boy he is.  As for me, I'm pretty enamored with TTouch and can't wait to learn even more. 

During this one day workshop we covered 3 basic components of TTouch:

1) Bodywork - gentle, non-invasive and non-habitual pressure touch
2) Equipment and Tools - these bring awareness and change to animals
3) Movement work - this builds confidence, improves focus, and encourages balance (mental, physical and emotional)

Dandy was able to be an active participant in 2 of the 3 components and as you will soon seem he was a super star.

Ear touches, this is one of Dandy's favorite touches and something we can do at home with him! As you can see he's being very brave by coming in face first, something that is very hard for him.

Dandy's back legs and tail carry a lot of muscle tension so, Lori does a good amount of work in these areas which again, Dandy loves.

Working his tight little tail.  When Lori stops, Dandy back in asking more more touching!

Working on movement of Dandy's legs.  He's carries his body in a very rigid manor and his back legs remind me of brittle sticks.  Working his range of motion in combination with the touches is something he likes.

More movements, I was actually surprised at how long Dandy was allowing Lori to work his legs considering he was in the center of the room with lots of eyes watching as Dandy & Lori worked.

Dandy has a "roached" back, it arches up and this is due to years of stress/tension and here you can see Lori using touch to help release the tension and relax his muscles.  I really wish I had video taped this - one she finished the touch you could visibly see the difference and this lasted for the remainder of the day.

Dandy was nervous with all that was going on so, I was close by which allowed him to feel relaxed during the time he & Lori were working together.   As usual, Dandy was able to move away if he felt like the work was too much for him.  The first couple of touches he did move away for a break but, then came back on his own for more work.

At the end of the day when Lori was wrapping up the workshop I looked down and there was no Dandy, I looked over at Lori (who was seated in her chair) and there was Dandy leaning up against her gently asking for more bodywork!