Canine Massage is becoming a very popular treatment within the veterinary world. For many years it has been widely accepted in the human field but not so much with our animals. The recent increase in owner’s looking for complementary therapies has increased the requirement for more Massage therapists, and now with more ways than ever to qualify professionally as a Canine Massage therapist, it is becoming more and more popular.

As Veterinary nurses or Vet’s we are in the best position to implement Massage treatment and it has been a part of the Veterinary nurse practical and theoretical study for many years. With any injury or disease, it’s not simply about medicating or treating that one area, there is often a greater impact on the body as a whole and as massage therapist it’s our job to ensure we rebalance the animal to prevent compensatory issues arising and help to improve muscle tone, strength and flexibility. We also have the best position to educate owners on management of chronic conditions such as Osteoarthritis and massage is often a part of this whether performed by a therapist or an owner doing basic techniques at home.

The aim of this course is to give you a brief introduction into the world of canine massage, to inform on the legalities surrounding the treatment and to give an understanding of how massage can help your patients. As the profession becomes more widely accepted and the demand higher, the veterinary clinic is the best place to start implementing rehabilitation, with massage being a big part of this. Hopefully this course can give students the understanding behind the techniques discussed and practically assessed in their studies but also give qualified nurses another specialty they may wish to look further into and go on to qualify in this area.