Tellington Touch

Animal Quality Life Consultant
Tellington Touch Practitioner

• T-Touch Philosophy
• TT Dog Clinics
• TT Equione Awareness Method
• TT Animal Companion Training
• TT Tidbits
• Kennel Cough Protocol
• Bernie protocol for tumor
• Reverse Sneezes
• Background
• Daniel Pinkwater (NPR) Dog Stories
• Animal Stories
• Stroke Protocol for Dogs

T-Touch is a type of body work comprised of specific circles, lifts, and strokes done all over every inch of the body. The gentle touches work on the nerve endings just below the surface of the skin, making a connection through the brain and nervous system, rather than through the muscles (as in massage). T-Touch affects behavior, health and an animal's ability to learn and deepens the bond between human and animal. It takes them beyond instinct and teaches them to be more intelligent and able to make choices.

T-Touch finds areas in an animal's body that indicate tension, fear of contact, soreness or discomfort. Specific touches and movements improve self-image and self-confidence. T-Touch has been used extensively to speed healing and recovery from injury and illness in all animals, including humans. Attitude and behavior also can be positively influenced with the T-Touch.

When an animal's fears and anxieties are reduced by T-Touch, its ability to learn increases.

Bernie is the black and white, Karelian bear dog, pictured with Bonnie at the top of this page. He came to live with Bonnie, via her brother Chad, in October 1999

• To honor the role of animals in our lives.
• To encourage harmony, cooperation and trust between humans and animals.
• To recognize the individual learning process of every human and animal.
• To respect the animal as an individual.
• To teach interspecies communication through the T-Touch.
• To work with animals using understanding in place of dominance.

Host a group dog clinic in your area and learn the gentle way to work with your dog on fears, aggression, biting/mouthing, leash-pulling, jumping, pain over-exuberance, socialization issues, separation anxiety, arthritis, nervousness and basic commands.

Single clinic date, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.- $75 per person, group rate based on at least 6 people attending.

TTEAM
(Tellington Touch Equine Awareness Method)

TTEAM has been used successfully on horses with:
» Sore backs   »Stiffness   »Stress   »Nervousness   »Tension   »Trailering Issues   »Inconsistent performance   »Lameness   »Unevenness of stride   »Cinchiness   »Resistance to vet and ferrier   »Bucking and rearing   »Clipping, pulling manes, giving shots   »Head tossing   »Tail wringing   »Biting   »Kicking   »Pulling back when tied   »Resistance to grooming or saddling   »Stubbornness or laziness 

TTACT
(Tellington Touch Animal Companion Training)

Dogs, cats, birds, llamas, rabbits, gerbils, ferrets, reptiles, zoo animals and wildlife have received the benefits of T-Touch. TTACT offers ways of work with:
  » Timid and aggressive dogs and cat » Fear biters   »Separation anxiety   »Gait irregularities   »Illness   »Inappropriate jumping   »Licking, scratching, or barking   »Fear of veterinarian or groomer   »Improving performance in show ring and agility   »Car sickness   »Injury   »Arthritis   »Dysplasia   »Aging   »reducing stress   »animals in zoos and in wildlife rehab. Centers   »shelter animals to increase adoptibility   »service, therapy, guide dogs

Background:

Physical therapist since 1975, massage therapist since 1988, training in T-Touch both as practitioner and teacher since 1994. Besides working in the US, I have assisted teaching dog and horse clinics in England and Africa.

I have always "talked to animals" and used this rapport, as well as my extensive skills in the healthcare fields, in my animal consultations. I address both physical and behavioral issues and offer references and solutions for diet, homeopathy and holistic methods. I help you understand your animal's own language.

I'm available for one-hour private sessions, phone consultations, group clinics, and demonstrations for private organizations.

Bonnie’s TTouch Tidbit is about earwork to reduce, prevent and resolve shock and stress.

Similar to humans, animals’ ears hold the acupuncture points for the whole body. If you gently stroke (hold the ear between your thumb and index finger) from the base of the ear to the tip and cover all parts of the ear, you’ll start to calm an animal down. The very tip of the ear is considered the shock point so make sure to include this. There have been many incidents recorded of preventing death, while waiting for or transporting an animal to the veterinarian, by doing earwork. It also helps an animal recover more quickly from anesthesia following surgery. At the base of the ear where it attaches to the head are points for digestion, respiration and reproduction. By doing circles (move the skin in a clockwise circle and a quarter starting at 6:00, ending at 9:00) in this area you can calm breathing, sooth digestion problems (especially horses with colic) and assist healthy function of these systems. For those that don’t have ears (birds, iguanas), you can use your pinkie to do small circles around their ear hole to reduce shock and stress. Quite often, it’s not because of a head injury that a bird dies after flying into a window but due to shock and heart attack. Doing touches on the ear holes have resulted in the bird quickly recovering and flying away! When iguanas don’t feel well, they tend to look more pale and gray in color, often due to a lag in digestion. By working around the ear hole area, you can assist in promoting digestion and will start to see a change in color, becoming much more vibrant.

Bonnie and Bernie’s protocol for Kennel Cough

In spring of 2006, Bernie contracted kennel cough. He’d had it several years prior and was given antibiotics that helped clear it fairly quickly. Bernie’s vet advised this time that the current strain(s) did not respond to antibiotics and that there wasn’t a lot they could do. They did advise giving Bernie an herbal cough syrup to help with his hacking cough.

First I tried making my own syrup from Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Dr Pitcairn. I also gave Bernie the various vitamins he recommended. I wasn’t impressed enough with the results.

Bernie does take a nutritional supplement, Vitalzym X (World Nutrition – 800-548-2710; ask for ext 122, Jennifer, and give her my name) daily. This boosts the immune system and reduces inflammation and has been great for eliminating allergies for Bernie and me. I upped his normal 2/day dose to 6/day. I also gave him 2 Enzogenol, an antioxidant, per day.

I did get children’s herbal cough syrup at my local Co-op and used it as needed when he had coughing spells. I still wasn’t getting the results I wanted. What did the magic is the same product that works for me if I get an upper respiratory or sinus infection – Wellness Formula. I gave Bernie 2 tablets 3 times a day. (Dose for me would be 3 tablets every 3 hours.) Bernie is 55 pounds. I tried just one tablet and that didn’t work. If I am feeling absolutely dreadful with a cold and start Wellness Formula, in 2-3 days I can’t even believe I was sick at all – it works that fast for me. So, that was what I was looking for in Bernie – a marked improvement in 24 hours – and I got it!

So, Kennel Cough protocol per Bernie:

• Vitalzym X to boost the immune system
• Enzo Pro – Enzogenol, 2 per day, antioxidant
• Wellness Formula - all the herbs/vitamins to fight needed to fight infection in one bottle
• Herbal Cough Syrup for Children – use a dropper to squirt it down the throat
  

Do you know about reverse sneezes?

Besides having trouble with his ear and the tumor in June 2008, Bernie also had wheezing attacks. Sometimes these happened when on a walk or if he barked too excitedly and sometimes when just resting. The vets said they were “reverse sneezes” and probably due to allergies. When they happened on walks, Bernie froze and seemed like he wouldn’t be able to go any farther, like he was gasping for air. Very scary!

Helena Bresk recalled that the thing to do is to rub on each side of the breast bone (sternum); she doesn’t recall how she knows this, but it sure works well.

One night, it happened as Bernie was sleeping. Bonnie didn’t even turn on the light; she slid her fingers along the underside of Bernie’s neck until she got to the chest and then rubbed. The wheezes stopped instantly. Then, she did Tellington Touches on his ears (nice strokes from the base of the ears to the tip), as they are very calming, until he fell right back to sleep. He has not had a reverse sneeze since.

Bernie protocol for tumors:

On June 4, 2008 Bernie was diagnosed, by X-ray, with a large tumor on his spleen. Our vet recommended surgery but I did not feel that was the best option for Bernie. I had 2 animal intuitives and a woman that no one knows (*see story below) confirm my immediate decision. Our holistic vet, Dr Anna Gardner put together most of the protocol below. This protocol is also a lot of what she recommends to fight cancer as well. We have no way of knowing if Bernie’s tumor is cancerous without removing it and the spleen. Both vets feel that it has good chances of being benign, as the borders are even.

Besides my initial instinct of knowing I would not have the surgery done, I have had lots of other information with regards to these surgeries and read about these tumors on the internet since 6/4/08. Several friends that opted to have the surgery lost their dog or cat within days or months anyway, including Bernie’s regular vet (his dog had this a year ago and died 4 months post-surgery). The surgery is very difficult on the animal with a difficult recovery as well. I would never opt to extend my animal’s life just for my benefit and months would never be enough for me to put my animal through this kind of procedure. One friend is still paying off the $5000 debt and her cat died 2 days after surgery. It is not that I believe it is never a good option, but just my choice for Bernie now.

At the same time Bernie’s tumor was discovered (he had a very painful day, when he could hardly walk), he had a very bad infection in his right ear. An exploratory procedure at the vets (to see what was causing the infection) caused the eardrum to immediately dissolve the moment it was touched and blood to pour from the ear; that all happened early June. Black “goop” drained from Bernie’s ear for many weeks and I cleaned it daily. During that time, it hurt Bernie to open his mouth and chew, even a piece of banana was too much to handle. If he yawned, he tilted his head to one side for 2 months, to try and ease the discomfort in the right ear. Both Bernie’s vets believe his body is trying to detox the tumor through the ear and skin. He has had terrible dandruff for over a year and gets brushed many times a day. He hates to be brushed but tolerates it. I tell him how handsome and good he is and feel that I’m brushing away the tumor, one flake at a time.

*The best story, however, is from Bonnie’s friend, Nancy, in New York. Nancy has only seen pictures and heard stories about Bernie. Nancy was taking her dogs to the lake to swim in Patterson, NY on a really hot day in June. There’s always a woman sitting meditating along side the path to the lake. Nancy left her a bottle of water as they went by but had never spoken to her. On the way back from the lake to the car, the woman looked up and said, “Bernie doesn’t want surgery; he doesn’t think it would do the most good”. She also pointed to Nancy’s Golden Retriever, Hannah, and said, “This one is sending him lots of good energy”. When Nancy got to her car, she saw a guy who fishes in the lake and asked if he knew the woman. He said he always sees her meditating and that she’s never spoken to him but he heard that she is a faith healer. Did I mention we live in Washington state?

The Protocol:

Lots of prayers and love
A homemade raw meat-based diet
Vitamin C 500mg  1 tablet, twice a day
Vitamin E 400 i.u. 2/day
Omega 3 Fatty Acids (Fish Oil capsules) 1200mg 3 per day
Ester-C 500mg    1 tablet, twice a day
CoQ10 200mg     1 tablet a day
MSM 1000mg      1 tablet a day
Transfer Factor Plus 2, twice a day (www.Shapefast.com)
Pau D’Arco 1 capsule, twice a day
IP6 3 tablets once a day without food (www.physicianformulas.com)
K-9 Complete multivitamin 1½ T per day (www.k9power.com)
Essiac Tea (powder, make tea) ½ Tablespoon twice a day with food
Noni Juice ½ Tablespoon twice a day with food
Slippery Elm tea (powder, make tea) ½ Tablespoon twice a day with food
Self Heal Flower Essence 2 droppers full in water bowl 800-548-0075
Pink Yarrow Flower Essence 2 droppers full in water bowl

Modified Protocol starting 2009, after consult with Dennis Wilcox, DVM, in Port Angeles WA

Red Flower – 1 tablet per day
Minor Bupleurum – 1 per day
Wei Chi Booster 3-4 per day
Stasis Breaker 3-4 per day
Vitamin E 400 i.u. 2/day
Omega 3 Fatty Acids (Fish Oil capsules) 1200mg 1 per day
CoQ10 200mg 1 capsule a day
Pau D'Arco 1 capsule a day
IP6 3 tablets once a day without food (www.physicianformulas.com)
Vitalzym X – 2 capsules a day

The next 3 are good for homemade diets and health in general.
K-9 Complete multivitamin 1½ T per day (www.k9power.com)
1 ½ Tablespoons coconut oil mixed into food once a day
1 teaspoon ground green pumpkin seeds mixed into food once a day

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Goldenseal capsules 1 capsule, twice a day
Red Flower Formula 1 tablet, 2 times per day East Tao Chinese Herb
Congaplex 1 capsule, twice a day Standard Process, Inc.

Immunplex 1 capsule, twice a day Standard Process, Inc.
Echinacea capsules 400mg 1 capsule, twice a day
Dandelion 540mg 1 capsule, twice a day
Milk Thistle 600mg 1 capsule, twice a day

Everything above the dotted line, Bernie gets daily. Of the 2 groups below the dotted line, I alternate between the top 3 and bottom 4, doing just one set a day. This seems to work best for Bernie, even though Anna’s instructions were to give him all every day, but that upset his stomach. If he does vomit his pills up, I give him a break for a day and then resume the regimen.

Helena Bresk’s custom homeopathies 805-459-6387, as directed by her

Notes:
I snip and put the oil capsules (C, E and Fish Oil) into his morning food dish every day.
He gets the liquids (Noni, Essiac, and Slippery Elm) in his morning and evening food dishes every day.
He gets the K9 Complete herbal dry mix in his evening food bowl.
I put all the capsules and tablets down his throat.
Contact Dr Anna Gardner, holistic vet, for specifics for your animal, wwwpetsynergy.com, 360-796-3749

Bernie’s Ear Drops
Halo Drops put ½ dropper of each Halo and Silver in Bernie’s ear once a day until ear is clear
Colloidal Silver
Zymox – once or twice a week; started this in 2010

Upset Stomach Solutions – Bernie’s choice

If Bernie started throwing up, the first mix we used was plain yogurt with some honey and coconut oil mixed in.
By 2010, he threw the yogurt mix up. I thought about what all my elderly patients ate when their stomachs were “off” – oatmeal.
The Bernie miracle mix is:

Cook 1 cup of oatmeal in 2 cups of water at least 20-25 minutes, until very well cooked and loose in the pan. Add more water if it is too thick. Mix in 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil (it is a natural anti-viral and anti-bacterial). Beat 2 eggs and stir that into the hot oatmeal mix. This made 2 meals for Bernie. Usually after 1 day on this oatmeal mix, he was fine. The eggs give them a bit of protein.

This would probably work fine with barley or quinoa as well. Bernie’s sitter, Paula, was amazed at how well this works and how much the dogs seem to like it.

Animal Intuitives
Laura Stinchfield www.petpsychic.com 805-895-5968
Susan Azar ptigris@whidbey.com 360-730-1140

Bernie’s tumor got the better of him on 4/25/11 and I lost my wonderful friend and helper of many dogs, cats and people. He would’ve been 14 on 8/4/11.

Animal Stories
(If anyone has special animal stories to share, please write in!)

Fall of 2003, I was asked to intuitively meet 3 cats on Whidbey Island. The older owners just wanted to have more information on each of their cats in order to take the best care of them possible. One of these cats was a chocolate Siamese, Atlas. What Atlas showed me initially was that he loved both the husband and wife, but was more bonded to the husband. He felt life would be perfect if he was the only cat, but that he tolerated the other two. As long as other cats, in the home and neighborhood, recognize him for whom he is he will no longer initiate any fights unless provoked. He showed me a lifetime in Egypt as a temple cat, sitting way up on the top of a temple. He looked down at everyone and felt he was an integral power in the ruling class during that time. He does roam beyond his own yard and considers all the neighboring property his kingdom. Atlas is about nine years old and resents his previous owners for not recognizing him for the handsome and powerful being he is. (When they visit his current home, he wants nothing to do with them.)

The youngest rescue cat they have is a small female, Maybelle, now 2 years old. Her mother was killed and she was adopted at 6 weeks old. The veterinarian reported that he felt she had been physically abused as she already showed spinal damage at 6 weeks of age. She does not like to be touched beyond the top of her head and is an indoor cat for her own protection. I gave the owners lots of Tellington Touch info to help with her physical and fear issues. Just during the 2-hour session, the wife was able to start touching her beyond the head and she kept coming back for more. She wonders why she can’t go out with the two male cats. I suggested that they enhance her indoor environment with pots of grasses and spend extra time playing with her, besides occasional catnip.

Their oldest cat (12-13 years) is Baxter. Baxter considers himself to be the caretaker of everyone. I picked up that he’d been with Maybelle before and helped nurture her when she first came into this household (owners concurred this was so). Baxter is a large Maine Coon/Manx and very sweet in disposition. He does worry about everyone else and is most concerned when the owners go away for a few days or week. He worries that they may be ill and he won’t be there to take care of them. He tends to stay outdoors more and doesn’t eat as well when they’re away, even with daily caregivers coming in. I advised the owners to send Baxter lots of thought pictures about where they are going and when they’ll return and how well they are. All 3 cats need to know about that kind of thing. I also suggested that they have the caregivers give treats, catnip and Tellington Touches to make it more of a positive experience for all 3 cats. 

EP and the Crow
EP was a 19 lb. black cat, companion to Bonnie’s brother, Chad. EP was due to be relocated to Chad’s new home (after living with Bonnie for 8 months). EP wasn’t excited about the car ride and managed to escape before the door closed… Bonnie grabbed a bag of EP’s favorite treats to go in search. Just then she heard a crow squawking at her. It flew next door and seemed to beckon in that direction. Sure enough, Bonnie followed the crow and back behind the neighbor’s car was EP! Bonnie lured him out with the treats and quickly deposited him securely in Chad’s car. The crow flew above for the whole process adding his verbal input. As Bonnie walked to her back door, she thanked the crow and, with two final squawks, away it flew. Watch for any animals that come across your path and invite them to share a journey with you! Please send in any of your animal connection stories for our next issue!!

My own dog is Bernie. Bernie is a Karelian (Russian bear dog) now 6 years old. My brother rescued Bernie in AK when he was 1½ years old. I have lots of Bernie stories but this one is about Bernie at Christmas. Bernie knows about presents. When it’s someone’s birthday, Bernie waits to see when he gets a package to open, not that he will… At Christmas time 2 years ago, I wrapped Bernie’s new frog toy and put it at the very back of the tree with all the other presents heaped in front of it. Bernie did not see this toy and it was mail ordered so hadn’t even been in my car from a local pet shop. I came into my living room a few hours later and Bernie was reaching to the back of the tree to pull that one package out; he did not touch any others. I had to put the gift in my closet and tell him how many days he had to wait to open his Christmas gift. He was more than ready when the time came and waited and watched for me to give him “froggy”. Bernie still has his very first toy. He treasures each one and the only ones he’s pulled apart at all are the kind you stuff treats into and have to pull Velcro apart to get to the treats. Bernie discovered by removing the Velcro, it is much easier, or by biting a small hole directly into the pocket. 

Bernie’s first year at my house, we worked on some basic training. At this point, Bernie prefers Tellington Touches to looking out the car window most of the time. He loves T-Touches any time and will sit patiently as long as someone is willing to provide. 

To work on leading exercises and street smarts, I would take Bernie and a neighbor dog friend, Cree, on 2-hour run/walks 4-5 times a week. When we were picking up Cree, I’d grab a purple leash for him. When I was just doing short errands in town with Bernie, I would just take Bernie’s blue/green lead. On days when I couldn’t take the time for any walks, Bernie would bring me the purple leash, as I’d be working at the computer. He knew the purple leash meant the long best walk. I’d tell Bernie I just couldn’t do the walk that day. He’d wait a couple hours and then try again, always with the purple leash – ever hopeful.

If anyone has special animal stories to share, please write in!

NPR Commentator Daniel Pinkwater has some great dog stories. Here are links to a couple of them:

Dog or Wolf? Commentator Daniel Pinkwater tells about a dog named Lulu, whose character is shaped entirely by one key part of her make-up: she is more wolf than dog. She understands everything her masters say, but feels no need to obey.

Fat Dogs While listening to this program, commentator Daniel Pinkwater was startled by the news that American cats and dogs are too fat. He has a conversation with his dog Lulu about the situation.

Learn more about Daniel Pinkwater

• T-Touch Philosophy
• TT Equione Awareness Method
• TT Animal Companion Training
• Background
• Animal Stories
• Stoke Protocol for Dogs