How Massage Boosts Relaxation in Dogs
Have you ever wondered how you can help your dog relax more? If you haven’t, think about this: A study by Milla Salonen from Finland found that 72.5% of dogs suffer from some sort of anxiety disorder or stress-related issues.
So, the surprising fact is that most dogs suffer from built-up stress and tension without their owners even knowing about that. Therefore, it becomes increasingly important to look after your dog’s emotional state and reduce stress as much as possible!
Have you ever had a good massage? If you have, you’ll know that it is one of the most relaxing activities we can partake in. The same goes for dogs. Once they get used to massage, which usually isn’t long, they tend to love getting their daily massages!
How Massage Boosts Relaxation in Dogs
Dogs are increasingly stressed in today’s world. It isn’t necessarily that dogs are more stressed, but humans understand dogs’ mental health better with new canine research surfacing.
When your dog stresses, its body releases a stress hormone named cortisol, the same stress hormone we have in our bodies. The primary role of cortisol is to help energize your dog’s body for the fight or flight reaction in stressful situations.
Unfortunately, most dogs don’t expel their cortisol by participating in a stressful event, so the substance builds up in their system. Too much cortisol decreases the effect of your dog’s immune system, which can cause your dog to get sick quickly, get injured, and remain in a constant state of stress and anxiety.
When you massage your dog, you help eliminate the cortisol from the blood and stimulate your dog’s peripheral nervous system, increasing the amount of feel-good hormone, endorphins, to release in the brain.
The decrease in cortisol and the increase in endorphins help your dog to become more relaxed.
Get Your Dog Used to the Karypet Massager
The whole point of dog massage is to get your dog to relax. So, it is critical to introduce your dog to the Karypet Dog Massage Gun slowly to ensure maximum relaxation benefits. See our blog post on “How to Massage Your Dog with a Massager.”
The key is to make your dog comfortable with the device before using it to ensure your dog doesn’t get scared of the massager altogether. The more comfortable your dog is with the device, the better the relaxation benefits.
Signs Your Dog is Relaxing
There are signs you can look out for to tell whether your dog is relaxing during the massage, like:
- Relaxed posture (no tense or stiff muscles)
- Not shivering from stress
- Soft, relaxed eyes, not constantly focussing on one point in the room
- Soft and partially open mouth
- Appears to be smiling
- Relaxed tail
- Relaxed ears
- Steady and easy breathing
The more you use the Karypet Dog Massage Gun on your dog, the more your dog will look forward to the relaxing bonding session the both of you will share.
