TTouch - Ear Work For Health and Stress Relief

We humans just can't seem to control ourselves around our dogs and their ears. We just seem to gravitate to touching and stroking them. This is pleasant for us and one hopes for them. But we don't often do this consciously. So how about we try and make a change...

Why do it?

The ears have:

• Many pressure points for the immune system.
• A pressure point for shock near the tip.

So it makes sense that activating those pressure points can make a difference if your animal (or even injured wildlife) is sick, recovering from surgery or an anesthetic, tired or slowing down during giving birth or injured. It might even actually safe their life by staving off shock and helping them recover. There are many stories of it making the difference when dog’s lives have hung in the balance due to poisoning, bloat (GDV), car accident injuries and other potentially lethal situations.

Ear work shouldn’t just be reserved for emergencies though as it can also:

• Boost the immune system.
• Help stimulate and warm a cold and exhausted newborn or young pup.
• Help overcome the effects of cold.
• Help some dogs with stiffness.
• Help dogs learn to accept treatment for ear issues without a fight.
• Reduce nausea, vomiting or stress associated with car travel.
• Reduce stress in dogs in all sorts of situations including visits to the vets but also in daily life.
• Calm a hyperactive dog.
• Help with many behaviour problems and training situations when used in combination with other touches, bodywork and groundwork. More of this in some future posts.

Ear work can also be a handy tip for those who suffer nausea, migraine or travel sickness – even if you have to keep it up for some time. But the beauty is you can do it for yourself. It seems kids known all this instinctively as if you watch youngsters when they are tired or upset you will often see them rub on their own eyes.

So how do you find these pressure points? The beauty is you don’t need to be that specific – use the TTouch approach to ear work and it’s amazingly simple – and calming.

How do you do it?

This is easiest done if you are approaching the ears from behind the dog.

If you need to you can gently cradle the dog’s head in one hand (that’s cradle not restrain).

1. Hold the ear that is furthest away from you so that your thumb is on the top of the ear and the inside of the ear cradled along the flat of your fingers.

2. Gently stroke the ear with your thumb from the centre of your dog’s head to the base of the ear and then all the way to the tip.

3. Repeat moving your hand position with every stroke to ensure that you end up covering the entire ear.

4. Change hands to stroke the other ear.

Ensure that you work each ear the way that it naturally wants to go. So if you have a floppy eared dg then you will mostly be working the ear towards the ground. Be sure to support the ear and not just let it flop. If you dog has pricked ears then you will be working upwards.

If a dog is in shock, has just had a traumatic experience, has cold tips to their ears or is habitually nervous then you can make circular movements on the tip of the ears with your finger on one side of the ear and your thumb on the other. You can do this to finish each slide or as a separate activity.

Do not pull on the ears. You just want to stroke the ears gently but if you are too gently or too tentatively then you can make your dog more nervous about the situation.

The speed with which you work will vary according to the dog’s response and the situation. To calm a nervous or hyperactive dog and to promote relaxation and focus work quite slowly. If the dog is unsure or tired then try working more quickly at the beginning and then slow down as you work.

What if my dog doesn’t like ear work?

If your dog doesn’t like ear work or seems concerned about ear work you could try one or more of the following:

• Gently folding the ear down against the dog’s neck (if it will go without force) and circle it gently against the neck. Some dogs will accept this more readily to start with.
• Cover your hand with a glove or sheepskin mitt.
• Try holding the ear near the base and very gently take it out slightly to the side, pause for a moment and then slowly guide it back.
• Start touches on areas where the dog is comfortable being touched and then work up to the ears but without focusing on ‘I must touch those ears this session’ as this changes your body language, breath and the sense of the touch.

Practical help at hand

If you particularly want to learn more about the power and the simplicity of TTouch then Robyn Hood will be back in Australia to run 2 and 5 day workshops in Sydney and Melbourne in May and November this year. To find out more check out http://www.ttouch.com/eventsLocation.shtml  and/or http://www.listeningtowhispers.com/newZealand.shtml  which provides Australian and New Zealand updates.

There are a number of TTouch practitioners in Australia who have completed their certification requirements and others who are working towards them. For information on who might be able to help you in your area visit http://www.ttouchaustralia.com.au/?page=7  where the list of those certified will hopefully grow. If you can’t find someone in your area then Andy Robertson may be able to put you in contact with someone who has attended a workshop or two or is working towards certification.

References

• Linda Tellington-Jones – Getting in TTouch with Your Puppy. A Gentle Approach to Training and Influencing Behaviour
• Linda Tellington-Jones – Getting in Touch with Your Dog. How to Influence Behaviour, Health and Performance
• Sarah Fisher and Marie Miller – 100 Ways to Train the Perfect Dog
• Sarah Fisher and Marie Miller – 100 Ways to Solve Your Dog’s Problems
• Sarah Fisher – Unlock Your Dog’s Potential. How to Achieve a Calm and Happy Canine.

Note though that these books talk about holding floppy ears out horizontally for ear work. Advice from Robyn Hood (Linda’s sister and a practitioner) is that they now prefer to work in the natural direction that the ear lies.

Resources

If you want more check out these sites for a start:

• The New Zealand TTouch website at http://www.listeningtowhispers.com/ttouch.shtml 
• The South African TTouch website at http://www.ttouchsa.co.za/ and articles on how to do TTouch at http://www.ttouch.co.za/files/companion/howto.php
• TTouch Ireland website at http://www.ttouchtteam-ireland.com/  and particularly under the TTouch articles menu