By Various
Horse: Half Arabian, Pinto Mare
Veterinarian: Dr. Kevin Dralle 505-344-1131
505-344-1131505-344-1131505-344-1131
6901 2nd Street, NW Albuquerque, NM 87017
Spring 1997
Reason: an appointment with the veterinarian to ultrasound rectally and abdominally a mare who was several weeks overdue to foal. My role as Vet Assistant was to hold her in a 12’X 24’ box stall next to two ultrasound machines that are along side of her.
History: The mare required a lip chain to do a rectal exam in Fall, 1996 and was not cooperative. The mare’s upper lip was pulled tight when I put the lip chain on the first time. She was agitated and had no time to settle down. When Kevin approached to do the rectal exam, the lip chain got shook loose and she cantered two strides straight away before I stopped her. It took the two of us to get the lip chain back on.
I went to reach towards her ears to see if I could calm her and her owner said, “Oh no, she doesn’t like having her ears touched!” I switched to connected circles along her neck and as far as I could reach. I was doing anything I could think of to help her relax as she was leaning on me and straining against Kevin as he was using the reproductive ultrasound.
The combination of the lip chain and the circles started her head down and without thinking, I was back at her ears. She continued to relax dramatically and had her head down. I started to work all over and around her face, even to her mouth around the lip chain. By the time Kevin was using the abdominal ultrasound, I had slipped the lip chain off. Her owner started questioning me so I explained a few quick basics to her. She was obviously impressed that I was able to handle her mare’s face and ears. The mare had relaxed completely.
The mare did have a normal, healthy foal two weeks later. In a subsequent visit I was able to walk right up to the mare and handle her face and ears.
Jayne Stewart, TTEAM Practitioner
Gelding
Tuffy, a 7 yr old QH, was gelded in January. He had a violent recovery from the general anesthetic and presumably caused internal bleeding. For six weeks he suffered from intermittent colic, becoming progressively worse.
When the vet invited my participation, Tuffy had stopped eating, was very depressed and was on constant medication for pain. TTEAM obviously eased the pain and depression because he would eat while I worked on him, but stop as soon as I left.
I taught his owners how to do the TTouch and some visualization techniques. Tuffy proved to me that animals can feel guided imagery when we use it on them. He responded in a dramatic fashion.
After a week of intensive work and a minor setback after ten days, Tuffy held his own and then blossomed with the help of herbs added to his diet.
Julia Rottier 326l Culp Rd RR1 Jordan, Ontario LOR
1S0
Horse: Page, Aged Thoroughbred Gelding
Veterinarian: Dr. Sharon Holland 505-898-1050505-898-1050505-898-1050505-898-1050
7401 4h Street NW Albuquerque, NM 87107
Owner: Jan Dressor
History: Sharon is my small animal veterinarian. We had been sharing experiences, mine of TTEAM work and her recent completion of a veterinary acupuncture course. Although she has not had horses as a part of her practice for several years, she was working on some to practice acupuncture.
Page is an older, arthritic horse. Sharon wanted to be able to place needles in the joints of his hind legs. The concern she expressed to me was that his owner could not keep him still in order to keep Sharon safe during the procedure. She needed him to stand still for 20 to 60 minutes. Page, an ex-racehorse, now spoiled pet, had threatened to kick and Sharon knew that heavy restraint or drugs would defeat her purpose.
I volunteered to join Sharon for the chance to see her work and to show her the TTouch. I explained to Sharon and Jan as I demonstrated the Clouded Leopard, connecting circles along the body and on the face and ears, mouth and head lowering. Page melted and was in a zone as if on drugs. When we noticed the “space” he was in, Sharon began her treatment. She spent an hour as I continued doing face work and the ear TTouch. Page stood in the same place the entire time, to his owner’s amazement and Sharon’s relief. Afterwards, as a supplement to Sharon’s treatment, I demonstrated leg exercises and tail work.
Sharon and Jan both practiced the face work and leg exercises before we left. I think everyone enjoyed the experience.
Jayne Stewart, TTEAM Practitioner
Mork was lame well.
The first session I did the TTouch all over him, and left him until the following week when I went back to show them how to work him with poles, etc. The miracle had happened: Mork was not lame; he was quiet and attentive; he was completely changed. The owner is riding him now.
This had never happened so quickly for me before. And in a few days the ground work across the poles had him lifting his hind feet and the vet was amazed. He had never seen a horse change like that. The other horse was still in pain from the operation and we took him more slowly. He still drags one toe sometimes, but I don’t think the owner has done as much TTouch and work as we did for Mork.
I did want to let you know that I used the ear techniques on a nervous maiden mare during foaling. It worked so well that Mama and baby stayed down almost one hour allowing all the blood, etc. to pass through the umbilical cord to the foal. By the time the mare stood up she passed the afterbirth almost immediately, painlessly. Despite being quite small, the filly was so rested after this quiet time that when Mama got up the filly just stood up and nursed without ever fumbling around for her balance. It was nothing less than amazing. My vet is a believer now too.
Sincerely, Heather A. Berardi 5656 Crystal Drive
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Race Horse
This summer, a friend and I were asked to work on a two year old at the racetrack. The horse had been tying up after workouts. He is trained by our vet, who we have both known for a few years. We found that the horse had a very tight body and dry mouth. After our first session, the vet was impressed with the change in movement that he saw the next day. The horse ran last in his first race, but he came out of the race sound without any sign of tying up. He won his second race, a $20,000.00 claiming. He was claimed, but the claim was disallowed because the trainer had forgotten to put the apostrophe in his name. The vet has now decided to only run him in allowance races and the horse is beginning to attract attention from jockeys and agents.
The exciting thing is to be working with a vet, which helps to give TTEAM work much more creditability among race track people.
At the evening demonstration the vet told the story of the two year old to an audience of 80 people, and thanked Linda for what TTEAM had done for his horse. We are hoping to interest more trainers in the work and also encourage grooms to use it.
Jan Snowden, TTEAM Practitioner
TTouch Instructor Debby Potts wrote:
Dr Lauren Chattigre is a wonderful local holistic vet who has attended one of our weekend workshops. She uses and recommends TTouch often and I asked her to write something for us.
As a holistic veterinarian, I appreciate the need to have more than one tool in the proverbial toolbox (especially those that carry no side effects). Acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, herbal prescriptions – these are all powerful natural healing methods. But in between appointments, I wanted to give my clients something they could do at home to aid their animal’s healing process…something in which they could actively participate, that would also empower the relationship between person and animal.
TTouch is one such method. The TTouches and body wraps have helped many of my patients, for ailments ranging from back and skin problems, to behavior and training issues. And it creates a wonderful bond, which is evident in the exam room. Animals receiving TTouch generally seem more receptive to procedures like acupuncture and chiropractic. Clients can also do TTouch prior to any medical procedure (such as dental cleaning) for calming. I find myself “prescribing” TTouch quite often, and I’ve been impressed with the results.
Lauren Chattigre, DVM, DVetHom, CVA, CVCP, Reiki
Master
I looked up TTouch in the recent veterinary text on alternative medicine
(Complementery & Alternative Medicine – Susan Wynn, DVM).
There’s a lot written about the different touches, but only half a sentence saying how it works (neurologic stimulation). I think it does a lot more than that. Certainly the local skin cells and receptor corpuscles are stimulated, but that happens with regular “petting” too. As you say in your class, there’s something important not only about the circles (or spirals), but also the depth. Are we using in essence a variant of the first reiki symbol to stimulate qi flow through the fascial layers of the body? The fascia is all connected – it’s the web – from outer muscle fascia to inner organ linings (e.g. pericardium). Some Chinese texts say the fascia/membrane system is the Triple Heater. From a spiritual/psychological standpoint, the Triple Heater is said to govern our connection to the outside world (and the Pericardium to our inner world).
Could that be why TTouch is so helpful for grounding, calming, and healthy “presence”? An interesting question.
Lauren Chattigre, DVM, DVetHom, CVA, CVCP, Reiki
Master
Mountain View Veterinary Clinic
Ken Baber, DVM, MS
1911 E. Division, Suite C
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
360-424-4455360-424-4455360-424-4455360-424-4455
August 6, 2002
To Whom it May Concern:
Shannon Finch has been our client for about two years. During this period we have come to know and recognize her not only as a conscientious and responsible pet owner, but also as a skilled and competent dog trainer.
Shannon demonstrated great patience and skill with a stray dog rescued by one of my employees. Initially this dog was extremely fearful and aggressive toward all people and would not allow any direct human touching or contact. When I first saw the dog I was very skeptical that his behavioral problems could ever be corrected and I considered the dog a very poor candidate for adoption. My employee worked, with the dog for several weeks without much success and finally enlisted Shannon’s help.
Shannon results were very impressive. Gradually, step by step, we could see a change in dog’s behavior. Through Shannon’s patience and diligence the dog’s behavior was completely changed-he became much more approachable and accepted human attention and affection without aggressive displays.
Shannon is a trainer that I recommend without hesitation and we have recommend her services to a number of our clients whose pets needed special training.
Sincerely,
Ken Baber, D.V.M.
Following are two examples from a veterinarian technician of how the TTouch has made her tasks more effective.
“Gator,” a domestic shorthaired feline.
FS approximately 15 years of age. October 2003
OBSERVATION / HISTORY
Gator is an elderly cat that is in the advanced stages of renal failure. Part of Gator’ s treatment regiment is to have subcutaneous fluids administered to her twice weekly to help her kidneys work more accurately. This is something she just absolutely hates, as you can imagine, and she behaves terribly when she is presented to the animal hospital have this procedure done. I took advantage of this situation to do a TTouch session trying to relieve some pain and tension for Gator (and for us as well).
I started our session by warming up a towel in the dryer. I set up all of my materials needed for giving Gator her fluids. I removed a growling and hissing Gator from her carrier and placed her on the warm blanket. She seemed to enjoy the feeling of it under her and she laid herself down, but was still growling. I used the towel to do some slow and steady belly (body) lifts on her. I slightly lifted one side at a time and very slowly released it. She continued to growl but the longer I lifted and released her switching sides, the calmer she became.
My fellow technicians were amazed at her response, but still doubted I would be able to administer her fluids by myself. I started toning her name (and made up a little song to sing) as I switched from the lifts to Snail’s Tail (air) TTouches above her. I did this for a few minutes before I began some ear work on her.
After five slow strokes down each of her ears, I took the fluid line and inserted the needle between her shoulder blades while toning her name. Once again the techs were amazed and spread the TTouch word throughout the hospital. I finished administering her fluids (by myself) and thanked Gator. I returned her to her person and told her the news. Now each time Gator is presented to the hospital for fluids is it is a much more pleasurable experience for both her and us. I have shown the techs how to do ear touches and slow soothing lifts with the warm towel. They are all very excited about incorporating TTouch methods into the hospital.
Andrea Haupt, TTouch Practitioner and Vet Technician.
Buford, GA
“Colby Chow Mix FS approximately 8 years of age
August, 2003
OBSERVATION / HISTORY
Colby is a rescue from the shelter. Her history is unknown, but she shows signs that she has experienced some physical abuse. She is very aggressive towards people who approach her and some dogs as well. She is extremely sensitive to touch on her body and she responds to this by screaming and biting at whoever is touching her or at the air. Her person is very limited in where she can touch Colby, and she cannot groom her at all.
Colby is cage aggressive while boarding at the animal hospital. She will growl and bite at the air as you approach her in the run. She will not look directly at you, nor will she make eye contact with you. She will instead turn her head to the side and move her eyes back towards you to watch you while she is growling and biting at the air. Colby’s person has had her for two years, and she feels her behavior has become better than it originally was but still needs some work. She would like Colby to be more confident and comfortable in her own skin. She would also like Colby to experience the joy that can come from being touched and petted by people.
Colby was boarding with us at the animal hospital when she and I had our TTouch session together. While using soothing tones, I opened her run door and slowly went towards her being careful not to make direct eye contact with her. I leashed Colby from a distance due to her aggressive behavior. Colby barked and growled at me as I approached her, but she followed me out of the run and outdoors. Once we were out in the yard and she had relieved herself, I began some groundwork with her using my wand. I placed a loose balance leash on Colby, but as soon as it made contact across her chest she screamed out and bit at the air. I let that part of the leash drop to the ground and rebalanced myself as I
I tried to keep her moving. I stroked up and down both sides of her body with my wand while using soothing tones on her. I asked her to stop and be still for a moment by slightly pulling back on the slip leash I had on her. She seemed a bit uneasy and unsure about the pressure around her neck and responded by jerking her neck back from the leash. She looked up towards me and then she stopped.
While we were stopped I stroked up and down her legs with my wand, again using soothing tones. She accepted this better than I anticipated. She leaned in ever so slightly towards me and let me continue to lightly stroke her up and down her body. I positioned myself on Colby’s right side midway down her body and continued to stroke her sides with the wand. I had a half wrap around my neck, which I slowly removed and placed over Colby’s neck and shoulders. Knowing how Colby responds to touch I left the wrap loosely draped over her, I did not secure it. I encouraged her to take a few steps by walking forward and gently using the wand to stroke the back end of her.
I had no clue how she would respond to this so I focused on my breathing and just went with it. She moved slowly with me and did not seem to be bothered by the wrap. After taking a few laps around the yard I slowed Colby down and as we came to a stop I reached down and brought the wrap around her abdomen and across her back and secured it. At this point Colby held her breath and I could feel her tensing throughout her whole body. I started to breath deeply and strongly for the both of us and using soothing tones and calming signals I asked Colby to take a few steps with me.
She took one step in the wrap and started screaming and came to an immediate halt. I stroked her with the wand and tried to soothe her with toning. I asked her again to take a few steps and again she screamed. I continued the stroking and toning on her and kept her moving until her screaming stopped. This took a few laps around they yard and once she moved in the wrap without screaming, I ended the session. I walked her back to the kennel and returned her to her run leaving the wrap on her. I gave her a few treats and thanked her for the lesson. She seemed a little confused at this point, like she did not know how she felt about all of this so I just left her alone.
I checked on her periodically through out the day and she seemed to be calmer then she usually was while boarding. She showed no signs of her usual cage aggression. I decided to leave the wrap on her until the end of the day when I would take her outside for a walk again. I had no trouble approaching her in the run this time. She did not look directly at me nor did she growl and behave as she did earlier in the day. Using the wand I stroked her and removed the wrap from her as we walked in the yard. I just loosened the wrap with the wand and let her walk out of it. She did this without a problem and we moved about the yard peacefully.
I returned her to her run and noticed a wonderful difference in her behavior. She was much more comfortable with herself and with having me in the run with her. She just laid herself down on her bed and relaxed rather than growling and biting at the air as she usually does. I again thanked her for working with me.
I was very happy with the results of our session and shared the experience with her person when she came to pick Colby up. I showed her how to use a body wrap and suggested the use of a t-shirt on Colby for comfort as well. She was thrilled with Colby’s progress and gave me permission to work with her again. I feel with continued TTouch sessions Colby will one day be able relax around people and be comfortable in her own skin.
Andrea Haupt, TTouch Practitioner and Vet Technician.
Buford, GA
APVMA 21st Annual National Symposium
by Claudeen E. Mc Auliffe, M.Ed. and TTouch
Practitioner
On the last day of our final training as TTouch Practitioners, Linda Tellington-Jones asked all of us what our goals were now that we had completed the long journey toward certification. One of my goals was to do outreach with the veterinary community.
This goal was realized when I had the honor of presenting Tellington TTouch at Iowas State University to the American Pre-Veterinary Medicine Association. Hosted by the Pre-Veterinary Club, the event was attended by undergraduate students from around the United States, and focused on all aspects of veterinary medicine and animal health and well-being. Activities included wet labs, lectures and small group activities. Under the topic “Small Animal Massage,” I led four interactive discussion groups consisting of 30-40 students each.
While the event organizer had asked me to present on massage, after I explained to her that I was a TTouch practitioner, her committee enthusiastically agreed it would be an appropriate topic. Because so many people interpret any sustained touching of an animal (human or non-human!) as massage, I thought this might be a lovely opportunity to explain the differences between massage and TTouch to an audience who could understand those differences from a scientific perspective.
I began with an overview of “Physical Medicine,” a category of therapies described in Drs. Schoen and Wynn’s Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine (1998). This category includes TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), Acupuncture, Chiropractic Physical Therapy, Massage Therapy, and the TTEAM Approach. The focus then narrowed to massage and TTEAM.
While massage acts chiefly on muscles, veins and lymphatics to increases circulation, release scar tissue, balance muscle function and relax the individual, the TTEAM approach acts on central and peripheral nervous systems to release fear and tension, reduce pain, accelerate healing, and increase focus, coordination and balance.
The following chart compares uses, techniques and effects of massage and Tellington TTouch.
|
Sympathetic resonance concerns synchronization of bodily functions such as heart rate between the giver of the massage and the recipient. The phenomenon can be easily observed by striking a tuning fork. A second tuning fork of the same frequency, in the vicinity of the first, will also begin to vibrate, without being struck. This may also occur during a TTouch session.
We discussed three areas of research that inform TTouch, including the activation of brain wave patterns creating the Awakened Mind State (Cade; Wise, Tellington-Jones, 1987); the intent to release pain and fear at the cellular level to activate cell function and awaken cellular intelligence (Pert, 1999); and “turning on the lights” (Popp, et. al., 1999). The students then learned Raccoon TTouch and Ear TTouch. They were amazed at how light the touches were, and how relatively easy it was to learn them. Many were excited to go home and try them on their own animals.
In my concluding remarks, I indicated to them the need for more research, and asked those who were thinking about a research career to consider Tellington TTouch as a subject of study. Quite a number of students came up after the sessions to ask more questions and inquire about learning the method.
The Iowa State University Campus at Ames is a spacious and agreeable combination of tradition and progress with a world-class veterinary teaching hospital. I like to think I planted a few seeds among the undergraduate population that may grow into veterinary TTouch practitioners.
Claudeen E. Mc Auliffe, M.Ed. and TTouch Practitioner.
Published in TTEAM Connections Volume 7 Issue
2 April-June, 2005 Page 9.