Give Your Dog a Relaxing Head Massage

A soothing massage may be just what your dog needs—to be lovingly handled and stroked by his/her favorite human. While giving your dog a massage, your own sense of well being and relaxation can surface as well.

Here are some simple step-by-step instructions for giving a head massage to your dog. You will be starting at the top of your dog's head and moving down to his/her muzzle.

If you read them through ahead of time, you'll see how easy this is.

Your energy should be quiet and welcoming. A soft smile means a lot to a dog.

Setting the stage is easy:
1. Sit on the floor and spread a blanket or towel in front of you for your dog to sit on—a special comfort to begin with.

2. Call your dog and give the command to sit facing you. If your dog is the restless type, having a favorite toy available may help your dog stay still.

3. Begin by giving light caresses the way you normally do, so your dog feels comfortable and isn't "on alert" for anything unusual.

4. Expand the light caresses into long gentle strokes, giving an overall petting from head to toe. Down the backbone to the end of the tail, down each leg to the paws. A soft tummy rub while the dog is sitting is nice too. About two minutes should be a fine preparation and help your dog relax.

The head massage is enjoyable:
1. Quietly place one hand gently under the muzzle, and while your other hand soothingly strokes the top of your dog's head.

2. Quietly move your hands to one ear and then the next. If you can handle both ears at the same time, that would be nice.

With your fingers on the outer ear and your thumb on the inner ear, lovingly apply pressure and pull your hand along the ear from the base to the tip. When you get to the tip, hold the ear stretched out with a soft pressure squeeze for 5 seconds. You can repeat this several times.

3. With your dog facing you, cup your fingers behind the ears--where the ears meet the skull. Gently rub your fingers down that connecting seam, giving a little back and forth motion to your fingers. When you get to the bottom of the seam, quietly return to the top of ears and begin again. Some dogs' ears have a sweet spot (my dog's is at the very bottom of the seam.) If you find the sweet spot, spend some extra time there. You might be rewarded with a dog in a swooning bliss.

4. Beginning at the top of your dog's head, lightly massage the top of your dog's head with the tips of your fingers moving in circular motions. Slowly move your circulating fingers down and massage the forehead, and the eyebrow area. The eyebrow area can be especially sensitive.

5. Continue your quietly circulating fingers, and slide your hands down your dog's cheeks—massaging for about 30 seconds, then down the muzzle.

6. A quiet finish can be softly circulating fingers massaging under the chin, from the throat to the tip of the muzzle.

I like to end the massage with a dab of soothing lavender oil under my dog's chin. And a dab under my nose makes it just right.

Related Articles:

Massage Your Dog Into Happiness

Give Your Dog A Relaxing Head Massage

Copyright 2008, All rights reserved. HappyDoggies.com, Kaye Swafford.