Canine Massage Therapy Certification

Physical rehabilitation is a valuable and often underutilized part of the overall management of small animals with many diseases such as osteoarthritis and injuries such as cruciate tears. A team consisting of the veterinarian, physical therapist, veterinary technician, and owner is vital to determine and carry out an appropriate therapeutic regimen. Though there are several methods outside of surgery or medication to help canines achieve a better quality of life after diagnosis of a debilitating disease or injury, massage remains one of the historically least utilized, and currently fastest growing therapy employed by Veterinarians in the United States. Taken together, holistic medicine, including massage, is a very controversial subject. The opponents to the argument claim that if "alternative" treatments really worked, they would be more widely accepted and many illnesses and ailments would have been cured long ago. The proponents argue that holistic treatments provide a more "natural" way to heal the body. The best argument may be to take the middle ground and use the holistic treatments, such as massage to enhance the more traditional treatments and not be used as the only treatment.

An outstanding article on this discussion can be found at OldDogPaws.com. The article discusses the benefits of animal massage, the history and current status of the movement, the Veterinarian role and perspective in using the treatment and who is qualified to perform the massage. It stresses the importance of qualified massotherapists and documentation of results due to any use of massage as a treatment modality.

At e-Training for Dogs, we searched for months to find the best to teach our canine massage therapy courses. We know we found this person in Sigle Skeries of Treetops in Canada. Sigle is from Ireland, took her training and certification in the UK (where you must first be a human therapist) and now resides in North America (Canada). Since 1995 Treetops has focused solely on equine and canine rehabilitation while also providing exceptional educational programs in the field of complementary therapies. Treetops was the first facility in North America to provide a fully integrated rehabilitation facility providing the very best in complementary therapies and allopathic veterinary medicine in order to provide a holistic approach to animal health promotion and convalescent care. Treetops continues to be the standard by which all other animal rehabilitation facilities and educational programs aspire. In fact many of today’s animal rehabilitation specialists took their training and began their careers at Treetops. Treetops has been featured in Equus, Practical Horseman, Horse Sport, Horse Care, Horse Illustrated, Dogs Dogs Dogs, Dogs in Canada, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The New VR Television and City TV’s Breakfast Television.

Sigle (Sheila) Skeries has an Honours Bachelor of Arts in educational psychology with 20 years teaching experience and over 30 years experience in the animal industry. Her qualifications in therapeutic massage have been secured through training at The Complementary Therapies School in Gerrards Cross, England and successful completion of the ITEC licensing examinations. She is a member of the British Complementary Medicine Association, Independent Professional Therapists International and the Guild of Complementary Practitioners. Sigle has successfully completed her training in Herbal Medicine through the East West School of Herbal Medicine based in Ben Lamond, California.