Horses and dogs alike LOVE the Zebra (Zigzag). A little goes a long way where the mouth is concerned. Work towards getting your dog to rest her chin in your hand and then you can either use your thumb to make circles on the gums or your index finger.īe sure to wet your fingers if your dog’s mouth is dry.Īs with the horses, if your dog is apprehensive about being touched here, slow down, pause, and start where they are comfortable. Spending even a few moments at a time can help a dog become more accepting of contact around the mouth.īesides the emotional balance it helps with the practical aspects of care such as teeth brushing, veterinary exams or just being able to examine your dog’s mouth. It is best to start from the back of the dog’s head and work towards the mouth. The shape of the mouth and lips are obviously different which requires different contact than with with a horse Dogsĭog’s mouths are affected in similar ways to horses physiologically. This usually goes a long way to helping improve trust and acceptance without force or fight. Allow the horse to tell you what they are okay with and listen to their smallest signals of concern. If your horse seems unsure about contact around this part of the body, slow down, lighten the pressure, or move to areas where they are comfortable and slowly work back towards the mouth. Remember to pause and breath every so often. Move on to Clouded Leopard* or Raccoon TTouches* and carefully explore every inch of the chin area using theses connected touches. Notice how the throatlatch area opens as the chin moves for- ward, which also aids in releasing tension in the neck. You might find your horse reaching forward with his chin, moving into your hand. Start with the outside of the chin and the entire flat of your hand. Keep one hand on the halter’s noseband as you work with the other hand.
Working every part of the mouth and chin.
It can also make de-worming, checking teeth and bridling much easier. It’s quite possible that if your animal is nervous, “stubborn”, stressed or aggressive, working this area of the body can unlock the door to improved relaxation and responsiveness. The mouth is directly connected to the limbic system, the brain’s emotional center. You may have heard us describe the mouth as the “gateway to the emotions,” and there is a great deal of research backing up this statement. We work with many horses with tight lips or rock-hard chins. We’ll start off our week with mouth work.Īs you may know, tension in the mouth often reflects tension in the body as well as emotional tension.
#CANADIAN ZEBRA GUM FREE#
Feel free to do them in any order, and don’t fret if you can’t do them every day.Įven two to three days per week will make a difference.īecause TTouch affects the body at a cellular level, even a single session is likely to “stick” on a long-term basis. You’ll likely see a change in attitude and often in movement in one week just with these subtle exercises. Notice if this flat-hand exploration shows any areas where your animal moves away, flinches even slightly, fidgets or seems sensitive, if you notice this you could use the back of your hand in those areas and then find some TTouches that are acceptable to your animals. With both species spend some minutes going over the bodyVERY slowly with your flat hand. I suggest that you select one of the sessions and spend only 5 to 10 minutes before riding (or even if you can’t ride) or at any time with your dog. This inital post will cover ideas for day 1 and 2. Here I will give you suggestions for seven 10-minute TTouch sessions-one for each day of the week-on various parts of your horse or dog.
When you add up the time not spent dealing with behavior, health and performance problems-such as less resistance and increased willingness to learn-you’ll really see the “payoff’ in those few minutes invested each day.Īs a bonus, with horses, you will probably discover that you save at least 10 to 20 minutes of warm-up every time you ride. One of the unique aspects of Tellington TTouch is that you can focus on one area of the horse or dog for a few minutes, and in this brief time often make significant changes in your their overall behavior, health and/or performance that go far beyond the area worked. Horses and dogs may be a form of stress release for us, good friends, a hobby or even a career.
#CANADIAN ZEBRA GUM HOW TO#
Here’s how to change your horse or dog’s attitude, behavior and performance in 10 minutes a day, or less. Think you’re too busy for TTouch? Think again! By Robyn Hood (first published in the TTEAM Connections Quarterly)
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