Bowen therapy and maremmas guarding hens

Penny and I visited the Yarra Valley today. We spent the morning at Bow Rei Me having Bowen therapy, first Penny and then me. It was, as usual, wonderful. Penny had lovely 'soft eyes', always a sign that she's relaxed and loving it.

Then we drove up to the Upper Yarra Valley, where I bought a supply of free range eggs from Little Yarra Free Range Eggs, some for Penny, but most for the humans in our family!

I couldn't resist taking a photo of  one of the maremmas guarding the flocks. Of course, he (or she) bounded across to tell me to leave immediately, barking fiercely, but the human who was attending to the chooks called the dog away, which is why, in this photo, you see the guardian angel of the chooks looking back towards the invisible human.

Penny and the swimming and Bowen therapy

With Penny getting older now, I'm super glad she learned early to enjoy swimming, because taking her for a swim in the lovely warm pool at Kepala Resort is a good way to help her deal with what we think is increasing arthritis.

We are also taking Penny for more frequent Bowen therapy at Bow Rei Me. 

And she's having a series of Cartrophen injections.

Here's hoping she improves. Maybe when warmer weather comes she will improve even more.

PS: While I was checking out the link to Bow Rei Me I saw a post about canine massage. I think I'll read it carefully and go and do some massage for Penny.

dogs understand how to be sneaky

While I was working on the compost pile yesterday, I scraped off the top layers of shredded paper and garden greens, revealing an underneath layer of well-rotted kitchen scraps.

When I looked toward the pile from the other side of the garden, Penny was nearby, licking her lips, and I reckon there was a ring of black around her mouth, though I couldn't be sure from that distance. If she'd been a human, she'd have been whistling unconcernedly and glancing aside innocently. As it was, she stood her ground, her tail at mid height, enduring my suspicious stare.

We faced each other for minutes rather than seconds, she the picture of nonchalance, until she decided I wasn't going to move. She headed inside the house and didn't come out again.

I've put a barrier in front of the compost, even though the 'tastiest' bits are now safely reburied under boring mulched branches and leaves and such like.

She wouldn't have been near the compost today, anyway, because she was with me at Yarra Glen, having a wonderfully relaxing and health-enhancing Bowen therapy from Deb.

Today: high bushfire danger. The temperature reached 31°C. Tomorrow's predicted weather: top of 22°C.

I think Dr Tim Entwistle is right. It's time we realised the 'seasons' we've inherited from Europe don't apply to Australian conditions. Today was summer and tomorrow is predicted to be spring. I'll start adding Dr Entwistle's Sprinter and Sprummer to my vocabulary. Or, perhaps I could investigate the traditional seven seasons of the earliest inhabitants of this area, the Wurundjeri people.

The Wurundjeri clan that inhabited the Melbourne area would often spend the summer months upon the banks of the Yarra and its tributaries. In winter, they would often head to the Dandenong Ranges (known as Banyenong) to make use of its timber for firewood and shelter. Wurundjeri divided their year into seven seasons rather than the familiar four. The arrival of a new season was based on the onset of a natural event such as the blooming of wattle or the first appearance of the blue wren.

As Penny and I drove home from another delightful Bowen session at Yarra Glen with Deb, we stopped at Warrandyte - lunch for me and a swim in the Yarra for Penny, seeing today was a foretaste of summer. We met some girls who'd seen a snake swimming in the river yesterday and I asked them whether the snake swam with its head up out of the water. They said it was flat on the surface of the water. It bothers me that if Penny saw a snake in the water she might think it was a stick and swim towards it.

But it wasn't likely there'd be any snakes around where we swam today, at a delightful little sandy beach, because of the...

horses!

Penny didn't even see them the first time she dashed into the water to collect the stick I threw.

It was only when she was shaking out her wet fur that she decided it might be a good idea to stay well back from these enormous dogs. (She hasn't been near horses before.)

Once I threw her stick back into the water she was off again, not in the least bothered by the horses.

Or the inquisitive ducks...

Bowen therapy again at Yarra Glen

Penny dashed inside when we arrived at the little cottage in the hills, ready for another session of Bowen therapy. It was fascinating to see her shift around during the session, presenting different parts of her body to Deb, as if saying, 'Here. Just here,' like Han Solo said, touching his face right near his mouth, when he wanted Princess Leia to kiss it better.

I've searched the Net, but I can't find the clip of that bit. What a pity. But maybe it gives me an excuse to look at the original Star Wars trilogy   yet again.


Deb doesn't kiss it better. She 'bowens' it better. And she provides great room service, lol.

Here she is bringing fresh water for Penny. (It's important for the dogs to drink when they're having Bowen treatment.
  

Bowen therapy for skin conditions and for joint aches and pains

Another pleasant trip to Yarra Glen today for Penny's Bowen treatment and for Reiki. We go there regularly.

And I'd better confess up front that her human - me! - has a wonderful Bowen session too, and loves it. (After all, it's my duty to check out what Penny's experiencing, isn't it?)

Penny's featuring on the Facebook page for the therapy studio - Bow-Rei Me. Doesn't she look relaxed and happy?

I'm optimistic that the therapy is not only making a difference to her joint pains, but also helpful to her itchy skin.

arthritis, cartrophen and Bowen therapy

Penny travelled to Yarra Glen today to have another session of Bowen Therapy with Deb.

After we arrived, I went back to the car to get something, and when I returned I found Penny inside the lovely little therapy cottage, happily waiting for Deb. This is not Penny's usual behaviour with anyone else - normally she'd be at the door, looking out to see where I had gone.

Watching Penny in the session is a great way to see how she reacts to the therapy. I sit on a chair nearby and don't interact. In an hour of treatment, she barely glances at me, which is unusual in any other situation, because she's normally keeping an eye on me to see what I'm up to. However, she loves the therapy so much that she's focused on Deb.

After about ten minutes or so, Penny moved away, and Deb waited for her to come back. Soon, Penny stood up, and returned to ask for more. It was plain that she loves it. I find it interesting when Deb tells me the places where Penny is sore, because I can see, once it's pointed out to me, that Deb is correct, by Penny's reaction to therapy in those spots.


We're not depending only on natural therapies to deal with Penny's arthritis. We're also having another series of four cartrophen injections at our vet.

And I was intrigued to discover that one of the vets at our local practice does acupuncture. We'll enquire about that.

another session of Bowen therapy for dogs

Here's a photo of Penny taking it easy after another session of Bowen therapy for dogs. (It's rather hard to see, because she was so comfy in the darkness that I didn't have the heart to use the flash. And the strange colour is  a wash of light from the television set.)

We have been given notes by our therapist, Deb from Bow-Rei Me. (Don't you love that business name?)

Some tips for an after-Bowen day:
Allow Penny to rest undisturbed for as long as she needs, because the body integrates the work best during rest or sleep;
no brushing or bathing for couple of days;
no vigorous stroking or patting for a couple of days (that's a hard one to remember!);
don't give Penny other sorts of treatments for about four days;
tell the vet about the Bowen treatment if we are on medication.

Penny has become increasingly happy with the therapy. In Bowen treatments, the practitioner sometimes moves away from the dog to allow the body to respond to the treatment.

Whenever Deb moved away from Penny, Penny eagerly looked at her, or even moved close, as if saying, 'I'd like more of that, please.'

It's a lovely non-invasive treatment.

a dog has Bowen therapy

Today Penny went to a cottage in the hills for her second session of Bowen therapy.

When Penny had her first visit last week, the practitioner suggested we monitor her reaction, and I must say we did think Penny was walking better even after just that one session. For a long time now she has tended to 'hop' along when she hurries, with her two back legs moving together. We think her lower spine is becoming a bit arthritic.

But when we walked last week we thought she was moving more freely. I'll also be interested to see whether it has any effect on her itchy skin.

At this second session, Penny once again seemed relaxed and happy during the gentle hands-on treatment.

At times the therapist took a break, to allow Penny's body time to respond to the treatment, and Penny would look up, as if saying, 'More, please.'

You can see how relaxed Penny was. (This photo was taken after the actual Bowen treatment was finished.)

Here's a bit of info about how it works for animals.

This video clip showing the work of Maddy Casey in the UK is very similar to what Penny experienced.