Rioja has been recovering from demodex, also known as demodectic mange – a common infestestation of the dog’s skin of tiny mites. When we adopted Rioja from the Española Humane Shelter she had been cleared from Demodex but once at home, it resurfaced. She also developed a secondary infection on the neck! Poor Rioja – shewas itching and, of course, the more she scratched the worse the infection.
Her veterinarian, Dr. Moreau, gave her a dose of antibiotics and a cortisol based spray. Normally, I learned, dogs with mange should not be given cortisol because this suppresses even more their immune system but in this case, the topical spray did the trick.
Another interesting thing I learned about dogs with skin conditions and persistent itchy skin is that even pressure on the body- say the dog wearing a comfortably tight t-shirt or the now well-known Thundershirt™ will give them relief from the itching and that is a really good thing indeed. Dr. Moreau mentioned that she did not know how it worked but that it does and that this is something vets have known for a long time. Not only was I willing to give this easy remedy a shot, but I had some suspicion I knew why it worked.
There have been studies done about the benefits of a certain kind of pressure on the body- since not all pressure is the same. I am familiar with the literature because of the work I do with the Tellington TTouch™ method.
Kathy Cascade, a physical therapist and one of the TTouch instructors that I studied under, explains the phenomena of touch and the learning process as follows: “One way we can understand this process is to examine how the nervous system takes in and makes sense of information. This is the function of sensory integration, and it is what allows us to learn, and make adaptive responses to each new experience or situation”.
Cascade goes on explaining that the tactile system is very specific. We can perceive temperature, pain, and vibration, as well as the difference between light touch and pressure touch. The pressure touch receptors are located just under the skin surface, and they allow us to detect where we were touched, for how long, and how much pressure was applied. This is the kind of pressure touch (used in the Tellington TTouch, method), which tends to be calming. BTW, If you are interested in her article, email me and I will send you a copy.
Temple Grandin PhD, well known in the animal welfare world for her compassionate work with livestock, has also written and experience firsthand the calming benefits of pressure. Grandin is a high-functioning autistic so she has made use in her own life of what she calls “the squeeze-machine”. In her article, Calming Effects of Deep Touch Pressure in Patients with Autistic Disorder, College Students, and Animals, Grandin explains that, “Deep pressure stimulation of diverse forms have been reported to have calming effects in a variety of animals. For example, stroking and scratching the flank of a pig has long been known to induce inactivity (Marcuse and Moore 1944), and pigs spontaneously seek body contact against a solid surface (Hartsock 1979).
Pressure applied to both sides of a pig in a padded V-shaped trough will induce sleep and relaxation (Grandin et al. 1989). In rabbits, gentle but firm pinching of the skin with padded clips will lead initially to arousal, followed by relaxed muscle tone, drowsiness, and deactivation of electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns (Kumazawa 1963). Likewise, a "squeeze machine" for chicks, constructed from hollowed-out foam rubber blocks, reduces separation distress (Jack Panksepp, Bowling Green University, personal communication). In cats, rubbing and gentle pinching of a paw will decrease tonic activity in the dorsal column nuclei and somatosensory cortex (Melzack et al. 1969). To read the length of the article click here: http://www.grandin.com/inc/squeeze.html
When I put the Thunder-shirt on Rioja I noticed that she indeed stopped itching or at least I could see that she was not scratching as previously. The use of the Thundershirt during the day, which she wears with no adverse reaction at all - besides adding to her level of cuteness, it made all the difference! I don’t know about you but I love it when anecdotal experiences like Rioja wearing her Thundershirt and the itching stopping have some solid data to support it.
Her veterinarian, Dr. Moreau, gave her a dose of antibiotics and a cortisol based spray. Normally, I learned, dogs with mange should not be given cortisol because this suppresses even more their immune system but in this case, the topical spray did the trick.
Another interesting thing I learned about dogs with skin conditions and persistent itchy skin is that even pressure on the body- say the dog wearing a comfortably tight t-shirt or the now well-known Thundershirt™ will give them relief from the itching and that is a really good thing indeed. Dr. Moreau mentioned that she did not know how it worked but that it does and that this is something vets have known for a long time. Not only was I willing to give this easy remedy a shot, but I had some suspicion I knew why it worked.
There have been studies done about the benefits of a certain kind of pressure on the body- since not all pressure is the same. I am familiar with the literature because of the work I do with the Tellington TTouch™ method.
Kathy Cascade, a physical therapist and one of the TTouch instructors that I studied under, explains the phenomena of touch and the learning process as follows: “One way we can understand this process is to examine how the nervous system takes in and makes sense of information. This is the function of sensory integration, and it is what allows us to learn, and make adaptive responses to each new experience or situation”.
Cascade goes on explaining that the tactile system is very specific. We can perceive temperature, pain, and vibration, as well as the difference between light touch and pressure touch. The pressure touch receptors are located just under the skin surface, and they allow us to detect where we were touched, for how long, and how much pressure was applied. This is the kind of pressure touch (used in the Tellington TTouch, method), which tends to be calming. BTW, If you are interested in her article, email me and I will send you a copy.
Temple Grandin PhD, well known in the animal welfare world for her compassionate work with livestock, has also written and experience firsthand the calming benefits of pressure. Grandin is a high-functioning autistic so she has made use in her own life of what she calls “the squeeze-machine”. In her article, Calming Effects of Deep Touch Pressure in Patients with Autistic Disorder, College Students, and Animals, Grandin explains that, “Deep pressure stimulation of diverse forms have been reported to have calming effects in a variety of animals. For example, stroking and scratching the flank of a pig has long been known to induce inactivity (Marcuse and Moore 1944), and pigs spontaneously seek body contact against a solid surface (Hartsock 1979).
Pressure applied to both sides of a pig in a padded V-shaped trough will induce sleep and relaxation (Grandin et al. 1989). In rabbits, gentle but firm pinching of the skin with padded clips will lead initially to arousal, followed by relaxed muscle tone, drowsiness, and deactivation of electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns (Kumazawa 1963). Likewise, a "squeeze machine" for chicks, constructed from hollowed-out foam rubber blocks, reduces separation distress (Jack Panksepp, Bowling Green University, personal communication). In cats, rubbing and gentle pinching of a paw will decrease tonic activity in the dorsal column nuclei and somatosensory cortex (Melzack et al. 1969). To read the length of the article click here: http://www.grandin.com/inc/squeeze.html
When I put the Thunder-shirt on Rioja I noticed that she indeed stopped itching or at least I could see that she was not scratching as previously. The use of the Thundershirt during the day, which she wears with no adverse reaction at all - besides adding to her level of cuteness, it made all the difference! I don’t know about you but I love it when anecdotal experiences like Rioja wearing her Thundershirt and the itching stopping have some solid data to support it.
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