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Tellington TTouch: Feldenkrais® principles for animals
The following article by Joe Strain was published in the Chapel Hill News (2001)
Tellington Touch (TTouch)
The black German Shepherd named Shadow appeared totally out of control. He barked frantically at anyone who came near his kennel. While many dogs show signs of stress during their stay at the animal shelter, Shadow’s chances for adoption didn’t look good. After putting a collar and harness on him, we skied out the door (despite my six feet two and 200 pounds). It was an intense hour of bodywork, groundwork, and working with the balance leads before I could get him to stop, focus, and finally start thinking again. When the session was over, a calmer Shadow walked back into his kennel.
On the third day of work, I found Shadow sitting quietly in his kennel while the dogs around him barked wildly as I approached. He was so different I almost thought they had swapped dogs. On the fourth day, Shadow was adopted-TTouch had worked!
So-what is TTouch and where did it come from? The Tellington Touch is a method for enhancing the mental, emotional and physical well being of animals. Unlike some traditional training methods, it is based on cooperation and respect, not on dominance. TTouch is used to support veterinary care, training and behavior modification. In its deepest sense, the method increases understanding and effective communication between humans and animals.
The techniques, which have many principles in common with the Feldenkrais Method® for people, were initially developed by Linda Tellington-Jones for use with horses. After finding great success in the horse world, the techniques were adapted for work with companion animals. The Tellington Touch, published in 1993, is the official bible of TTouch methods, although most people who use TTouch learn it through the formal training program for practitioners or from someone who has been through the formal training.* An exciting thing about TTouch is that it can be taught very successfully to pet owners so they can work on their own with their animals without having to pay someone for help!
The bodywork consists of a collection of specific “touches.” Unlike massage which affects the muscular system, the intent of TTouch is to activate neural pathways to the brain and to help reorganize the nervous system. In practice, TTouch looks like circular motions made lightly on the animal. Other movements that gently lift and release various body parts are interspersed among the circles. Skill and experience in reading the reactions of the animal determine which moves are used, where the touches are placed and how many are enough.
The groundwork involves guiding the animal through movement exercises in non-habitual ways. As with the Feldenkrais Method, the theory is that when humans or animals do movements that are not habitual, they become more aware of habitual patterns and become more open to change. This part of TTouch involves many techniques that heighten body awareness, increase confidence and create a state of focused attention. To the casual observer, these techniques might look like ordinary dog training because they often involve collars, leashes and props. The difference is that these techniques encourage and enable the animal to focus and think for himself in ways not often seen in traditional training.
The uses of TTouch are varied. It is used to solve common behavioral and health-related problems such as aggressiveness, excessive barking, chewing, jumping up, leash pulling, car sickness, nervousness and resistance to grooming. Veterinarians have used the techniques to calm animals and help them cope with the stresses of pain or confinement. They’ve also recommended TTouch to facilitate post-operation healing and to normalize patterns when animals go into shock. Volunteers in animal shelters use it to help animals remain healthy and calm during the stressful process of adoption.
In the end, it is the animal owners themselves that benefit most from the deeper rapport between humans and animals that results from increased understanding and more effective communication. As every animal lover knows, when we help our animals move into better physical, mental and emotional balance, we help ourselves as well.
*Getting in TTouch with Your Dog: A Gentle Approach to Influencing Behavior, Health, and Performance by Linda Tellington-Jones was published in 1999. This book is the most comprehensive and user-friendly book on TTouch for dogs. Getting in TTouch with Your Cat (2003) is the counterpart book for cats.
For additional information about TTouch see www.ttouch.com.
Joe Strain lives in Chapel Hill and works with private clients in the Triangle area. Joe graduated from the 2-year TTouch training program and is a certified TTouch Practitioner, as well as a Guild Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner. He can be reached at (919) 932-9203
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A description of the Feldenkrais Method® and who can benefit from it
Information about the practitioners at CHFG
What to expect during an individual Feldenkrais lesson
A short article describing our work with animals based on Feldenkrais principles
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