• arousal – state of alertness – mind and body
  • adrenalin and cortisol – needed for survival – too much is counter productive – switches off the rational part of brain and flips over to survival part
  • over arousal detrimental to every day life over long period of time
  • impact on neural pathways if behaviour practiced regularly
  • signs
    • vocalisation
    • zoomies
    • pacing
    • circling
    • restlessness
    • lunging
    • can’t listen
    • mouthing
    • humping
    • fear responses
    • OTT greetings and play
    • not being able to calm quickly
    • panting
    • increased heart rate
  • TTouch
    • input to sensory systems
      • tactile
        • discriminative pathway
          • used in TTouch
          • good for calming
          • trigger parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest, not flight or fight)
        • protective pathway
          • bug landing on skin
          • touching something hot
      • vestibular
      • proprioceptive
    • influences on body
      • pressured touch = calming and comforting (like a hug)
      • neurotransmitters
        • informational network
        • some calm
          • serotonin
          • oxytocin
          • dopamine
        • some arouse
          • adrenaline
          • serotonin
      • non habitual movement = enhanced learning in shorter time – proprioception
      • able to remain rational
      • promotes cooperation, coordination and concentration
      • lowered stress levels
      • reprogram muscle memory
      • TTouch doesn’t change personality, helps to manage arousal
      • posture effects behaviour
      • tension patterns
        • fear
          • training
            • injury
            • trauma
            • equipment
        • appear as
          • temperature changes
          • areas of skin that feel tight
          • areas animal is reluctant to be touched
            • teenagers that are growing
            • ill fitting harnesses
          • hair change
          • areas of dandruff
          • muscling differences
        • look out for
          • how dog moves
            • choppy, short strides?
          • weight bearing in a stand position
            • aroused – more weight at front – front leg difficult to pick up, back leg not?
          • nail and pad wear
          • calming signals
            • what’s happening just before arousal?
              • change in breath rate, eye expressions?
          • muscle spasms when touched
            • ill fitting harness?
          • self carriage
          • emotional and mental state
          • how dog interacts with environment around them
  • TTouch helps with
    • noise phobia
    • fear aggression
    • handling issues
    • travel sickness/car issues
    • separation anxiety
    • excessive vocalisation
    • nervousness
    • excitability/high arousal
  • Body work
    • circular touches
    • lifts
    • strokes
    • extremities
  • TTouches
    • non habitual movement of the skin
    • done slowly but make need to be speeded up if dog aroused
    • random ttouches to get dog’s attention to bring back down
    • look at posture, work on areas of pressure
    • ttouches
      • clouded leopard
      • ear
      • tail
      • mouth
      • zebra
      • springbok
  • Ground work
    • improves self carriage, self confidence and self control
    • improved coordination, concentration, cooperation
    • improved self awareness
    • good for busy dogs
    • fun and tiring