GVDC is pleased to welcome once again...
Cindy DiFranco, DVM
Canine Therapeutic Massage
Seminars & Instruciton
March 7, 8 & 9
Friday March 7th 2008: Introduction to Canine Therapeutic Massage
This will be an indoor seminar to be held at Elite Performance and Rehabilitation Center in Goleta. This will be a lecture only (no dogs) and will be held from 7:00pm - 9:45pm.
Saturday March 8th 2008: Nutrition/Cross Training for the Canine Athlete
This will be an indoor seminar to be held at Elite Performance and Rehabilitation Center in Goleta. This is again a lecture only, and will be held from 6:00pm - 9:00pm.
Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9th, 2008: Private massage instruction appointments with Dr. Cindy DiFranco, DVM These will be 60 minute private instructions where under the guidance of Cindy the dog owner will learn to massage his/her own dog. It reiterates the systematic approach learned in the lecture and allows the handlers to feel what their dog's need and respond to. You can bring more than one dog and split the time between the 2--this works for a lot of people that can only afford one private but want hands on both dogs.
These private appointments will be held at Girsh Park in Goleta, at the usual practice location unless otherwise specified.
Please read the information below about the requirements:
RATES FOR SEMINARS ONLY:
1 seminar session: $60
2 seminar sessions: $100 ($20 discount)
COMBINATION RATES FOR SEMINARS & PRIVATES:
One hour private instructional plus one seminar *: $170 ($10 discount)
One hour private instructional plus two seminars: $200 ($20 discount)
Additional dog private instruction: $100
Standard 30 minute therapeutic massage also available: $65.00
*Handlers must attend the massage seminar in conjunction with private instruction.
Dr. Cindy DiFranco, DVM is a licensed veterinarian with 20 years clinical experience treating canine soft tissue injuries. Now an avid agility competitor, she has become interested in the performance canine which has led her to leave clinical practice and develop a massage technique by which she can help dogs avoid and recover from the injuries inherent to canine athletes. After extensive work with not only her own dogs but countless other athletic dogs from across the southwest, she has developed a hands-on program consisting of various massage techniques taken from human sports medicine that hold promise for preventing and accelerating recovery from injury in performance dogs. She has systematically developed techniques incorporating myofascial release, stretching and distraction which allow for passive re-alignment of the dog's musculoskeletal system. The results are amazing. Dr. DiFranco has discovered that dogs receiving her massage perform better than she had even hoped for and more than that, she has seen an immediate change in the way the dogs move and feel. Dr. DiFranco is excited by her discovery and wants to share her findings with dog sports competitors for the purpose of extending not only the dog’s active careers, but also the quality of their lives as they age and enter retirement.
Other benefits of Dr. DiFranco's techniques include relaxation, increased range of motion, decreased stiffness, better circulation and more rapid elimination of waste products from anaerobically stressed tissue. She has found that as an added bonus to the physical effects of her massage, the dogs also possess better focus and seem mentally more acute and in tune with their handlers. Dr. DiFranco invites old clients as well as new ones to join her as she shares her invaluable information and takes you through the process of massaging your dog step by step. The massage power point presentation will familiarize handlers with basic dog anatomy, mechanics of movement (with emphasis on the dog's specialized joints), soft tissue injury and repair followed by a logical 'how to' on the basics of her massage techniques. The second power point presentation is packed with need-to-know information on cross training and nutrition for performance dogs. Private one-on-one appointments with Dr. DiFranco are available. She will teach you with personal hands-on instruction how to best massage your own dog for his/her unique breed, physical demands and injury history.
Dr. DiFranco is highly sought by dog sports competitors who wish to keep their performance dogs happy, healthy and at decreased risk of injury. Please join us for this exciting new aspect of training that will help keep your dogs healthy, happy and sound.
Email Anne Swan to sign up! ZipnKiwi@aol.com