Read and Release Course

Touch is a universal and powerful form of communication.  Whether it is offering comfort, showing affection, or simply being present, touch has the power to create deep and meaningful connections.

Dogs can be experts at hiding tension and stress. Learning to read your dog’s responses through touch is a valuable tool in identifying these.  By becoming more aware of these responses, you can better identify physical and emotional discomfort before it escalates. The Read and Release Course helps dog owners become more attuned to their dogs’ body language and physical signals.

In the Read and Release Course you will learn Search Response Stay Release (SRSR) and Hold, Wait, and Melt (HWM), techniques that focus on touch to gently and effectively release tension and discomfort. Learning these techniques promotes healing and comfort.

Amelia Nalli, MMCP Canine

If you would like to hear Amelia’s message to you, please click here.

Amelia is a Masterson Method Certified Practitioner for Equine and Canine.  She is also an instructor for the Light to the Core horse bodywork courses.  She produced and edited the videos linked in the Beyond Dog Massage book, which gave her the unique opportunity to watch Jim work with many types of dogs with very different temperaments. That experience helped her to understand the importance and differences of bodywork between dogs and horses. The techniques are similar on a smaller scale but the release of tension is just as rewarding.

An avid animal lover, Amelia volunteers at a dog adoption center to offer Masterson Method Canine Bodywork and relieve tension with as many dogs as possible who are in difficult situations.  Amelia earned her MMCP Canine in 2025.

Kalin Finsand, MMCP Canine

As a Masterson Method Certified Practitioner Equine and Canine, I have experienced and experimented with the The Masterson Method® bodywork on all sorts of barn dogs at the ranches I visit. It’s not unusual to see a dog waiting outside the stall for their turn at some gentle touch to help release accumulated tensions. With the start of 2024, I am honored to be on the forefront of instructors who will embark on teaching the Masterson Method Beyond Dog Massage courses.

My bodywork journey may have begun with the horse, but it has continually been infused with delving into learning canine techniques. I am also certified through the National Board of Certification for Animal Acupressure & Massage, Tallgrass Animal Acupressure Institute in canine and equine acupressure, and have also completed the Tallgrass Tui-Na canine massage course. I know that having this knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine acupressure meridians and points is a continuous benefit to my Masterson Method bodywork.  Kalin earned her MMCP Canine in 2025.

If there is a dog (or more) in your life, the Masterson Method Beyond Dog Massage courses are a must. You will learn how to read your dog’s response to gentle touch and help them release tension that affects movement, comfort and longevity.

My dogs and I look forward to meeting you and your pup in class!

Leslie Kennedy, MMCP Canine

Leslie has enjoyed a lifelong experience with dogs, from simply enjoying dogs as family pets, to family show dogs, and more recently agility. She is a professional, board certified canine and equine health care practitioner experienced in a broad spectrum of bodywork techniques. For the past eight years Leslie has achieved tremendous results using integrated bodywork to restore whole body balance and muscle symmetry in canines and equines. The Masterson Method® techniques are successfully used by Leslie on a daily basis for her canine and equine clients.

Canine clients range from those suffering from neurological deficits, anxiety, trauma, tension, sport  injuries arthritis, muscle tension and numerous other imbalances. Young dogs, senior dogs, retired racing dogs, and high performance athletes enjoy and greatly benefit from The Masterson Method® to help maintain optimal health.

Leslie’s clients include professional dog trainers to loving pet owners. The Masterson Method Beyond Dog Massage is for everyone.  Leslie looks forward to helping you help your cherished canine companion. By learning The Masterson Method Beyond Dog Massage techniques you can help keep your dog’s mind and body in ideal harmony.  Leslie earned her MMCP Canine in 2025.

Robin Robinett DVM, MMCP Canine

Dr. Robin Robinett grew up in the Houston area and always had a love of animals. At 3 years old after getting her first puppy, she decided she wanted to become a veterinarian and worked toward that goal throughout her education. She graduated from Pasadena Dobie High School with Honors and has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Texas A&M in Biology. She returned to Houston and worked at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for two years before returning to Texas A&M. She graduated in 1989 from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine with a doctorate in Veterinary Medicine.

Robin rode and showed horses in hunter shows, dressage and combined training/eventing before graduating from vet school. Dr. Robinett worked for the Houston SPCA after graduation. Then she was a co-owner and founder of a veterinary hospital in Pearland. After leaving that practice in 1997, she did small animal veterinary relief work and had a mobile practice for veterinary chiropractic. She received her Veterinary Chiropractic Certification by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association in September 1996, then became certified in Acupuncture from the Chi University in 2009.

Dr. Robinett opened Veterinary Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Clinic, PC. (VCRC) in October 2008. VCRC provides Chiropractic, Acupuncture and Rehabilitation services for dogs, cats, and horses.  VCRC is one of the few privately owned clinics in the USA, which does small animal and equine rehabilitation and has an underwater treadmill for dogs and one for horses.

Dr. Robinett is certified in Equine Rehabilitation by the Animal Rehab Institute in Florida and has completed a practice-based residency and will sit for exams in 2025 for board certification by the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (ACVSMR. Dr. Robinett is a member of many professional veterinary organizations including: American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), Texas Veterinary Medical Association (TVMA), American Association of Equine Veterinarians (AAEP), American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA), American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians (AARV), the Texas Equine Veterinary Association (TEVA), the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM), and the International Association of Veterinary Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy (IAVRPT). She was a finalist for IAVRPT International Rehab Therapist of the year in 2020 and 2021.

After taking the Masterson Method Equine courses, Dr. Robinett met Jim Masterson and became a Masterson Method Certified Veterinary Practitioner in 2021. Robin co-authored the book, Beyond Canine Massage with Jim, which was released in October 2023.  Robin earned her MMCP Canine in 2025.

Stef Watts, MMCP Canine

Stef is based in Nottinghamshire in the UK, where she lives with her husband Adam and their dog Paddy. She has always had a passion for working with animals, particularly dogs and horses.  Stef changed her career path later in life to follow her passion and has now been a practising animal and human therapist for over 10 years, following an intense 3 years of training in both animal chiropractic and animal and human soft tissue therapies.

With a continued thirst for new knowledge, Stef went on to become an MMCP Equine in 2018 and has found the techniques a great addition and benefit to her therapy sessions. At about this time Stef also launched some of her own accredited animal therapy practitioner courses, to enable more people with a passion to realise their dreams of working with animals.

It was a great surprise to find out that Jim Masterson was going to launch The Masterson Method for dogs and Stef was delighted to be accepted for the Masterson Method Canine Instructor training program. Stef hopes that her own experiences with clients – both 4 and 2 legged – and students will bring a positive benefit to those wishing to complete the Canine Masterson Courses.  Stef earned her MMCP Canine in 2025.