By Charlie Frost
This article was written by Charlie Frost, MMCP Equine and student of the Masterson Method Canine program. Sadly, Charlie lost her dog Harry, and when her new dog Scout came into her life, she discovered some unexpected challenges. Charlie shares how learning The Masterson Method for dogs helped her connect with her new dog Scout.
When Scout came into our lives, I thought I knew dogs. More specifically, I thought I knew Vizslas.
For 11 years, we had Harry, our first dog and the quintessential Hungarian Vizsla, or “Velcro Vizsla” as they are aptly nicknamed. He followed us around like an ever-present, rust-coloured shadow. When we lost him to cancer, we did what many people do when faced with the enormous hole a dog leaves behind. We got another dog; another Vizsla, in fact, named Scout.
Harry on Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa, 2023
I think part of me assumed that because Scout was the same breed, that familiar relationship would somehow come with him. Of course it didn’t. Scout was an excitable young dog in a new home and he was his own dog. I spent the first few months trying to work out how to understand him in the way I had understood Harry, and became increasingly frustrated that I couldn’t.
A Different Kind of Dog
A few months after Scout arrived, I had the opportunity to attend The Masterson Method® Read and Release online canine bodywork course. I had read the Beyond Dog Massage Book (2023) and wanted to learn more.
Scout, Cape Town, South Africa, 2024
As a Masterson Method Fieldwork student in the equine bodywork certification program, I was already familiar with using this approach with horses and had seen firsthand the many beneficial effects it has with horses. I was curious about how the same principles would translate to dogs, particularly because horses, as prey animals, have very different motivations and behavioural responses.
But as Jim Masterson, who created the method says:
“Both horses and dogs are survival animals who have evolved to block out physical tension and pain to make it through life. It’s just that horses accumulate tension in the body when running away from something, and dogs accumulate tension when running toward something.”
This made sense to me. I also had a more personal reason for wanting to try it. I was struggling to find my relationship with Scout and to find a way to connect with him in the way I had with Harry.
One of the principles that had first attracted me to The Masterson Method is that the animal participates in the process. Rather than applying bodywork to the animal, you watch for subtle changes in body language, and adjust what you are doing according to those responses.
The canine work follows the same principle. You are looking for the small things: a blink, a change in breathing, a shift in expression or movement, and then respond to what the dog is telling you. It’s your reaction to these subtle responses that tell your dog that you’re listening, and this in turn helps them relax and release tension. With Scout, I began to understand how much the practice could affect the relationship itself.
Learning to Read Scout
Every Monday evening for a month, I joined a small group of dog owners from different parts of the world for the interactive online course, learning under the instruction of Masterson Method instructor Stef Watts.
We had a mixed bag of canine massage: Tucker, an Australian Shepherd whose owner hoped to certify him as a therapy dog; Jack, a Golden Retriever with hip issues; Pheeny, a rescue who was reactive to other dogs; Mac, a 90-pound Pitbull/Lab mix recovering from Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy or TPLO surgery; and Scout, my young, healthy and fairly boisterous Vizsla.
Their reasons for being there were all different. Scout didn’t have an injury or obvious physical problem that I was trying to address. What I wanted was just to really connect with him, and find a space where we could both relax around each other.
Working with a young, active dog came with its own challenges. Initially, I found it difficult to keep Scout focused, and sometimes even awake. But through watching Stef demonstrate, observing the other dogs and practising between classes, I started to recognise the responses that were particular to Scout.
This was probably the first significant shift for me. I had spent months expecting Scout to behave and react in the same way that Harry had. During the course, I was able to learn how he communicated and change my responses accordingly.
Charlie practicing the techniques with Scout at home
Reducing tension through touch
I started using the techniques during the day, particularly after a walk when Scout was naturally quieter. In the evenings, when he came to sit next to me, I would practise the Bladder Meridian technique, the foundational Masterson Method technique, which has a calming effect and establishes communication and trust.
I also used “Search, Response, Stay, Release” (SRSR) techniques, slowly searching an area such as his sternum, pectorals or pelvis with very light touch and watching for a change in behaviour. When Scout gave me a response, I would stop rather than carrying on, keep my fingers lightly in that area and wait. Eventually I might get a yawn, a lick and chew, or he would lie down and get this wonderful sleepy-eyed look about him. The more I practised, the easier it became to recognise.
Finding a Language Between Us
Though Scout was healthy, that didn’t mean that he too wasn’t blocking out or hiding any restriction in his body. As a young dog, overplaying or overexertion can lead to tension or strain and as a particularly active dog, I wanted to use bodywork to prevent any injuries from happening. Applying both SRSR and gentle movement techniques I’d learnt in the course, I felt empowered to help release any tension I found in his body.
And as Scout gets older and starts to run the trails around home, I am offering him routine bodywork to help keep his neck and shoulders free from tension, as well as reducing tightness in his hind end, areas that seem the most challenging for him. With regular bodywork, I can monitor and notice what his body is telling me. It’s more proactive than waiting until something is obviously wrong.
The biggest change for me since starting this journey of canine bodywork with Scout, was our connection. Walking off lead became easier as we started to feel more in tune with each other. Scout became more relaxed, and I became more relaxed around him. Learning to read his responses gave me a practice of listening to the dog in front of me. Scout is older now, and our relationship continues to change. He is still excitable, still carries ridiculous pine cones around, and is very definitely his own dog. But somewhere along the way he also became my rust-coloured shadow.
Harry and Scout, 2023 & 2024
Charlie is an equine MMCP and Marketing Specialist who works for The Masterson Method and a number of other equine businesses and professionals. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, she divides her time between bodywork and deskwork and is happiest when she’s out in the wilderness, preferably on a horse.
For more information on the Masterson Method Read and Release Course visit: https://mastersonmethod.com/beyond-dog-massage-read-and-release/.
