Tellington Touch for Animals
TTouch Body Work for Pet Cats, Dogs, Rodents, Snakes, Horses & More
Developed by Linda Tellington-Jones, TTouch or equine TTEAM is used to improve physical and mental health and behaviour in companion and wild animals.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, horse trainer and Feldenkrais practitioner Linda Tellington-Jones began to adapt these two systems into a new type of healing work for animals. TTEAM (“Tellington Touch Equine Awareness Method”) and TTACT (“Tellington Touch Animal Companion Training”) were born: paired systems of body work for horses as well as for smaller domestic pets. In time, Tellington Touch or “TTouch” has been used with dogs, cats, rabbits and other rodents, snakes, and even wild animals with health and behavioural challenges. Most recently, TTouch is also being taught for use on humans.
What is Tellington Touch?
According to Toronto TTouch practitioner Sandra Rosano, Tellington Touch incorporates three basic areas or types of techniques: physical touch, equipment, and “the playground for higher learning.”
- Physical Touch: The basic TTouch is a circle – or more precisely one and a quarter circle – made all over the body with one or both hands. Planting the thumb gently with the palm toward the animal’s shoulder, neck, face, or other body part, one and a quarter circles are drawn (with varying strength or gentleness) using the four fingers, applying enough pressure to move the skin but not the muscle beneath.
- Equipment: TTouch training methods may involve particular harnesses, leads, “calming bands” over the nose or muzzle, and wraps. TTouch practitioners may also use rods called “wands” as a tool to guide an animal’s attention, or to perform the basic physical touch from a distance on a frightened or aggressive animal that cannot be approached directly.
- Playground for Higher Learning: Tools like a “labyrinth” made of horse poles, or ladders for an animal to walk over or through, help to guide awareness and teach an animal to think – much like mental puzzles for a human.
How Can Something So Simple Be So Effective?
TTouch can be used to assist with physical health conditions or training. It has been known to yield remarkable results with animals that jump up, balk, bark, bite or shy, and aggressive animals, as well as helping with health issues ranging post-surgical recovery in dogs to lung troubles in a snake.
The basic principals of Tellington Touch involve working with an individual’s needs, using subtle, gentle touches (and, in training, equally gentle requests) to create new options. Equipment such as the harnesses used on canines and exercises using a 12-foot square “labyrinth” enable animals to process information in new ways and to learn kinetically, which is vital.
Like Feldenkrais, Tellington Touch is about “teaching the person, and the animal, and the body that it has choices” (Rosano, Dec. 2, 2007). Given options, animals can choose to continue neurotic behaviors such as caching food or running away from strangers – or grow into new choices. This approach is far cry from the practices of most animal trainers.
If a dog bites, working with TTouch on the tail – the opposite end of the spine – is often effective. Likewise, if a dog doesn’t like to have his or her rear handled, a TTouch practitioner might begin by touching the dog’s face. In working with a new animal, Rosano says she always asks, “Where can I start? Every situation has to be seen as unique. The most fascinating statement... is, it depends. You start where you can.”
Where Can I Learn More?
- Toronto and Southern Ontario: Sandra Rosano of All Creatures Tellington Touch: 416-638-3450 and allcreaturestt@hotmail.com
- Others: TTouch website
