Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs Podcast, the show for dog lovers who
see dogs not as toys or tools, but wise souls worth our respect and care.
I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.
I talk to poor some humans, people who do great work for dogs and their people.
So come and join us for today's conversation.
Anke: Hello and welcome, Ruth.
I'm like, I always say I'm super excited, but like, it's super true today.
Ruth: Well, I am too, so that makes two of us, doesn't it?
Thank you, Anke, for inviting me on.
Anke: Oh yes, I, I just like, I, I just think we have like a real kind
of treasure on our hands today.
So before we go in there, uh, Ruth, why don't you share with
people where you're based and So what's your business with dogs?
Ruth: Yes, well, I am a whole energy body balance practitioner, which
is a type of dog massage, which focuses on the connective tissue,
uh, the neuro, uh, the neuro fascia, which is packed with nerve endings.
Um, I learned that massage about four years ago, uh, and I've now
been practicing for two years in my little canine cabin at the bottom
of my tiny garden in a little town called Winchcombe in the Cotswolds
in Gloucestershire in the UK.
Uh, so that's what I do in terms of working with.
Dogs.
Uh, and it's absolutely fantastic.
Um, I've always wanted to work with dogs.
It's taken me a little while, but I got here in the end, um, and doing the,
the web as it's called, whole energy body balance, doing that training,
working with, uh, learning from Dr.
Edward Bassing Thwaite, the healing vet who, who devised web and
works with it himself and teaches.
Uh, that's been one of the most amazing experiences I've had for
a long, long time, and it set me on the path that I'm now on.
Anke: I love that.
I love that.
And so people who are listening, well, there's a good chance
you've come across Dr.
Adam on the, on the Planet of Peace Summit, and he was
also on the podcast here.
So maybe you're familiar.
If you're not, I might recommend you, you check it out, because I always
remember how I stumbled across him.
You know, it's that, oh, here's ways you can detect.
Yes.
And I was like, Oh, you know, so yeah,
Ruth: I mean, I, I, like, like you, I stumped, sort of
stumbled across him as well.
I actually found him on Facebook when he, he advertises on Facebook.
And when I read about web and what it does and how it works and went,
looked into a bit further, the training and everything else, I just
thought, this is absolutely perfect.
This is what I've been looking for.
I have been looking into other types of canine massage,
which tend to focus more on.
You know, that the muscles and the muscle groups, whereas this
is much more the whole body.
It's the energetic system, as well as the connective tissue,
the tissue, the neurofascia, which is all the nerve endings.
Uh, and it just really fitted for me really with, you know,
it's a little bit intuitive.
Obviously you do do an assessment, seek out the silent.
Pain and tension, uh, and then work with the dog, not on the dog, you work
with the dog, you know, at their pace, connect with them, build up their trust.
Um, and it's, it's absolutely wonderful.
And I think I've always had a bit of a, um, I don't know what you'd call
it, an understanding or a connection with dogs, even from being very young.
Um, and, and it, as I say, it just works perfectly for me.
And it's lovely to be able to help them both emotionally and
physically, uh, in all sorts of ways.
Anke: So, I mean, all sorts of ways, like, what is it that
people typically come to you for?
Because, you know, like, if my dog's not well, I'll go to the vet or, you know, I
might get rakey or I might get like, you know, what will make people come to you?
Ruth: Well, very often, I mean, obviously, if your dog is ill, and I obviously would
always say this, if it becomes lame, if it's ill, you must go to your vet.
You know, that's, that's the one thing we must be clear on when, you
know, we're not vets by any means.
And if your dog is, is sick, take it to the vet as a first port of call.
And we always get vet consent before we work with the dog anyway, just to
make sure if there's anything we need to know or any, any areas of caution.
Um, but having said all that.
People will bring their dogs to us.
The reason being usually two sorts of camps.
There's people with dogs who might have got arthritis.
They might have got spinal issues.
Um, they might just be old and suddenly their mobility seems to go.
They've slowed up.
They don't get in the car so easily.
They don't get on the chair or up the stairs.
And they're, they're people who, they're dogs who have got very tight.
Their fascia's got very tight and stiff.
Um, and they're probably feeling, Quite uncomfortable and immobile.
So we work with that, work with them to loosen them up and it gives
them a new lease of life very often.
So that's sort of one, one area.
The other area is dogs with emotional issues because like us, dogs hold
tension the same as we do, you know, and if they're emotionally stressed,
whether it be through separation.
A rescue dog, you know, it's had an awful start to its life or whatever.
Um, it will be holding to emotional tension like we do.
And again, we assess, we find out, find out where it might be.
And then we work with that dog very gently when it's a rescue dog, or if
it's been abused because, you know, obviously a big trust issue there.
So, you know, you're very slowly and gently with rescue animals, um, build
up the trust and work to release it.
And again, the same thing often happens.
Their personality starts to come out.
They start to relax.
They start to enjoy life, start playing with toys for the first time, running
about, engaging with their owner, a human.
Uh, and it's just so lovely to be able to help them in that way.
It really is because, because a lot of, a lot of, um, Other sort of massages.
They don't tend to seek the silent pain and tension that Dr.
Edward has has devised.
It's a slightly different method of working.
And, uh, yeah, it's, and the, and the calming work we do with
the nervous system as well.
Uh, that's something he's devised and it's very, very powerful
and some energetic work as well.
And it is, it's very powerful.
Anke: I love that.
I love that.
So now this work has It has had an unexpected side effect for you,
Ruth: as well as it being absolute joy to work with lovely dogs and
help them and their owners because obviously it helps the owners too.
It has.
It's, it's led me down an unusual path.
One I wasn't expecting to do.
Before I was a dog, Uh, Canine Massage Therapist.
I was a writer.
Uh, I started off in journalism.
And so I've, I've spent 40 years writing in, in one vein or another, whether it
be publicity, marketing, journalism.
Um, so, but I've managed, I've been able to combine that sort of skill
with my dog work, um, and through.
The last two years, and particularly post pandemic, when a lot of dogs and
owners have struggled with all sorts of issues, um, through maybe they're not
socialized, or they've been with their humans so much, they get separation
anxiety, uh, all the rescue dogs as well.
Um, I've, I've, I noticed there was lots and lots of ongoing issues with people and
very similar issues, um, and a lot of it was down to the human actually not having
the knowledge they needed, uh, that, you know, about their dog's welfare, what
their dog's needs were, whether it was sort of breed specific or dogs in general.
Um, and so, As a result of that, and I used to talk to, I talk a lot to my friend
who's a dog trainer, uh, so we used to have lots of conversations about this.
Um, and I suddenly, I joined a writing group online just to do
a little week session, a session of evenings, uh, not with any
intention other than I like writing.
Um, and, and the first question, um, Michael Heppel, who was
the writer of that book.
He's the, he's a best selling author and motivational man.
And he is motivational.
He's a brilliant chap.
Uh, first thing he asked us was, what's your passion in life?
And of course, my passion in life is helping dogs leave, lead
happier, healthier lives and helping their owners as well, of course.
Um, so I put that down as, as my passion.
Uh, we 50 words or something.
And then the next night we had to expand it, which I did.
and ended up writing this piece that we were then asked to post and people
to comment on and give feedback.
And I had such lovely feedback from this first couple of hundred words.
People saying, Oh, where can I buy this?
Where can I get, where are you?
Is, you know, is this book finished yet?
And I thought, well, I hadn't even, I haven't even started this
book, but I better get on with it.
So I did.
Um, and now it's published.
It's out there.
They're all barking.
I've actually got a copy here.
They're all barking and it's written by Professor Daniel Springer Spaniel.
Um, and yes, so, so it's now available.
And basically in there I've gone through, um, it's about 14
chapters, each with an illustration.
And I've gone through all sorts of areas.
Um, it's sort of making humans aware really of, of how they can, what the,
what they can do best to help their dogs lead a happy, healthy, balanced life.
It's not about what the human wants.
Um, it's, it's not because the human wants it to wear a jumper
or shoes or any of these things.
Um, or the human wants that dog because it looks fluffy and pretty or whatever.
It should really be about does that.
Is that dog going to fit into your life?
Um, can you provide for that dog the things it needs?
If it's a working dog, it's going to have real specific needs.
It's going to be high energy.
It's going to need mental stimulation.
It's going to need a lot of outdoor work.
It's going to be very energetic.
You know, can you really, really provide for that dog if you're a
family, you've got a young family and you work, uh, you know, probably
the answer there might be no.
So things like that, and it's written from a dog's perspective and it includes
case studies, which are based on genuine, um, Sort of stories that either have
happened to me with my dogs or other people I know so they are, they're
true But I've obviously put a little bit of twist of fiction on it So it's
slightly, but it's the dog talking in the case studies and it's it's Professor
Daniel talking in the book Telling people, telling other dogs actually if
you have an owner who's like this This is probably what's going to happen.
Um, and there is, I've got some lovely feedback from people and it is
written, you know, with some humour.
Um, but there's also some really serious messages in there, uh,
you know, about what can happen to dogs if they do end up with owners
who can't provide for their needs.
Um, you know, maybe because it hasn't just been thought through.
Um, and I think this happened in the pandemic.
People rushed out and got dogs without thinking it through, without thinking
about what the dog needs and how they can look after it and what's going to happen
in this situation and that situation.
Um, and, and a lot of people humanized their dogs as well, I
think, and they did when they were spending a lot of time with them.
Um, and they weren't able to get professional help and guidance.
They weren't able to go to classes, socialize the dog properly.
And, and as a result, There's lots and lots of dogs with problems out there now,
um, but as I often say, you know, if you want to change your dog's behavior, you
need to start by looking at your own.
And this is what Professor Daniel does.
He looks at human behavior and how it affects dogs, including emotions,
because emotions affect dogs as well.
Anke: Oh, totally love that.
I love that.
Reminds me of this book by Kevin Behan.
It's called Like Your Dog Is Your Mirror.
Ruth: Oh yes, I've read that.
You know, like you
Anke: want to kind of always look on both ends of the leech, right?
So I think they're so, especially knowing how, how tuned in they are, you know.
Like you can, you can trick another person five times and
you will never trick your dog.
Like no one knows what's really going on.
Ruth: Yeah, and that's actually another, another point that Professor Daniel makes
is, you know, And there's a chapter on that, sensing your human's emotions.
And again, that's a really, you know, quite a serious issue because dogs, I
think a lot of humans underestimate how sensitive dogs are energetically, how
intelligent they are and how much they absorb what we're thinking, what we're
feeling, our emotions, um, and it can have a really serious impact on them.
Um, so that, that's, you know, that's one aspect of the book is, is realizing.
you know, just how intelligent and sensitive they are.
Uh, and again, you know, that it's not just, not just a dog or not just an
animal, that, that it's not an accessory.
It's not an object.
It's a real living, breathing, sentient, very sentient being.
And it needs to be treated with respect.
Um, and, and given it, you know, its needs, its breed specific
needs provided for, um, and then you'll have a happy, healthy dog.
Anke: I love that.
I love that.
It's like, literally like, what I've got on the cover page of
SoulTouch products is that.
It's like, they're not toys.
They're not tools.
You know, they, they, they're different from us, but not any less,
you know, it's almost like, boy, my dogs have taught me so much.
It's like, well, you know, like, you know what, I'm curious.
Like, who is Dr.
Daniel?
Like, is that, like, Yoda?
Or, like, how do you?
Ruth: Yeah, it's funny, actually, because a couple of people have asked
me that, and in a way, I think I've probably slipped up a touch there.
I came up with Professor Daniel Springer Spaniel, obviously because Daniel arrives
with Spaniel and he's hyphenated his name.
Um, I don't know why I came up with a Springer Spaniel, Professor Daniel.
Because my dog is actually a Labrador and it's a girl, it's a bitch.
So I don't know where he came from.
I mean, also in the book, we've got Dr.
Peter Poynter, who is his colleague, who's provided the skate case studies for him.
So he's got a role in the book as well.
And I haven't got a pointer either.
Anke: Oh, that's funny.
Ruth: Just came out of my very You know,
Anke: there could be good dogs or maybe a child.
Like, you know, could it be the dog in particular?
Yeah,
Ruth: no, it's funny.
It just came out of my head.
All sorts of strange things do.
Anke: So, so would you, I mean, the thing is, I would recommend it for anybody
who loves dogs because it's just like, it's the edutainment almost, like it's
half entertainment, it's half education.
You know, but uh, so is there a specific group of people where you say, well, if
you have an anxious dog, if you have a dog that kind of does things you don't really
understand, is there a specific kind of dog lover where you think, well, if
anybody gets a lot out of this, it's them?
Ruth: Well it's interesting actually because I mean I, I obviously make
it clear in the beginning of the book and I say to people I'm not a
trainer, I'm not a behaviorist, this is just my experience, well Professor
Daniel's words, but my experience and obviously of working with dogs and their
owners and I'm able to get it across because I'm a, I'm a writer as well.
Um, But I would say, and from the feedback I've had, the people who've
bought the book, some of them have been doggy clients, some obviously people
I know, other people I don't know.
Um, so far I've had lovely, lovely feedback.
And even if some of the readers have had dogs all their lives, they
all say it was really informative and they learned something from it.
And in some cases they've even changed Their behavior with their dog, uh,
because of what they've read in the book.
Uh, so that is fantastic.
That is what it's about for me.
You know, a lot of people have said to me, Oh, you must be so
pleased you've published a book.
Well, yes, I am.
But for me, the really, really.
Great thing is when people say to me, I've read it, I loved it, I've
really learned so much, you know, and somebody says, I loved it so much, and
I'm no doubt going to read it again.
And that is, and they've got something from it, because at the end of the
day, I've written it to help dogs.
That's, that's the simple reason I've written it is to try and help
dogs by raising awareness through their humans of how they need,
you know, the care they need.
Um, and the support they need.
Um, so yeah, it's, it's, I'd say any dog, any dog owner, to be honest.
Um, so I've had all sorts of dogs
Anke: probably put it on the Christmas list.
Ruth: Hopefully it makes a lovely gift.
The hardback makes a lovely gift.
And I've had quite a lot of people buy it to make, you know, to give us gifts.
Uh, so, so I'm hoping come Christmas, it'll be a busy time.
Anke: I hope so too.
So is there one thing like out of all the You know, all the messages
that you communicate in the book, is there, like, if there was one thing
you wish people knew, what would Dr.
Daniel say?
Ruth: Oh my goodness, me!
Um What would the one thing be?
I would say, respect, he would say rather, respect your dog for the canine it is,
not, it's not a human, it is a canine at the end of the day, and it needs
to be respected and treated as such.
Um, because I think that's, you know, that's probably where a lot of people
can go wrong, um, is they think of it as.
You know, a child, a baby, uh, you know, yes, it's part of the family.
Of course, they're part of the family.
And when we lose them, it's like we've lost our arm or our leg.
It's, it's awful.
Um, and it doesn't mean you don't love them any less.
It actually means you're putting them first.
So respect them and, and, and love them as a canine, not a, they're not a human
and they need to be respected as canines.
Anke: Yeah, I love that.
I love that.
So where can people go find, where can you buy the book, you know,
and where can people find out more about you, connect with you?
Ruth: Professor Daniel has his own website, of course,
which is professordaniel.
co.
uk.
So he has his own website where you can buy the book, uh, hardback or paperback,
um, Professor Daniel, I think it is.
I really need to check with him.
Um, yes, he's got, he's got a Facebook page and he's also got, um, he's
got an Instagram account as well.
Yeah, I mean, we definitely
Anke: want to put all those links, uh, you know, in the show notes, and if it's on
the podcast and in the actual newsletter.
So we definitely want all those.
Yes, I'll
Ruth: make sure we've got all the necessary, but yeah, he is
on, he is on Facebook, he is on Instagram and his professordaniel.
co.
uk is where you can buy the book.
Uh, it will be out on, available on Amazon very, very shortly as well.
So wherever you are in the world, uh, you will be able to buy it on Amazon.
And as long as you can speak English, you'll be able to read it.
Anke: Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Well, the next one will be if it's like, you know, barking.
So that they can, you know, like make one for dogs so they
can train their owners, right?
Ruth: Yeah, absolutely.
Anke: And so where can people find you?
Ruth: Me, well, I actually, I didn't say I'm a karma canine.
That is my, uh, web business, and that's hyphenated@karmacanine.co uk.
Uh, I've also got a Facebook page at Karma Canine, uh, at a Karma canine rather.
And I'm also on Instagram.
So again, um, for all the links are there so you can find yourself.
I'm based in the Cut sws.
Um, I see dogs.
in my little cabin at home.
Occasionally, if dogs are within a small radius, I will see them at
home if there's, if they're unable to travel or there's a problem.
So, yeah.
Anke: I love it.
I love it.
So definitely, you know, do yourself a favor, get the book because, you
know, it's just most delightful and, you know, I think it's such a beautiful
way to, to help more dogs by, you know.
Ruth: Yeah, well, that's what it's about.
That really is what it's about.
about helping dogs, just raising awareness of, of what they need and
how sensitive and intelligent they are.
Anke: Yeah, I love that.
Love that.
So thank you so much for coming.
Thank you Anke.
I'll hope to talk to you again soon.
Ruth: That's lovely.
Thank you very much for inviting me.
It's been lovely.
Thank you.
Thanks so much for listening.
If you enjoyed the episode, don't forget to subscribe, and leave a review so
other dog lovers can find the show.
If you haven't already, head over to soul touched by dogs.
com and sign up for weekly doggy cuteness tips, recommendations, and personal
stories to warm your dog loving heart.
And if you know a pawsome human you think I should interview,
I'd love an introduction.
Email me at Anke.
That's A N k E at Soul touched by dogs.com.