Rovers Remedial Massage Therapy

04/04/2025

Decoding Pet Food Labels

📦 Are You Being Misled by Pet Food Labels?

Did you know that pet food manufacturers can manipulate ingredient lists? Some brands split ingredients like corn into separate components (corn meal, corn starch, corn gluten), making it look like meat is the main ingredient—when in reality, the food could be mostly fillers.

🔎 Tip: If "chicken" is listed first, but multiple forms of corn follow, the food is likely more grain than meat!

💬 Have you ever been surprised after reading a pet food label more closely?

26/03/2025

🐾 Senior Wellness Tuesdays – Keep Your Senior Dog Moving This Winter! 🐾

As the colder months set in, arthritis can make movement harder for our senior dogs. But with the right care, they can stay comfortable, mobile, and happy!

💙 Join our weekly wellness sessions designed just for senior dogs with arthritis! 💙

✨ What’s included?
✔️ Therapeutic Massage – Relieves muscle tension, improves circulation, increases range of motion and promotes relaxation.
✔️ Gentle Stretching – Helps maintain flexibility and reduce stiffness.
✔️ Low-Impact Obstacle Course – Using cavaletti poles, low steps, cushions, and balance discs to build strength, coordination & confidence.

🐶 Perfect for dogs with arthritis, stiffness, or mobility issues!

📅 When? Every week – because consistency is key!
📍 Where? Bomaderry
💰 Affordable pricing to encourage regular visits! (DM for details) or visit www.roversremedial.com.au/contact.html

Give your senior dog the care they deserve! Spots are limited—message me to book.

13/03/2025

The chemicals used in standard flea treatments are polluting waterways and having a drastic effect on wildlife like killing songbird chicks🪺.

"Research at the University of Sussex has found that pesticides used in regular flea treatments are in 98% of English rivers, often at levels far higher than those deemed safe.

Some of this is from treated dogs swimming, but much goes down the drain from households, (eg from shampooing dogs, washing bedding, stroking and washing hands) and then enters rivers, according to Dave Goulson, professor of biology at Sussex, who co-authored the study and supervised the research.

Recent research also found that 100% of blue tit🐦 and great tit nests🪹 are contaminated with pesticides💦 from pet flea treatment, as the birds collect fur from dogs and cats to insulate their nests. The study, funded by the charity Songbird Survival, found that nestling mortality is associated with higher levels of the pesticides.

[...] If spot-on products are considered the only appropriate form of treatment, you should brush your pet indoors or in a sheltered area where you can gather the hair afterwards and dispose of it in a sealed bag.

'What we don’t want is the hair blowing away and birds collecting it up as nesting material. I think a lot of us have probably thought that was kind of quite a nice thing for birds to do but clearly it really isn’t if the hair is contaminated with chemicals,' said Millineaux.

It is also important to take care of packaging material, particularly from spot-on products. 'I’ve heard horror stories of people washing out the little containers, which obviously do contaminate water,' added Millineaux.

'What we want to be doing is not washing them out but disposing them of them in something like a seal bag and following any manufacturers guidelines.'

Washing is discouraged for several days after treatments, owing to the risk of product getting into waterways. " - Guardian

05/03/2025

Celebrate with Rovers!
To mark the upcoming certification in my Canine Nutrition, I'm offering a FREE "Make Your Dog’s Bowl Better" when you book an initial canine massage! 🐾

Let’s enhance your pup’s health with some quick, actionable nutrition ideas and tips, alongside a therapeutic massage to help release, restore, and rebalance their body.

Limited time offer! DM me or visit https://www.roversremedial.com.au/contact.html

30/01/2025

Helping dogs feel their best—just like Rocky! Grateful for this lovely review.

06/01/2025

Starting 2025 with Rae & Nug! 🐾✨
What a way to kick off the year! First massages for 2025 are these two incredible pups Rae and Nug.

🌟 Rae is managing severe arthritis, so we focused on reducing inflammation and easing discomfort to help her feel a little more mobile and comfortable finishing off with the Healy.

🌟 Nug, the three-legged wonder, is such a champ! Our session focused on releasing tightness in his compensatory muscles from overloading—helping him stay balanced and strong. I get plenty of kisses from him during our session.

Their pet mum is doing an amazing job supporting them with nutritious treats and a raw diet. Together, we’re working on fine-tuning their meals for even better balance and health.

Here’s to a year of wellness and care for all our 🐶.

02/12/2024

Keeping your pup active and their muscles strong is key to long term joint health.
👉 How do you keep your dog's muscles healthy? Share your tips below!

29/10/2024

Dogs can sometimes get nippy, often due to fear and anxiety. During the massage sessions, I pay close attention to your dog's body language to ensure their comfort. For dogs like TeeJay, who can nip when feeling scared, we occasionally use a soft muzzle to keep safe while still providing the care they need.

20/10/2024

Be Cautious with Synthetic Vitamins for Your Dog's Health 🐾

While synthetic vitamins and minerals can play a role in your dog’s diet, it's essential to understand their potential drawbacks to ensure you’re making the best choices. Here’s why a bit of caution can go a long way:

1️⃣ Lower Bioavailability
Synthetic vitamins may not be absorbed or utilized by the body as efficiently as natural ones, which means your dog might not fully benefit from them.

2️⃣ Risk of Overdosing
These concentrated nutrients can sometimes lead to imbalances or even toxicity, especially with fat-soluble vitamins like A and D.

3️⃣ Potential Side Effects
Some dogs may experience digestive issues or allergic reactions from synthetic additives, particularly if the source materials contain allergens.

4️⃣ Nutrient Interactions
High doses of synthetic vitamins can interfere with the absorption of other essential nutrients, disrupting your dog’s nutrient balance.

5️⃣ Long-Term Impact Unknown
Since synthetic vitamins don't interact with the body like naturally occurring ones, the long-term effects of continuous use are not fully understood.

Choosing whole food sources for your dog’s vitamins and minerals ensures they also benefit from natural co-factors, enzymes, and phytochemicals that synthetic nutrients often lack.

If you’d like to dive deeper into this topic, check out my blog, 'The Pitfalls of Synthetic Vitamins and Minerals in Canine Diets: What Every Dog Guardian Should Know.' Link is in the comments!

If you're looking for a place to gain trusted insights and support, my 💖 Dog Mom Society 🐾 will be re-opening in the next few weeks, you can join the waitlist in the second link below !

17/10/2024

Discover the latest research on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and hormone-sparing sterilization for dogs. Learn about the health impacts of...

11/10/2024

Rupture of the CCL is one of the most common reasons for hind limb lameness, pain, and subsequent arthritis. The development of this problem in dogs is much more complex than in humans. Furthermore, dogs suffer from different degrees of rupture (partial, complete).

11/10/2024

05/10/2024

Have to agree

03/10/2024

🐾 Our canine friends have been by our side through it all. Now, it's our turn to give them something back in their senior years. 🐾

Just like us, senior dogs can experience aches and stiffness, especially if they’re living with arthritis. But with regular massage and the healy quantum frequency device, they can enjoy a more comfortable, pain-free life!

I love helping my senior dog clients feel their best, reducing discomfort and improving mobility 🐕💙

In honor of our beloved seniors, I’m offering special rates for older dogs, just like Seniors' Day for humans! Senior dogs often require a bit more regular maintenance, so to make it affordable for pet owners.

Let’s give them the care they deserve. 🐶💆‍♂️
www.roversremedial.com.au/contact.html

10/09/2024

The dog has zero need of carbohydrates. Even the kibble manufacturers agree here. They are included as they can be an "excellent source of energy", sort of like the way Mars Bars and Coca-Cola are, I guess.

But how excellent. It's said that sled dogs lose around 10% of their body weight during the Idiatrod (620miles/1000km). I recently heard this weight loss is significantly less of a thing when the dogs are raw-fed over such distance but I never saw actual evidence of that until now. Check this out, adapted from Houpt and Zicker (2003):

"The responses to a season of quail hunting by English Pointers fed two different diets were compared. The diets differed in protein and fat. Diet A was 13% fat and 23% protein, and Diet B was 49% protein and 28% fat. The dogs on the higher fat and protein diet (Diet B) lost less weight and performed better in that they found more birds per hour".

The authors conclude "...it seems that the fat, or energy density of the food, is the more important aspect of endurance performance."

So yes, dogs can run fast on carbs, possibly even faster, it remains to seen, but at what cost to the body as it is cannibalised for protein and fat, we don't know.

Remember, the more protein you feed sled dogs, the less physical injuries they get through the season.

This makes sense. Joints and cartilage and bone and synovial fluid are built on protein. The less building blocks you get, particularly while young and in pre-season, the greater the potential for disaster.

This was highlighted to us over the weekend in Helsinki - if cats just get 25% real food in their diet (largely meat) they are significantly less likely to suffer osteoarthritis later in life.

Other work by DogRisk surveyed more than 200 GSD's and found raw feeding was protective to hip dysplasia.

But this is sled dogs. Very high-performance animals with insane, borderline unnatural energy demands. This is not your average dog. For such animals, the carb debate is completely redundant.

***
REF Houpt and Zicker (2003). Dietary effects on canine and feline behavior. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract, 33(2):405-16