Only a few years ago, deep into my journey of developing and refining the WEBB Method, My little dog Mitzi showed me that I was suffering from a condition known as Gratuitous Veterinary Arrogance. I was certain that I could tell when dogs were in pain simply by looking at them.

As it turns out, dogs often show signs of discomfort in different ways to humans. My own dog, Mitzi, showed his pain through becoming growly with other dogs at a WEBB for Pets training weekend - much more so than his usual grumbly demeanour. Later that night when I got home, I gently assessed the base of his skull, and he froze in a severe pain response, even whimpering! He had a screamingly painful neck, which I later discovered was due to a fall down the steps several weeks earlier that my wife neglected to tell me about.

Mitzi suffered with really bad pain that he showed no obvious signs of pain with for weeks, because at that time I didn’t realise that even I need to assess my dogs every few days to be sure there’s not a pain issue that they need me to help them with.

I’ve been teaching WEBB for dogs for over seven years, and am confident that with skilful somatic bodywork treatments with the WEBB Method, dogs and cats can not only experience relief from painful physical conditions, but can also heal past trauma and its associated emotional or physical tension.

By monitoring a dog’s subtle levels of communication such as facial expressions, breathing, posture, and tension, the treatment is guided by the animal’s responses to touch. This approach builds trust, allowing the practitioner to work into painful spots.

WEBB for pets is flexible and adaptive to the pet's needs in that moment. Many people find that practicing WEBB with their dogs deepens and strengthens their relationship; always a lovely experience for both the human and furry members of a family.

You can help your pets with WEBB by taking them to your nearest WEBB practitioner, or by learning how to connect with, assess and treat your own animals with the WEBB Method online trainings. Dr Edward is also available