Canis Major Essex Clinical Canine Massage

23/10/2026

It’s something that I often tell you about 🥰

20/10/2026

The importance of keeping your dog lean 🥰

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆

This study followed 48 Labrador Retrievers throughout their lives, and its findings helped establish a lasting connection between nutritional management, healthy body weight, and longevity in dogs.

Here’s what the research found:

𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗻: Dogs fed 25% less food than their pair-matched controls had a median lifespan of 13.0 years, compared with 11.2 years in control-fed dogs—a difference of 1.8 years.

𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲: Food-restricted dogs developed age-related chronic diseases later in life, with osteoarthritis among the particularly notable conditions.

𝗕𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: The study linked greater fat mass and declining lean body mass with mortality, highlighting the importance of maintaining a healthy body composition.

𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: The dogs followed their respective feeding regimens from puppyhood, emphasizing the potential importance of nutritional management throughout life.

Although initially published in 2002, this is still as important today.

Because healthy weight management is more than an aesthetic goal. It is an important component of preventive veterinary care, with potential implications for both lifespan and healthy ageing.

For veterinary teams, this research reinforces the value of regularly assessing body condition, individualizing feeding recommendations, and discussing nutrition with pet owners before excess weight becomes a problem.

Subscribe to VetEd to help us access more veterinary journals.

Kealy RD, et al. Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs. JAVMA. 2002;220(9):1315–1320.

Lawler DF, et al. Diet restriction and ageing in the dog: major observations over two decades. British Journal of Nutrition. 2008;99:793–805.

20/10/2026

It’s always lovely to get messages like this from clients

‘Jazz was clearly feeling good after her massage yesterday. She ran beautifully and is now grade 4! She flew which is always a sign that she’s feeling comfortable. Thank you as always! ❤️’

So happy to help beautiful girl, keep flying 🥰

16/10/2026

16/10/2026

Lovely Dennis has been in the wars since his last session, he went into the vet to have a small lump removed in his mouth and ended up having a dental and a bunch of teeth removed! He was more more uncomfortable than usual and I suspect it was due to being laid out under anaesthetic for the treatment. He insisted he was fed chicken throughout which was able to take his mind off things 😂
Hopefully he’ll be much more comfortable now, gorgeous boy 💙

16/10/2026

I’m not sure if Bella could be any more relaxed during her massage! She rushes to greet me, trots off to the sofa and makes herself comfy, this beautiful girlie suffers with elbow dysplasia however massage helps to keep her comfortable and her family always say how much she enjoys her session 🥰

16/10/2026

Honey wriggled and paced around and was generally very uncomfortable for her session, poor girl. She eventually managed to relax once I’d moved on from the sore bits, Honeys mum has been left with instructions on how to Vascular flush and I’ll be seeing her soon for further treatment, or torture (according to Honey!)

16/10/2026

Aw look at this good girl! Lovely Lola had a few areas of discomfort behind her shoulders but once I’d worked on them she was able to curl up and nod off. No mean feat for a terrier! See you soon beautiful girl 🥰

13/10/2026