Category: Advanced Stuff ¤
  Author: Shirley Chong ¤
   Title: Putting a Dog to Sleep (NOT euthanizing!) ¤

How to put a dog to sleep at will (my will, not theirs <G>). 
   Start out by stacking the deck in your favour. The first time you try
this, pick a time when the dog is already sleepy, maybe after a big
meal. Find a place where you and the dog can both fit--smaller dogs I do
in the recliner, larger dogs I do on the bed. I could do all the GSD and
Belgians in the recliner, but much larger than that and I use the bed.
   What follows is a sort of dance. I use my hands to discover what
places on the dog's body relaxes them. For Chamois, it's the insertion
points on her forehead for her jaw muscles and the little muscles around
the base of her ears. For Bidge, it's anywhere on his body (he's very
self confident, so he's relaxed already). For Rhiannon, it's slow
movements of my hands along her back. For Lukie, it was the muscles of
his neck and shoulders.
   If the puppy is still, the stroking/massage goes on. If the puppy
moves, my hands stop. If the puppy keeps moving, my hands are withdrawn.
This is NOT about holding the dog in place--this is the dog learning to
stay still to keep my hands going. When the dog and I start breathing in
sync, I know we're achieving a one-ness of purpose. <G>
   As the dog falls asleep, my hands slow down gradually.
   Then we practice. I practice until I can put the dog to sleep in a
minute or two. Then I practice moving parts of the dog's body while they
sleep. At first, it wakes them up and I go back to stroking/massage.
Pretty soon, they know my hands the way they knew their mother's touch
as babies and my hands don't disturb them.
   We practice until we're proficient in working together to relax the
dog to sleep.

M. Shirley Chong
The Well Mannered Dog