About Us

Canine Bowen Technique aims to promote and support the body’s own powers of self healing and as a result may be very useful for dogs with problems in the following areas :

• Acute injury eg sprains and strains
• Chronic conditions and degenerative disease – helping to improve the dog’s quality of life
• Rescue/re-homed dogs – relaxation of tension caused by earlier stress and trauma
• Pre– and post-operative surgery – assisting recovery times
• Fear-based anxiety – such as fireworks and thunderstorms

However, CBTA practitioners will not claim to be able to “cure” a problem. Our aim instead is to facilitate the marshalling and channelling of the dog’s own resources so that it can determine how to heal itself. In this respect, therefore, Canine Bowen Technique can be almost all-embracing in its coverage. Although generally regarded as a ‘remedial’ therapy, Canine Bowen Technique can also be used to good effect as a maintenance and prevention therapy, helping to keep the body in optimum balance. To this end, it may be very beneficial for active, hard-working dogs or dogs used for competitions in obedience, agility, or trialling. Common conditions which are often presented at Canine Bowen Technique sessions include :

• Allergies and Skin conditions
• Arthritis and Muscular Sprains & Strains
• Back problems
• Lameness and other Gait problems
• Hip & Elbow Dysplasia
• Working or Competition dogs
• Dogs that pull on the lead
• Aggression and other Behavioural problems
• Stress & Anxiety disorders
• Cystitis & Urinary disorders
• Recurrent Ear problems
• Sciatica

Obviously, veterinary-diagnosed conditions such as joint dysplasia will not be ‘cured’ by Canine Bowen Technique. Nevertheless Canine Bowen Technique may be very beneficial for dogs with these sorts of conditions, because the rebalancing/optimising effects both locally and elsewhere in its body may help to improve its quality of life

Using fingers and thumbs on precise points on the dog’s body, a CBTA practitioner applies gentle rolling movements over soft tissue (muscles, ligaments, tendons, fascia, and skin). The move is not a flick, but done slowly and with very gentle pressure so as to just disturb the underlying tissue and create a focus for the brain to work on. There is no hard manipulation, no pulling or cracking of joints, no insertion of needles, no massaging with oils. Although a typical session will last up to about an hour, while the practitioner gets to know more about you and your dog, and your dog can get accustomed to and relaxed with the practitioner, the actual hands-on part of the session will usually last no more than about 20 minutes. Over the following 3-4 days the dog may experience reactions as its body continues to assimilate the effects of the Canine Bowen Technique moves and realigns/rebalances itself. This healing process continues for about 7 days until the session is continued. The average number of treatments required to obtain noticeable change is two or three. During the session, there are short intervals – determined either by the dog or by the practitioner – which allow the dog to absorb the information given by the gentle moves, and allow fine adjustments to take place within its body. Dogs are much more in tune with their bodies than humans, and generally know for themselves when to “take a break”, and when to come back for more. Often, after just a few moves, they will wander off and just stare blankly into space, or go somewhere for a short lie-down. CBTA practitioners will never force the technique on the dog – this will only serve to make the dog less receptive and will be counter-productive to the outcome. So an important part of Canine Bowen Technique is recognising and respecting when the dog indicates it has received what it needs. At the start of a Canine Bowen Technique session, there will need to be time to allow the dog to accept and trust the practitioner. For very nervous dogs, most of the time of a first Canine Bowen Technique session may well be spent solely on developing this relationship and very little Bowen work may be done. However, after getting accustomed to Canine Bowen Technique, most dogs will want it more and more, and many will come over and position themselves to indicate where they’d like the work doing.

Aftercare Advice A Bowen session is a partnership. When offering Bowen to humans it is a two-way partnership – between practitioner and client. With dogs it is a three-way partnership – between practitioner, dog, and owner. Your CBTA practitioner will give you some post-session advice with regard to your dog and how it should be looked after over the following few days. Carrying out these aftercare recommendations is just as much a part of the treatment as the hands-on session. If the owner is unwilling to abide by these instructions then the effect of the session will be wasted. For instance, after a Canine Bowen Technique session, most dogs will probably feel tired and want to go off somewhere quiet and have a nap. This is very good news, since sleep is the time when most of the body’s repair actions take place, and the dog’s apparent tiredness shows it is accepting the Bowen work. If, however, the owner insists that their dog accompany them on a long walk on the beach, maybe because they’re feeling sorry for the dog and want to “make up” for it not feeling well, then the dog will not get the time it needs to repair itself, and may well re-injure itself as well. So be prepared to listen to and accept the advice of the practitioner

Canine Bowen Technique (CBT) is based on the principles of the Bowen Technique, a successful human therapy named after its developer, Tom Bowen (1916-1982), which was developed in Australia during the 1950’s, and brought to the UK in the early 1990’s. Its adaptation in the UK for use on dogs was started in 2001 by Bowen therapists and dog trainers/behaviourists Sally and Ron Askew, who started on their own dogs, and then, with the cooperation and support of their local vets, integrated their findings into their canine behavioural and rehabilitation work with great success. Canine Bowen Technique is a holistic technique. By “holistic” we mean that it “works with the body as a whole, without referral to named disease”. So CBTA practitioners do not treat the veterinary-diagnosed disease or condition per se, but work with the dog, as they see it, on the day. For example, although a dog may be brought with a condition such as rear-leg lameness, a CBTA practitioner may well work with other parts of the body as well, including the back, neck, and front-legs, in order to address other possible problem areas caused as a result of the dog compensating for the presenting condition. In this case the dog may well have tried to shift its weight forward in order to relieve the pain in the rear-legs, but this, in turn, will affect the carriage of the head and neck, and require the front-legs to carry more load. By addressing these other areas, we are maximising the dog’s attempts to return its body to proper balance.

Training Courses CBTA Practitioners have completed the EGCBT (European Guild of Canine Bowen Therapists) Practitioner course as developed by experienced Bowen therapists and dog trainers/behaviourists, Sally and Ron Askew, with the aid of one of the top orthopaedic vets in the UK. EGCBT have been producing knowledgeable, professional practitioners since their training was first held in 2004. The training offers a unique, dog-centred, holistic approach for people wishing to become properly skilled Canine Bowen Technique practitioners. It has been held in the UK since 2004, Switzerland since 2006, and in 2013 the first course was held in the Netherlands. The EGCBT practitioner course in Canine Bowen Technique is currently the only UK-developed course in Bowen for dogs approved for continuous professional development training by both the Bowen Therapy Professional Association (BTPA) and the Bowen Association UK (BAUK) – the two leading associations of professional Bowen therapists in the UK.

Although the European Guild of Canine Bowen Therapists (EGCBT) Association evolved in 2018 and became Canine Bowen Technique Association (CBTA), the EGCBT training continues to be available through their approved training providers/teachers. Each of the approved training providers have completed 250+ hours of teacher training with Sally & 6 Ron Askew and are actively involved in the standards of their training, practitioners and with the regulation of non-veterinary animal professionals in their respective countries.

Currently, there are two training options available :-

• Self-Interest

Consisting of Module 1 of the Practitioner course, this option provides instruction in the basic level of Canine Bowen Technique and may be used by dog owners who wish to use the procedures in a self-interest manner solely for use on their own dogs, or who wish to try out Canine Bowen Technique before committing to the full Practitioner course. Please contact the training provider in your relevant country for further details (See below).

• Practitioner Course

The EGCBT Practitioner course is intended to provide a credible and respected standard of professional training in Canine Bowen Technique. Consisting of four or five Modules (depending on country/training provider) spread out over approximately a year. Module 1 is as for the Self-Interest option, and then Modules 2-4 or 5 complete the full course. Please contact the training provider in your relevant country for further details (See below).