Helping canine friends live their best life

Rich Palzewic

Staff

January 27, 2025

GREEN BAY –  Jake Friske, owner of Big Stretch Canine Massage in Green Bay, said similarly to how pet chiropractors, gyms, hydrotherapy or yoga have become increasingly popular lately, so, too, has dog massage.

So much so, that he said he recently got trained/certified in the trade of dog massage.

“It’s definitely a growing trend,” Friske, who grew up in La Crosse but moved to Green Bay in 2009, said. “In the Green Bay area, there are a few dog chiropractors, but typically, it’s just your average veterinarian clinic around here. In the Chicago area, for example, there are so many physical therapists, chiropractors, tons of different massage and rehab specialists for animals.”

Friske said he’s hoping canine massage takes hold in the area and people start to see the benefits of it.

“Just like human massage, it really makes a difference in dogs,” he said. “Dogs have soft tissue that needs to be worked on. If you or I have a hurt leg or something, we’ll rest a little bit, but dogs can’t. They have a prey drive, and if they see a rabbit or a squirrel, they’re going to run after it – that’s built into them.”

Friske said the benefits of canine massage can include:

• Faster recovery
• Feeling better after surgery
• Helping with joint pain
• Alleviating stress and anxiety
• Improving blood flow
• Improving digestion
• Lowering blood pressure

“There’s the mental aspect of it, too,” he said. “It helps dogs ‘check out’ for a little bit, and it’s safe. With one of our dogs, if there is any noise outside, he just seems always on alert. That chronic stress over time, just like people, wears on their bodies, and they need to be able to relax and recover.”

Friske said equine massage has been around for a long time, but canine massage is still relatively new – especially in this area.

“I’m sure racehorses probably each have their own massage therapists,” he said. “Dog massage has been around for quite a while, but it’s just recently becoming more popular. I think people are seeing the benefits, and maybe they don’t necessarily want their dog to be on heavy pain pills.”

Friske said he’ll make house calls if that’s more comfortable for dogs, but he also shares space in De Pere at Nose to Tail Animal Chiropractic with Dr. Molly.

How it all began

Friske said like most people, he had no idea canine massage was a thing until his dog, Nessa, underwent two knee surgeries.

“About four years ago, she had surgery on one of her knees,” he said. “The process was rather stressful on me, but Nessa recovered and was fine. She’s nine years old, and about a year ago, her other leg started presenting the same symptoms.”

Wanting to avoid some of the surgery pain, Friske said he took Nessa to a dog chiropractor in Green Bay.

“After doing her exam, she said, ‘You know, maybe massage would help, but there are no canine massage people in the area,’” he said. “I had never even heard of that, so I looked into it but kind of put it on the back burner for a little bit. But, it just kept coming back to me.”

Eventually, Friske said he looked deeper into canine massage.

“There’s a program based out of Chicago where they have the training classes, set you up and give you all the knowledge and dogs to work on,” he said. “They see you through the process, and then you take the national certification exam.”

Friske said while going through the certification process, he quickly learned how many dogs out there are not feeling 100%.

“In one case, there was a German Shepherd we worked on,” he said. “He was born fine, but he had some genetic thing where the muscles in his back legs basically calcified, so he can’t bend his back legs. He’s still a happy dog who wants to run around, but all the work is now being put on the front legs. With massage, you can help them recover and feel better.”

Friske said the training was more in-depth than he thought it would be.

“There were five sections in-person (instruction),” he said. “On two of the weekends, it was a Saturday and Sunday, and then three were Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

Friske said there was also quite a bit of online work to learn anatomy.

“There were also case studies you had to do on your own, find dogs to work on, take notes and then meet with the instructor,” he said. 

Friske is now a nationally certified canine massage therapist through the National Board of Certification for Animal Acupressure & Massage (NBCAAM).

“With human massage in Wisconsin, you need a state license – there are rules and regulations,” he said. “With dogs, it’s different – there’s really no license through states that certify you are okay to do this. The NBCAAM has standards and certain schools that provide the required education. Once you take all the courses, take the test and submit everything, it proves you’re not (just) some (random) person off the street who doesn’t really know what’s going on.”

Friske said he’s currently the only nationally certified canine massage therapist through NBCAAM in the State of Wisconsin.

Friske said when he started the training, he figured even if it didn’t work out to start his own business, he could at least use the techniques he learned on his own dogs.

“I wasn’t sure where it was going to go,” he said. “At the very least, I was hoping to help my own dogs for the rest of their lives or any dogs after them.”

Friske said his wife, Sara, has been “extremely supportive” throughout the process.

“She’s a human massage therapist and was one of the reasons I started because I’ve seen the difference she can make for people through massage,” he said. “As for other people, they’ve been supportive as well. After the initial ‘wait, what is this?’ people I know understand it much better.”

‘It takes time’

Friske said it might take a visit or two for a dog to feel comfortable with massage.

“It’s like many things – you have to build that trust and comfort with a dog,” he said. “That’s probably the biggest part of it and is one of the most challenging things with dogs. Every dog is different, I’m a new person and it could be a new place. They don’t know what I’m doing to them, so it might take some time. You can’t just tell a dog to lie down for an hour and relax.”

Friske said other times, dogs are comfortable right away.

“Once they’re actually there, settled and realize, ‘Hey, this isn’t too bad – it’s kind of cool,’ things go well,” he said. “I have this one dog I work on where it took about 15 minutes on the first visit for them to warm up to me. The next time the lady brought the dog in, the dog came in, laid down by me and was ready to go – they knew what they were there for.”

Friske said depending on why an owner is seeking treatment for their canine, that can determine the frequency of the visits.

“For a younger active dog, who just needs to recover here and there, maybe a visit every month might suffice,” he said. “With one of my case studies, I was working with a 10-year-old spaniel who had both back knees redone at some point and was feeling it. With that dog, I maybe started with twice per week and then tapered off.”

Friske said with that particular case study, there were positive results.

“I think it was the second appointment where she was able to go up and down stairs,” he said. “She hadn’t been able to do that for a long time because everything hurt.”

Just like it might take time for a dog to feel comfortable with massage, Friske said it also might take time to spread the word about Big Stretch Canine Massage.

“I’ve had people reach out – maybe 10-15 dogs,” he said. “Only really getting started in mid-November, it’s been a bit slow, but that’s okay. I still have a full-time job working at Aurora Healthcare fixing and maintaining x-ray equipment. Dog massage is a nice break and doesn’t seem like work. I plan to keep doing it – it’s a nice change of pace from what my full-time job entails.”

To view more information on Big Stretch Canine Massage or to set up an appointment, visit its Facebook page.