​Animal Acupuncture - Is It Safe? And can you really treat my dog?

Animal acupuncture is a wonderful thing and Oscar had it regularly to keep his back muscles in good order and to alleviate any spasms he had in his stomach.  Having the acupuncture on a regular basis kept him topped-up and fighting fit.

If you want to know more about it, then here is some more information from Emma, the practitioner of Natural Veterinary Care and Oscar's therapist and vet.

What conditions can be treated?
In animals, acupuncture is primarily used to alleviate pain associated with musculoskeletal pain such as arthritic joints, post orthopaedic surgery and back pain. However, it can also be used as an aid to treatment in certain skin conditions such as allergic skin disease and some functional conditions such as recurrent constipation in cats and irritable bowel type problems in dogs.

What Can You Expect From Animal Acupuncture?
An acupuncture session will usually last around twenty to thirty minutes. The initial consultation will last longer in order to enable me to gather your pet’s full history and perform an examination. In addition, I will need to contact your regular Veterinary Surgeon to obtain consent for treatment prior to our first consultation.

A course of four to six weekly treatments is usually recommended, followed by a maintenance treatment every four to six weeks depending on the problem and how your pet responds. Acupuncture can almost always be claimed for on pet insurance, providing the condition that the animal is receiving acupuncture for is covered by the policy.

With animal acupuncture, isn’t it hard to make them lie still?
Most animals tolerate needle placement extremely well. I have even had some dogs fall asleep during treatments! During animal acupuncture, if your pet does become sleepy during or after the treatment, this is usually a sign that he or she will respond well to acupuncture. Having said that, if your pet doesn’t become sleepy this does not mean that there will be no response. Approximately 80% of animals will respond well to acupuncture.

The number of needles placed and the length of time they are in place for during treatment is individual to the patient, and you will probably see one of three things following treatment:

1. Your pet may seem more painful the day after treatment. This may mean that too many needles were placed or the needles were stimulated too frequently. Subsequent treatments can be adjusted if this occurs.
2. You may see no response. This could be due to a small but transient improvement too small to see, or because insufficient needles were placed. Again subsequent treatments of animal acupuncture can be adjusted if this occurs. Little or no response can seem disappointing, but please remember that we cannot say that an animal will not respond until he or she has received four treatments.
3. You may see an improvement. My clients often report an improvement in demeanour before an improvement in mobility. Any improvement will typically last up to three days after the initial session, and subsequent treatments should provide longer lasting results!

If you feel your pet may benefit from acupuncture or have any questions please contact me!
I am also able to provide home visits – please contact me for details.”

If you have a dog with a debilitating condition where more medication is all that is recommended, I cannot encourage you enough to give this a try. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain.

Animal acupuncture is fast becoming recognised in the main stream as a safe, non-intrusive treatment for many ailments, which is great; the added benefit with acupuncture is that there are no side-effects that perhaps traditional western medicine may have.  If you have any other questions about this treatment, please feel free to comment below or contact me directly.

A very common ailment I get asked about is about helping to alleviate arthritis in dogs.
In searching for techniques and supplements to help Oscar with the arthritis in his knees a few years ago, I came across this video showing a very simple technique to help alleviate the tension in the muscles around an area that has arthritis.
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Even if your dog doesn’t suffer from arthritis – we all love a massage now and again!

If you have any other ideas you’d like to share on helping arthritis in dogs, then leave a comment below.
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