Acupuncture treatment for our Dog

I had not heard of acupuncture being carried out on animals until our oldest dog Sam hurt one of his rear legs in the spring of this year. After months of being on the lead he was allowed off and immediately went and hurt his other rear leg, as well as his back. We were advised that it could be months before he was better, that it may also involve an operation that would takes months to recuperate from, and that it may be worth trying acupuncture. Our vet Claire works with a specialist vet who provides a pet acupuncture service and we made an appointment to see Alison, who did her specialist training course in pet acupuncture in the United States.

I am fairly cynical over the use of eastern medicine and especially of acupuncture; what is the benefit of having pins stuck in you? Well this was to help my best pal – Sam, so anything was worth a try. We were also relieved to find that this treatment is covered by our pet insurance (Pet Plan), so while we had to pay the first £110 plus 20% of all treatment we did have a fair portion of the acupuncture treatment covered by insurance.

After the first treatment our dog was very tired, this Alison said is normal and Sam slept after we got him home. During the treatment he did not seem phased in anyway by Alison carefully and gently putting in the needles in his back. This was after he was thoroughly checked over and while we believed the problem was his leg(s) Alison identified very tense muscles in his back. So the needles went into Sam’s head (a very small one) and the rest into different positions on his back. He did react badly to a small needle being placed in his foot; however that was the only occasion he displayed any problems with the acupuncture treatment. The next day he walked a lot easier and obviously in less pain – what a relief to us.

The acupuncture treatment started off at weekly intervals (for our dog at least) and was gradually increased based on how his reaction to the treatment and health improvements, the idea being that we will be able to have an acupuncture treatment when he needs it, possibly every 4-6 weeks. This will also save on the expenses involved.

Sam has now had 4 acupuncture sessions and we have two more planned. He is like a new dog, even though he is 11 years old and has been through the wars with different injuries and operations. It is wonderful to see him wanting to go for walks again and he does appear to be in a lot less pain. I put much of this down to the acupuncture treatment.

During the treatment (before and afterwards) he has been on painkillers / anti-inflammatory treatment and probably will be for the foreseeable future. Yet with the acupuncture he is walking better and enjoying longer walks, he is also trying to tell me he wants off the lead to play – that is not going to happen until we get the go ahead from the vet.

In you live in central Scotland or in Perth, Dundee or Fife and wish to be put in contact with Alison for pet acupuncture then use our contact form to send us your e-mail and phone number and we will pass it on to her.

Sam has needles put gently into his back.

He does not show any discomfort with the acupuncture treatment.