Acupuncture for dogs is a ancient Chinese medical technique that encourages the body to promote its own innate natural healing and to improve overall functioning within the body. In acupuncture, needles are inserted into acupuncture points and then heat or electrical energy is applied to these very specific locations on the body.
How Does Acupuncture for Dogs Work?
Chinese writings explain there are channels of energy, or meridians, that run along regular patterns throughout the body and over the surface of the skin. These meridians can be thought of as rivers flowing through the body that serve to irrigate and nourish various tissues. Any obstructions that occur to block these flowing channels of energy are like a dam blocking a river and cause a the energy to become stagnant or to back up into the system. The channels of energy can be encouraged to flow through the application of needles at the acupuncture points, which unblock these obstructions and allow the body's healing energy to flow freely again. Treatment by acupuncture for dogs can assist the body's internal organs to re-establish correct patterns of absorption, digestion, energy production, and in helping the circulation of energy through the various meridians.
The modern interpretation of this process states that the needles applied to the acupuncture points stimulate the nervous system within the body to release chemicals within the muscles, brain, and spinal cord. These chemicals will either soften the sensation of pain or they will stimulate the release of other chemicals and hormones which then have an affect on the body's own internal regulating system. The improved energy and biochemical balance that takes place with acupuncture for dogs will help the dog's body use its own natural healing abilities and create a sense of physical and 'emotional' well-being.
How Will Acupuncture Help My Dog?
Acupuncture for dogs can help with three areas of canine health:
Musculoskeletal : Lameness of unknown origin Hip Dysplasia Bruising/Sprains Arthritic and Rheumatic joints with or without bony exostoses Back pain/Wincing when touched Cruciate Ligament Damage (in conjunction with acupuncture)
Respiratory:
Chronic bronchitis Coughing unresponsive to treatment Persistent or Periodic Kennel Cough Urogenital : Infertility Incontinence in bitches Old age incontinence Cystitis Ovarian dysfunction
There is no doubt that inserting a needle into the skin will create some kind of sensation in the animal. This is not to say it is painful necessarily, but can be somewhat of a rather sharp sensation. The needles tend to be very fine in diameter and thus slip into the skin with little resistance, though if the acupuncturist finds and area that is very blocked, the stimulation of this point when the needle gets through the skin can be somewhat uncomfortable.
So why do it then? The benefits of acupuncture for dogs outweigh the rather mild discomfort that comes from the treatment. Remember, the first oath animal and human healers learn is ‘First, Do No Harm’. It could also be stated that if acupuncture for dogs was really that painful with no real benefit, then it would never have come into popular use in the first place. When we decide to take our dog for acupuncture, we do so not for amusement but because there is a problem we are trying to resolve for our dog.
Dogs can react in all different kinds of ways in receiving acupuncture for dogs. Some can be brave, others timid, and some just seem to take it in stride, much like we humans when we visit the doctor and receive a treatment we are unfamiliar with. For those dogs that simply cannot tolerate the idea of a needle being stuck in them, there are treatments that stimulate acupuncture points using lasers or points of light.
How Many Acupuncture Treatments will be needed?
The number of acupuncture for dogs treatments will be different from dog to dog. For complicated, chronic, long-standing disorders, one or two treatments per week for several months may be needed. For more simple, acute problems, usually fewer acupuncture for dogs visits are needed. In Doing Acupuncture for Dogs, Are There Any Side Effects of Treatment?
Normally there are no side effects with acupuncture for dogs. The energies are redirected within the dog’s body and internal chemicals and hormones are being stimulated allowing healing to begin. Sometimes with acupuncture for dogs, the symptoms can become worse for a few days until the true healing takes place. There may also be some changes in appetite, sleep patterns, urination or bowel patterns or even the dog’s emotional state may change slightly. But this should cause no concern as it is simply showing that the acupuncture for dogs is beginning to have an effect.