anyone use acupuncture on their dogs?

**atomicboy** · 05-05-2008, 03:56 PM

One of my best friends is in need of a little help. The kid is old and we rescued him a couple of years ago so I would guess 12 or so. Anyway he shakes a lot and has trouble getting up and down and no longer likes to go for walks. When he lays on tile he has no strength to get himself up. He has disc issues and we have recently been giving him light pain meds (carprofen). I just hate giving him more and more pills since he already has to take three a day for his heart.

I was curious about acupuncture or pulsed signal therapy for dogs. I wanted to know if anyone else has used it and had success? I would appreciate any feedback. I will do anything for the boy.

**irul&ublo** · 05-05-2008, 04:08 PM

I had good results with my lab/shep mix alex. I think the combo of meds and accupuncture gave him an extra year or two. My shepherd cosmo (almost 8) just started some chiro and accupuncture. it helps with some shoulder arthritis he has.

Don't discount the meds though. Rimadyl and other NSAIDs can work wonders with dogs, just watch for signs of blood in the poop and have a blood test done after starting them to check on liver function.

**truckeelocal** · 05-05-2008, 04:46 PM

Ditto. My old dog goes to accupuncture every couple of weeks and loves it, and is on Rimadyl for maintenance.
My younger dog didn't like accupuncture. He likes steak.

Rimadyl can be nasty stuff only to be used on older dogs to maintain quality of life - IMHO.

For pain there's something that's call Dog-Gone Pain that seems to work for a while before stronger stuff is required. I use Norco.

**hutash** · 05-05-2008, 05:21 PM

Like most alternative medicine, it seems to be hit or miss. Can't hurt to try, but the big problem is finding somebody competent to do the therapy. I have had clients with good a bad results. Try to find some one with a lot of experience.

AB, are you going to the mini? I will be up Fri-Sun.

**enlosandes** · 05-05-2008, 06:12 PM

Our doggie had the shakes and our animal healer, who kicks ass, has him on a tonic that has pretty much stopped the shakes.
You might want to contact her, she rocks.
http://moranscritterconnection.com/

**Dudley** · 05-06-2008, 09:23 AM

I would have remained a pessimist but we have a pointer/begal mix that we saved from the pound that has had a bad start.... after dealing with worms, slipped disks, and abuse the accupuncture and "tonic" our vet prescribed have him running around like normal medicine couldnt. No ill effects like we saw from meds either. Definately worth a shot in my opinion.

**iceman** · 05-06-2008, 09:33 AM

One of my dogs blew out a disk at age 6 and was completely paralyzed in his rear end. Our vet is a real pro and he said he had never seen a dog recover from such severe paralysis.

But we took him to a specialist and got him surgery anyway. After the surgery he had sensation back there but he still wouldn't or couldn't use his hind end. He also wouldn't/couldn't take a shit.

I took him for acupuncture and before we got home the back of the car was covered in shit (thank god for cargo liners) and when I stopped at the house he stood up.

He went for a number of sessions. He was never 100% again, had trouble with stairs and couldn't really run too well, but he lived another 6 happy years. I'd say it was worth it.

**atomicboy** · 05-06-2008, 01:09 PM

Thanks for the insight and positive reviews guys. I think I will give it a shot after doing some research on finding a quality acupucturist for dogs in my area. There is hope. I also appreciate the other links and products that were offered and will check them out. Anything for my four legged friends.

**RedWolf** · 05-06-2008, 03:35 PM

My old Golden is another success story. Her arthritis was so bad she could barely walk up or down stairs, which is a necessity in my house. My vet is into the whole holistic healing approach, and suggested accupunture. It was a wild success - as soon as she was done, Katie (the Golden) could not only do the stairs without issue, but was running with the younger Golden. I think it definitely gave her another year or more of happy life.

**treewell-dweller** · 05-09-2008, 10:00 AM

my boy ryder is about 8y/o now. golden/shep mix with super long legs. he tore his acl last summer and has bit of arthritis...

i chose not to do surgery for a number of reasons, and went with a holistic approach. after trying a few vets who prescribed a number of remedies, he was doing well, good days and bad days. but he kept having setbacks and wasn't progressing.

a friend of a maggot friend actually suggested acupuncture and i took him for his first treatment a few weeks ago. since, he's been puppy-like at times and he and i are both really happy with his progress. he's jumping up on beds again, running around and just seems to be in better spirits. i'm taking him in again tomorrow for his second treatment.

i would give it a shot. i'm in the nyc area and would highly recommend the vet i've been seeing. pm me if you want the name of the place or more info.

and good luck.

**SterlingSpikeDancer** · 05-09-2008, 10:52 PM

I have used it on my 15yo Aussie, and it seems to help her out. She had a cruciate repair about 6 years ago, and has bad arthritis/poss bone cancer in another leg. After a session with a veterinary friend of mine, she gets around much better. The great thing about accupuncture (again by someone who is a VET and who knows WTF they are doing) is that there are pretty much no bad side effects, only the chance at positive help. That is ALWAYS worth a shot.

-oh, and I was the biggest pessimist about the whole thing out there before I started to see results with my own eyes, on my dog and on other people's animals.