Does anyone have experience with acupuncture for joint problems in dogs?
Pan (female Great Dane, 113 lbs, 4 1/2 years old) was diagnosed with
bilateral CHD and juvenile arthritis around age one. She has since been
on Glucosamine.

I recently noticed that her gait is slightly off, and that her left hind
leg is stiffer than it used to be. The vet is of the opinion that she
is otherwise in very good shape, at a good weight and well muscled, and
that acupuncture should help her stay mobile. I agree with the vet that
keeping her active, and the supporting muscles built-up is important to
her long term health.

Any stories, good, bad or otherwise and advice are welcome.

Suja

I've never had experience myself but I worked with a woman who's husband was
hurt in a mine accident. He had a bone chip on his spine and they couldn't
operate and he was in constant pain. He swore that acupuncture was the only
thing that gave him any relief from the pain he had.

I certainly would have tried it with Barney if there were any practioneers
in the area but there weren't so we had to resort to arthritis medications
later on.

Celeste

"Suja" wrote in message
news:Vtx2f.11870$U%5.5719@lakeread05...

Does anyone have experience with acupuncture for joint problems in dogs?
Pan (female Great Dane, 113 lbs, 4 1/2 years old) was diagnosed with
bilateral CHD and juvenile arthritis around age one. She has since been
on Glucosamine.

I recently noticed that her gait is slightly off, and that her left hind
leg is stiffer than it used to be. The vet is of the opinion that she is
otherwise in very good shape, at a good weight and well muscled, and that
acupuncture should help her stay mobile. I agree with the vet that
keeping her active, and the supporting muscles built-up is important to
her long term health.

Any stories, good, bad or otherwise and advice are welcome.

Suja

I have experience with acupuncture for dogs. For a couple years my
German shepherd underwent acupuncture treatments. The treatments were
effective. The problem is that the treatment doesn't last for
ever...duh...you have to keep going back. I was told by my
vet/acupuncturist that the duration of effectiveness varies from dog to
dog. Sometimes the dog is good to go for many weeks; sometimes not. In
the case of my GSD, the treatments were good for about six to seven days
at about $35 a treatment. (I didn't go every week.) Eventually it
was decided that we would try gold bead implants...little tiny beads (or
loops in my case) were implanted in her at specific acupuncture points.
Gold bead implants are like permanent acupuncture. The effectiveness
of the implants in my shepherd was about six months...again in various
from dog to dog. None of the treatments were so effective that I could
take my shepherd off of other pain relief treatments, but the
acupuncture treatments were very effective. My shepherd had lots of
joint problems.





Suja wrote:

Does anyone have experience with acupuncture for joint problems in dogs?
Pan (female Great Dane, 113 lbs, 4 1/2 years old) was diagnosed with
bilateral CHD and juvenile arthritis around age one. She has since been
on Glucosamine.

I recently noticed that her gait is slightly off, and that her left hind
leg is stiffer than it used to be. The vet is of the opinion that she
is otherwise in very good shape, at a good weight and well muscled, and
that acupuncture should help her stay mobile. I agree with the vet that
keeping her active, and the supporting muscles built-up is important to
her long term health.

Any stories, good, bad or otherwise and advice are welcome.

Suja


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Suja wrote:


Does anyone have experience with acupuncture for joint problems in dogs?
Pan (female Great Dane, 113 lbs, 4 1/2 years old) was diagnosed with
bilateral CHD and juvenile arthritis around age one. She has since been
on Glucosamine.

I recently noticed that her gait is slightly off, and that her left hind
leg is stiffer than it used to be. The vet is of the opinion that she
is otherwise in very good shape, at a good weight and well muscled, and
that acupuncture should help her stay mobile. I agree with the vet that
keeping her active, and the supporting muscles built-up is important to
her long term health.

Any stories, good, bad or otherwise and advice are welcome.

Never used acupuncture on the dogs but had it myself for back pain
after a car accident. It gave decent temporary pain relief, about
equivalent to a dose of prescription strength ibuprofen but was not a
long-term cure for the problem.
It didn't hurt but I could feel it. It just felt... odd. I could feel
the tip of each needle as a sort of light itchy touch, then a sort of
electrical tingle as it went in. The tingle would increase as doc
twiddled the various needles but even at its most intense it only made
me laugh.
It's less upsetting than you might imagine, lying still with a hide
full of needles, but it still feels really good to get them out and sit
up. So objectively its hard to know how much of the benefit is
physical/biochemically medicated, and how much is psychological - "My
back still hurts, but by god, the needles are gone so I feel better".

Kathleen

Suja wrote:

Does anyone have experience with acupuncture for joint problems in dogs?
Pan (female Great Dane, 113 lbs, 4 1/2 years old) was diagnosed with
bilateral CHD and juvenile arthritis around age one. She has since been
on Glucosamine.

I recently noticed that her gait is slightly off, and that her left hind
leg is stiffer than it used to be. The vet is of the opinion that she
is otherwise in very good shape, at a good weight and well muscled, and
that acupuncture should help her stay mobile. I agree with the vet that
keeping her active, and the supporting muscles built-up is important to
her long term health.

Any stories, good, bad or otherwise and advice are welcome.


I've used acupuncture for my dogs for years. Acupuncture IS endorsed by
the AVMA as a legitimate alternative treatment for dogs. I would only go
to a vet (DVM) who is also certified in acupuncture from the American
Academy of Veterinary Acupuncturists: http://aava.org/ has a listing.

Joint pain is one thing that a good acupuncturist can make a huge
difference with. They cannot cure CHD, but they can increase range of
motion and decrease pain, as well as slowing progression of the disease.

Some of you who have been around a long time will remember my Dreamer,
diagnosed at age 2 with a very painful form of Wobblers disease. She
would somehow move wrong and scream, defecating on herself in terror and
pain. I tried pred, no go. As a very last resort, I tried acupuncture. I
literally had an appointment to put her down because she was in agony.
She could barely walk into the acupuncturist's office, yelping with each
step. She walked out 40 minutes later, hopped in the car, and was pain
free for 3 months. My acupuncturist and I, working together, managed to
keep her pain free for another 7 years before the disease finally
advanced to the point where I had to put her down.

Now I use acupuncture to help Viva's spondylosis. It really is amazing
what a good acupuncturist can do.

I myself would not go to a human acupuncturist for a dog. Some people
do. But the points on the dog are different than the points on a human,
and dogs often are needled differently.

Good luck. If you find a good one I bet it will help. I'd also advise
something like Deramaxx or Rimadyl for inflammation and pain. Keep on
top of the liver points if you give it, but again, Dreamer had 2 tablets
a day for 7 years with no problem!

"Suja" wrote in message
news:Vtx2f.11870$U%5.5719@lakeread05...

Does anyone have experience with acupuncture for joint problems in dogs?
Pan (female Great Dane, 113 lbs, 4 1/2 years old) was diagnosed with
bilateral CHD and juvenile arthritis around age one. She has since been
on Glucosamine.

..........is she getting fish oil too?

, and
that acupuncture should help her stay mobile. I agree with the vet that
keeping her active, and the supporting muscles built-up is important to
her long term health.

Any stories, good, bad or otherwise and advice are welcome.

......Acupuncture on an old lab with hind end problems resulted in her
jumping out of the pickup and running up a 5 foot embankment after
treatments. No, they didn't last long, but added a lot to her mobility.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

buglady wrote:

.........is she getting fish oil too?

Yes!

.....Acupuncture on an old lab with hind end problems resulted in her
jumping out of the pickup and running up a 5 foot embankment after
treatments. No, they didn't last long, but added a lot to her mobility.

Good to know. It kind of sounds like my physical therapy appointments
for my bad back. Makes me feel good for a week, but then it regresses,
because the underlying issue causing it is not addressed.

Pan's mobility is still quite good. She runs around like a demon, plays
soccer with me, wrestles with Khan, and has no problem jumping into the
car. It's just that I'm seeing advancement in the disease, and want to
keep our options open. The guy who was recommended is a certified
Veterinary Acupuncturist, and makes house calls. If it at all seems
like she's slowing down a bit, I'll give him a call and try it.

How does one keep a dog still long enough to administer the treatments?
Should I be working on loooong down-stays? About 10 minutes is all I
have tested with her.

Suja

When the needles are first placed, which does take some time, the dog
will need to stand. After that the dog can lie down, about 10 to 15
minutes if I remember. When the needles are first placed I found it
very helpful and perhaps even required to kneel next to her so that I
could help keep her still.

Suja wrote:

How does one keep a dog still long enough to administer the treatments?
Should I be working on loooong down-stays? About 10 minutes is all I
have tested with her.

Suja


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"Suja" wrote in message
news:yUP2f.3190$jw6.1508@lakeread02...
Good to know. It kind of sounds like my physical therapy appointments
for my bad back. Makes me feel good for a week, but then it regresses,
because the underlying issue causing it is not addressed.

...........what does the most for my back is massage. Thai massage in
particular. Just once a month. You might try some regular massage with
her.

Pan's mobility is still quite good.
It's just that I'm seeing advancement in the disease, and want to
keep our options open. The guy who was recommended is a certified
Veterinary Acupuncturist, and makes house calls. If it at all seems
like she's slowing down a bit, I'll give him a call and try it.

..........sometimes it's better to start earlier rather than later. I'd at
least talk to him about it now.

How does one keep a dog still long enough to administer the treatments?

.........most dogs don't mind and sit quietly. I honestly don't remember how
long her needles were in. When I had acupuncture I think it was 30 minutes,
though I don't think they do it as long on dogs.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

"Suja" wrote in message
news:yUP2f.3190$jw6.1508@lakeread02...
snip
How does one keep a dog still long enough to administer the treatments?
Should I be working on loooong down-stays? About 10 minutes is all I
have tested with her.

Suja

Atty has had accupuncture many times for allergy relief and a couple of
times for an injured paw. She's had needles in her back, up her legs, and
on her paws, for up to 20 min. at a time. She has always just layed down
and basically fallen asleep - almost like it's theraputic. She's often
sitting or standing when they are inserted, and I've had to remind her it's
ok to lay down, which she does very gingerly, almost like she didn't want to
dislodge the needles. She only winced/showed any reaction once, and I was
told it was because sometimes the placement isn't quite perfect.

Sue and Atty