My dog had her first acupuncture treatment today - ask me anything

[nadine_mn]

This is Jazz and she is 15. She has hip dysplasia and the conventional drug therapy still leaves her in some pain. So we decided to try this and laser therapy - she gets this done at our local vet. She was a little nervous (ok a lot nervous) at first but then settled down a bit. The first couple of needles were in calming spots before focusing on where her pain is.


[url=https://flic.kr/p/HWcjoo][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/HWcjoo][/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/craftydeeney/][/url], on Flickr

[irisblue]

1. Angel Alex the Wonder Dog& Angel Princess Peanut

Both had AP........Alex didn't have a seizure for 6 weeks, , Peanut did better for 2 yrs. Pm me if you want more info. M y Ap treatment lasted for a few wks. Maybe humans are more foolish/complicated post tx?

[nadine_mn]

2. She will need this a few times a week for a few weeks

then maybe once a week.

She is walking a little drunkenly right now - she could be really tired, apparently lots of toxins and endorphins are released.

That is amazing the success your precious ones had...gives me some hope for her.

[ailsagirl]

3. I hope she feels better soon

I bet she was a little trooper-- unlike my cats!!

Good luck with that-- I hope it relieves her pain.

[shenmue]

4. Hugs

[Rhiannon12866]

5. My very sick cat had acupuncture (back in 2001) and subsequently two of my dogs

The one it helped tremendously was my Barney. He was a cocker spaniel I adopted at age 10 or 11 and had him for eight wonderful years. He'd been a stud dog at a commercial kennel and fortunately ended up in rescue when they had no more use for him.

He needed "a special home" because he'd never lived with people and wasn't housebroken, but he turned out to be the sweetest dog with the best temperament and he adjusted very well. At at least 18, he was having trouble walking, had to pick him up and hold him to bring him outside. He had several treatments, including electro acupuncture, better than the meds he'd tried which had side effects and was non invasive.

He was able to walk comfortably for the rest of his life and I also recommend it! I'm hoping it helps your lovely Jazz just as much!

[nadine_mn]

8. Wow - 18 - that is amazing, esp considering his first 10 yrs

So wonderful that you adopted an older dog who needed lots of love and care.

I am really hoping this helps with her pain. Her spirit is so strong! She is still as stubborn as always and determined not to let anything stop her, so we want to make sure we do everything we can for her.

Our previous vet just kept prescribing more meds and that wasn't helping, so I did some research to find a vet close by who does the laser and acupuncture. I hope more and more veterinarians will offer this in the future.

[Orrex]

6. How much did it cost?

[nadine_mn]

7. We paid for a 6 session package which was around $350

Initially it looked like she would only be able to handle laser therapy because she was so nervous and couldn't stand still, so unsure if she would stay still for the needles to be placed. However, she finally relaxed and laid down for her laser therapy so we decided at the next visit to add the acupuncture.

We paid $260 for the 6 laser therapy sessions, since she did well with the acupuncture we added that to the package for around $85 more.

From what I have researched this about the average price in our area. The vet and the staff are so amazingly patient and kind - I really wish we had gone there sooner (we recently changed vets because of poor care issues with our last one).