Advice for Pet Owners

Animal Acupuncture

Are you considering acupuncture as a form of medical treatment for your pet? Curious about the risks and benefits surrounding this type of holistic care for animals?

Narda G. Robinson can address your concerns and ease your worries. She teaches and practices veterinary acupuncture at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Robinson is a Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Acupuncture and a Fellow of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. In 1998, she founded the Medical Acupuncture for Veterinarians program which is managed by the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association. She was online Wednesday, August 13, at noon ET to answer questions.

Submit your questions and comments before or during the live discussion.

Please join us again Monday, August 18, at 11 a.m. ET for another discussion on pet care with the Animal Doctor Michael W. Fox. And check out washingtonpost.com's new pets section anytime!

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Dr. Narda Robinson: Hello everyone! Thanks for joining me today. I am eager to hear your questions, and to help you find out more about veterinary acupuncture. If you have questions about other aspects of natural healing or integrative pain medicine options for your dog, cat, bunny, or other animal companion, please feel free to write in as well. I will try to get to as many of your questions as possible.

You may also visit my website at http://csuvets.colostate.edu/pain/articles.htm to read about acupuncture and other natural healing modalities. Or, for more information about our Center for Comparative and Integrative Pain Medicine at CSU, visit: http://csuvets.colostate.edu/pain/CCIPM.htm .

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Fort Collins, Colo.: My 10-year-old male German Shepard is deteriorating in his high quarters. He has difficulty with steps and his bowels sometimes move before he can make it outside. I cannot tell if he is in pain but am concerned that he might be. He still runs and likes to play, but at a slower pace. Is he a candidate for acupuncture? Would it improve his deterioration?

Dr. Narda Robinson: Great question, and one that raises the important issue of first establishing a diagnosis before deciding what to do to next, and in order to know whether acupuncture may be beneficial.

At the CSU pain center, we start with having as clear a diagnosis as possible before starting treatment. This INCLUDES a neurological exam, a myofascial palpation exam, and an overall pain evaluation and quality of life assessment. Why? Because your dog is exhibiting signs that tell me he may have a neurologic problem, perhaps stemming from an intervertebral disk pressing on the spinal cord, or something else that is impairing his ability to know when he needs to "go to the bathroom" (i.e., defecate). A neurologic exam may inform me whether there is a problem in his back, and a myofascial examination (i.e., feeling for tender or tense spots in the muscles) can often tell us where to look along the spine.

From there, we could discuss further diagnostic tests such as a radiograph (xray), an MRI and a neurology consultation with a board-certified neurologist. We could then talk about various treatment options and which one(s) seem suitable.

On the other hand, if it's more of a mobility issue from arthritis pain in his hips, causing him to wait a little too long before going outside, we need to address that in a different manner. Acupuncture would be good to try here, along with a more comprehensive arthritis pain management plan that includes fish oils, joint supplements and possibly medications.

The short answer is that yes, acupuncture would be worth trying, but the acupuncture treatment will work best if the veterinarian performing the acupuncture has "pinpointed" the exact cause of pain or nerve problem, and then designs a treatment that will specifically address the cause.

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It Works! Happy in Montgomery Village, Md.: A decade ago, my elderly cats were still happy but had various problems associated with aging. One day, one of my geezers (about 17 years old at the time) jumped off the couch and his hind legs went. I took him for acupuncture and he was happy, up an walking, and had more than two years of contentment before he died. I am a true advocate of veterinary acupuncture. Dr. Jorden Kocen at South Paws is one of the really good holistic vets in the DC area (there are several). I have no affiliation with him or South Paws - just happy memories of my old cats living out their lives well.

Dr. Narda Robinson: What a heartwarming story!

I'm glad you wrote to tell us about your cat's benefits from acupuncture. Many people ask about how we get animals, especially cats, to sit still during a treatment. It's not hard at all! I have three feline patients today, in fact. They are all over 18 years old.

One walks into the Veterinary Teaching Hospital on a leash and saunters immediately down the hall to my exam room to lay on his mat on the floor, waiting for his treatment. (If "his" room is occupied, or if he gets taken to another service because it was his day for a dermatology appointment, and not acupuncture, he gets quite miffed, and lets his mom and dad know!)

My other cat patient prefers to get her treatment in her stroller, so we let her relax in there the entire time. Mom strokes her neck while I assess her back and hip pain.

The third is improving from a spinal cord injury, and did fine with acupuncture, but now we're trying some low level laser therapy to help her recover, as well.

They all relax during the treatment, and often purr. I would have no hesitation recommending acupuncture for cats if it seems appropriate (and a lot of older cats do need it for their back, pelvic, or hip pain). Some, however, resent riding in a car. That's when it's good to consider a veterinarian acupuncturist who makes house calls.

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Lyme, Conn.: How does one keep a pet calm when approaching them with needles and then sticking them with needles?

Dr. Narda Robinson:

This is a common concern, but easy to address.

What we do first is establish a relationship with them, forming a bond and developing trust. The biggest hurdle is to let them know that we won't hurt them, and that we aren't going to hold them down and do things to them that scare them and cause pain. Ideally, their mom or dad stays with them throughout the entire treatment.

By first establishing this trust, we can partner with them, foster relaxation, and create a healing environment that works to everyone's advantage. The patient is then receptive to being worked with, and his or her nervous system isn't "freaked out" to the point that it cancels out the subtle neurophysiologic influences that the acupuncture delivers, in order to normalize brain and nervous system functioning.

By the time it comes to doing the acupuncture, the patient is usually, then, more relaxed (many times, giving them some treats helps). They don't even notice the needles most of the time. It's not like giving them "a shot." Acupuncture needles are fine (thin) and tapered at their tips, which allows them to enter the acupuncture point with as minimal tissue disruption as possible. Soon after needle insertion, many animals become even more calm because of the endorphins that acupuncture helps to release in the nervous system. Endorphins are the body's own morphine-like chemicals that relieve pain.

Humans can get so drowsy or "spacy" that they need to wait a while before driving home from a treatment; this means that the acupuncture has had an effect. With our non-human patients at CSU, we often find that the dogs don't even want to leave after their treatment, and their mom or dad has to coax them to get up and go home!

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Annandale, Va.: Hi. My Lab has severe arthritis at the base of his spine which causes considerable pain and lameness at times, particularly in cold weather months. I tried a local vet who does acupuncture but was uncertain if the treatments were effective or if medication or change in weather was the cause for improvement. Does acupuncture have a cumulative benefit or can it just be done once in a while as needed? Thanks.

Dr. Narda Robinson: I'm sorry to hear about your Lab's discomfort, but glad to hear that something helped, be it the medications, the improvement in the weather, or the acupuncture, or maybe all of it combined!

Acupuncture does indeed have a cumulative benefit. This is why our initial recommendations involve planning for an "intro series" of three or four sessions, initially performed at three to seven-day intervals. What this does is revise the firing patterns of the body's nervous system in stages. The repetitions help the treatment to "stick" better, or last longer, and to access deeper layers of the problem. Once we have noticed a change and the effects are longer lasting, we extend the treatment interval to weeks, months, or an as-needed format. If a setback is experienced because of a missed jump or a fall, one might initiate a new set of treatments at closer intervals, and then back off as before.

With chronic pain, especially pain from arthritis, the problem has been there for a long time. It takes a while to undo all the changes that occurred after potentially years of tension, pain, and gait or postural abnormalities. Although acupuncture won't cure the arthritis, it can often substantially improve mobility and quality of life, while reducing pain.

I like hearing that you were open to trying medication. Arthritis pain has many contributing factors. There's inflammation in the joint, but also muscle tension and pain that usually follow.

Sometimes acupuncture alone can be enough, and no other adjunctive approaches are needed. But, what we find works best in cases of severe arthritis is a combination of acupuncture, massage, fish oils, and other natural healing methods, as well as medications when appropriate. Perhaps in the winter months, more of the above is necessary for your dog, but when it's warm, he may need less.

We also find that regular, moderate exercise is a good way to keep pain in check, along with keeping animals from getting obese.

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Easton, Md.: My dog suffers from extreme anxiety following pericaridal effusion last January. He is currently receiving acupuncture and Chinese herbs. I am told he has heart-blood issues -- his spleen has been removed along with one lobe of his liver as a result of hemangioma and hepatocelluar carcinoma, respectively. Please let me know if you have any other recommendations. Thank you. Lisa

Dr. Narda Robinson: First, I would ask if your dog's anxiety has improved with the acupuncture and herbs.

Second, I would want look into exactly what herbs he's on, and view them in light of the compromised liver function (with one lobe of his liver gone), and the cancer.

And then, I would need to examine your dog to find out what the anxiety stems from, and if it is truly anxiety. I would need to know if it is constant or situational, and what features of your dog's behavior you're cueing into that cause you to interpret it as anxiety. Is the problem panting or a fast heart rate? I would then see if there is a physical cause with the heart that's actually leading to low oxygen in the blood, that should be addressed by your dog's cardiologist.

If it was truly emotional, and all other potentially treatable, physical causes were ruled out, then I would evaluate the home environment and try to reduce stressors as much as possible. Shutting off the TV, playing one of the calming CD's on music therapy for dogs (i.e., soothing classical music), keeping stress between humans in the household to a minimum.

Regarding a diagnosis of "heart-blood" issues from Chinese medicine, yes, something is wrong with the heart, and something was wrong with the blood or its vessels (i.e., hemangioma). The ancient Chinese identified these general issues using this type of terminology, but nowadays it's important to establish a more detailed biomedical diagnosis, a) because we can, and b) because it leads to a more precise treatment.

Concerning treatment with herbs for dogs with cancer, we'd also need to discuss whether you are also pursuing chemotherapy, and explore whether there might be interactions between the two that could be causing distress.

Sometimes, the herbs themselves can cause side effects that might look like anxiety. Because there is no regulation on Chinese herbs, some have adulterants such as Western pharmaceuticals, or heavy metals, or substituted herbs that can be toxic.

So, no specific recommendations, but several questions that need to be addressed.

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Columbia, Md.: Would acupuncture have any effect on my dog's anxiety during thunderstorms?

Dr. Narda Robinson: Perhaps, but I'd explore other avenues first, and even consider medication if necessary, according to your veterinarian.

Acupuncture excels at treating pain of many types: arthritis, back pain, neck pain and many joint pain disorders. It can also help reduce the negative impact of many types of cancer treatment, such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery.

Because acupuncture works by regulating nervous system function and restoring what we call "homeostasis", its benefits extend to helping animals recover from nerve injuries, immune dysfunction, circulatory impairment, and a wide range of digestive disorders.

But, when we get to something as profound as anxiety during thunderstorms, I am concerned that the effects of acupuncture would not be as noticeable as it is for the other conditions I mentioned. You could try a series of treatments and evaluate the effects for yourself. Some individuals, be the human or canine or feline or avian, are "strong responders" meaning that the effects of acupuncture are strong and immediate. Even though I make this recommendation cautiously, I am continually surprised by how many conditions acupuncture does treat successfully. Please let me know if you do decide to try it and how it went.

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Boston Suburb: Do you recommend Leptospirosis vaccine for a 35-pound Brittany Spaniel living in the suburbs of Boston? Thanks.

Dr. Narda Robinson: This would be a question for your veterinarian to answer, but this is a potentially fatal canine disease that can be transmitted to people, so it's good that you are asking about it. Vaccinations are in important element of preventive healthcare programs, and given the ubiquity of leptospirosis in the United States, more veterinarians are advising their clients to have their dogs vaccinated.

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Dr. Narda Robinson: Thanks everyone for a fun chat! Feel free to contact me again if you have any other questions. Give your animal a hug for me!

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