We know how much your animals mean to you, because we feel just the same. Our animals are our best friends and our constant companions; we have to look after them because of our duty of care, but it’s so much more than that. We want what’s best for them, we want them to always feel happy and comfortable.
It hurts us to know they’re in pain and watching them suffer in any way is suffering for us too – we get it completely. We’re delighted to be able to offer animal acupuncture, which can alleviate the pain your animal is experiencing, help to calm them and make them more comfortable and happier, too. The benefits of acupuncture can’t be underestimated.
What is veterinary acupuncture?
In acupuncture, we use very fine, sterile needles and insert them very carefully into various points across the body. We are fully qualified veterinary surgeons who have undergone further training and Qualification to allow us to administer acupuncture. The goal is to improve or treat the issues, discomfort, or pain resulting from medical conditions or stressful experiences.
The NHS recommends acupuncture to many humans to go alongside their medical treatment and offer support and relief, and our veterinary acupuncture treatment can have the same effect on our beloved animals and make them more comfortable, calmer, and healthier through our careful holistic care.
Why consider veterinary acupuncture?
So, your first port of call when your animal is sick is the conventional vet – as it should be – and the vet can offer conventional medical treatment. Conventional medical treatment is valuable and important, but it can be very focused on simple problem resolution in a one-dimensional way. The reason we think acupuncture and the holistic treatment is so beneficial is that it is a considered, balanced treatment pathway which includes a wider view of the situation and has a more effective and thoughtful outcome, benefiting both you and your pet. As a qualified veterinary surgeon who worked for many years as a conventional vet I would refer you to your conventional vet if I felt it was appropriate. We work with your conventional vet in many situations not in isolation.
It’s important to work in conjunction with conventional veterinary medicine, but we know that medicine can’t do everything – we’re here in the meantime. Conventional pain medication can only do so much, and veterinary acupuncture offers regular and effective relief from long term conditions, and even a viable solution to some. It’s also a valuable palliative care tool to make your final times with your animal the best they can possibly be for both of you.
What conditions respond to acupuncture?
Acupuncture can help in a variety of ways. Primarily, it’s used most often for pain relief, particularly in chronic conditions and long-term illnesses, but it is also very potent in helping patients with dysplasia, arthritis and skin conditions . It has also been seen to have significant effects on the comfort of oncology patients and palliative care patients – both human and animal.
The impact of acupuncture on stress and anxiety is also well documented, particularly among our patients!
What animals can benefit from veterinary acupuncture?
Here at Chirovet Wales, we offer veterinary acupuncture primarily to horses, dogs, cats and farm lifestock. We love our equine, canine and feline patients, but we also enjoy working with other animals too, especially in herd/ flock management. So if you’ve got any questions or curiosities about our services with respect to a different creature, we’d love to hear from you so we can share more information about how our veterinary acupuncture services can help.
How is acupuncture administered for animals?
Your 45-minute appointment will look like this:
– We’ll get to know you and your pet in a non-clinical environment, to keep everyone – especially your pet – calm and comfortable.
– We’ll talk about your animal’s environment, experiences, behaviour, feeding and management as part of our holistic approach to understand and treat the whole situation.
We’ll do a physical examination of your animal and talk about their health.
– We’ll explain what we’re going to do and why that’s the chosen pathway, informed by our training and experience.
– The acupuncture itself involves inserting sterile needles that will be staying in your pet from 2 to 20 minutes, depending on their age, size, ailment and condition. They won’t feel any pain.
– We will make a treatment plan including herbal formulas, and plan future sessions. We usually see you and your pet again in around two weeks, and keep openly discussing the intended management for effective treatment.
Is animal acupuncture safe?
Short answer? Yes.
We understand the concept of putting needles in your pet can be a stressful one, but you can trust us, as experienced professionals, fellow pet owners and animal lovers. There are years of research into acupuncture on both humans and animals, we have years of experience. As Veterinary surgeons plus years of extensive training our knowledge of animal anatomy means we know the perfect points to choose for the most positive outcome.. Veterinary acupuncture uses very fine needles to carefully stimulate nerves, they are not damaging any tissue.