Would you have a vet that advertises acupuncture?

[CORed]

I just moved to a new town and I was looking for a veteranarian. I did a "Yelp" search and some other background work and found one nearby that had good reviews, so I called.

First thing they did was put me on a lengthy hold, which is a big red flag to me in the first place, but in their "on hold" message, they proudly touted that they will do acupuncture on your pet. Normally, I don't have any problem with people who want to have acupuncture done on themselves, but I am strongly against having it done on children below the age of consent and of course, animals who cannot sign consent form to have quacks perform alternative medicine on them. So I hung up and immediately scheduled them with a similarly rated vet a bit further away. I consider it worth another five minute drive

Anyone else have any feeling on whether you should subject pets to unproven treatments?

I decided not to use a conveniently located vet because they advertise homeopathic treatment.

 

[Dr. Keith]

plus, my dogs don't like the smell of patchouli or the sound of whale songs.

So based on your location, I have to assume they are more of personal defense dogs than pets?

 

[Steve]

Our vet does offer acupuncture. She is also excellent at conventional veterinary medicine. She has been our vet for 30+ years. She started offering the acupuncture some years after we started seeing her. If she had offered it from day one we may never have started with her. As it is we are not about to switch from a good vet just because she offers a "service" we do not use.

 

[kayle]

NO.

I would be afraid we eventually would have to dance around the pet to make him feel better

 

[William Parcher]

Acupuncture and fish skin is being used by vets to rehabilitate bears burned in California wildfires.

The bears had suffered third-degree burns on all their paws, said Jamie Peyton, chief of the Integrative Medicine Service at the university's vet school. The cub also burned all four paws...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5309879/Bears-burned-California-wildfires-holistic-pain.html

 

[Wolverine]

Normally, I don't have any problem with people who want to have acupuncture done on themselves, but I am strongly against having it done on children below the age of consent and of course, animals who cannot sign consent form to have quacks perform alternative medicine on them. So I hung up and immediately scheduled them with a similarly rated vet a bit further away. I consider it worth another five minute drive

Anyone else have any feeling on whether you should subject pets to unproven treatments?

Howdy, stranger. Nice to see you.

I'm very much in the same camp, and cannot abide by human woo being forced on animals who have no say. We are greatly pleased (and fortunate) to have a science-based, feline-specific practice which does not delve into the alt. Much like yourself, I'd go out of my way to avoid any such facility (as you described, anyway).

 

[Tony99]

So based on your location, I have to assume they are more of personal defense dogs than pets?

Although lately, they've been more focused on alerting me to the presence of fixed-gear bicycles and a smug sense of irony.

 

[Belz...]

I just moved to a new town and I was looking for a veteranarian. I did a "Yelp" search and some other background work and found one nearby that had good reviews, so I called.

First thing they did was put me on a lengthy hold, which is a big red flag to me in the first place, but in their "on hold" message, they proudly touted that they will do acupuncture on your pet. Normally, I don't have any problem with people who want to have acupuncture done on themselves, but I am strongly against having it done on children below the age of consent and of course, animals who cannot sign consent form to have quacks perform alternative medicine on them. So I hung up and immediately scheduled them with a similarly rated vet a bit further away. I consider it worth another five minute drive

Anyone else have any feeling on whether you should subject pets to unproven treatments?

"I think we're done here."

 

[crackers]

I have taken my cats to a vet who does acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. My regular vet recommended her when the Western medicine didn't seem to be working very well. The cats did very well on the Chinese medicine. I'm not sure about the acupuncture part of it; I suspect it was just the Chinese medicine that helped them, but don't know since they had both.

 

[wasapi]

I have used the same vet for 25 years, and after the first visit I was aware he was The One. He told me that there were a few vets around using acupuncture, so he found one who allowed him to research his findings. Not only was the vet advertising the treatment as miraculous, my vet found no difference in the animal, and at times the animals conditions became worse.

 

[Checkmite]

trained in traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM)

lol okay

 

[mgidm86]

I have taken my cats to a vet who does acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. My regular vet recommended her when the Western medicine didn't seem to be working very well. The cats did very well on the Chinese medicine. I'm not sure about the acupuncture part of it; I suspect it was just the Chinese medicine that helped them, but don't know since they had both.

My boss says the crystals he puts on his back alleviate his back pain. I suggested it might be the 1/2 hour of stretching he also says he does every morning. I wonder which it is? I wonder what would happen if he stopped stretching?

ETA: I would not use a vet that did that. Hell no - someone that puts acupuncture needles into animals? Who knows what other weird stuff they may do that they think is best for your animal, possibly without telling you. "Oh I slipped Jane's dog some garlic tabs in case the flea medication doesn't work. Hope they don't kill her beloved pet"

 

[ddt]

My boss says the crystals he puts on his back alleviate his back pain. I suggested it might be the 1/2 hour of stretching he also says he does every morning. I wonder which it is? I wonder what would happen if he stopped stretching?

ETA: I would not use a vet that did that. Hell no - someone that puts acupuncture needles into animals? Who knows what other weird stuff they may do that they think is best for your animal, possibly without telling you. "Oh I slipped Jane's dog some garlic tabs in case the flea medication doesn't work. Hope they don't kill her beloved pet"

I would be absolutely livid:

Unfortunately, dogs and cats cannot digest these particular plants as we can. The ingestion of Allium species in dogs and cats causes a condition called hemolytic anemia, which is characterized by the bursting of red blood cells circulating through your pet’s body.

 

[BobTheCoward]

Placebo effect has been observed in animals? Then I might do it for pain treatment.

 

[blutoski]

Placebo effect has been observed in animals? Then I might do it for pain treatment.

"placebo effect" is a phrase that has at least two contradictory meanings, so it's a bit vague, but I think the best way to put it is that a placebo expectation effect is observed in animal owners.

The animals themselves probably receive a negative benefit.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

"placebo effect" is a phrase that has at least two contradictory meanings, so it's a bit vague, but I think the best way to put it is that a placebo expectation effect is observed in animal owners.

The animals themselves probably receive a negative benefit.

Wouldn't 'Observer Bias' he more appropriate? It's an unblinded experiment where the results are based on the experimenter's usually subjective judgement.

 

[Swordfishtrombone]

Personally, I wouldn't give my business to any business that peddles woo. Which can be a bit of a hassle sometimes - I get back and neck problems occasionally, that a good massage can take care of. The nearest massage service to where I live also offers acupuncture, so while the location is convenient, I'm not going there.

 

[blutoski]

Wouldn't 'Observer Bias' he more appropriate? It's an unblinded experiment where the results are based on the experimenter's usually subjective judgement.

The overall model is that placebo expectation effect is an observation failure, yes.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Would you have a vet that advertises acupuncture?

No.

 

[mgidm86]

I would be absolutely livid:

Yep, yet my friend was given garlic tabs for fleas. Not by a vet though (I think), and my friend came to her senses thank goodness. Hopefully no vet would ever do that.

I remember she was told "Do you know how many dogs die each year from normal flea treatments?" (ooooh big pharma!!!)

No but I'll bet the percentage of death is a lot lower than the garlic popping dogs, you stupid moron.

Now if I could get her to stop trusting her chiropractic friend who tries every bullcrap remedy under the sun I'd feel better about it. At least the dog is okay.