Jun 15 2009
Belle the German Shepherd Gets Acupuncture
Meet one of my dearest patients, Belle, a 12 year old German Shepherd diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy (DM)and arthritis.
This sweet dog is a pleasure to be around. She is intelligent, gentle and responds very well to her acupuncture sessions. After each session I do a form of Chinese massage called Tui Na with an herbal Chinese liniment on her back, hips, knees and elbows. Most dogs like the massage with the herbs, but some hate the smell! Belle is very tolerant and knows it makes her feel good.
Belle is fortunate to have such a loving owner who feeds her cooked chicken or lamb along with a high quality organic dog food, which is free of wheat, corn, soy and fillers. Wheat is known to exacerbate arthritis and auto-immune disorders.
Belle will begin aqua-therapy this week in hopes that it will help her get some exercise and build muscle mass.
We will keep you posted on Belle’s progress. Please keep her in your good thoughts.
To learn more about DM please visit the Four Paws Acupuncture lens www.squidoo.com/canine-DM-acupuncture
Hi:
Reading about Belle and seeing her photo getting acupuncture is like reading about and seeing my sweet Hannah, who is also a 12 year old shepherd. In April 2009 she has ACL surgery and seemed to be recovering pretty well. Then in late August something seemed to go terribly wrong. I have brought her to a Veterinarian who specializes in accupuncture and chiropractic. So far she has had 3 treatments, although the first 2 were just under her eyes and the last one was a full treatment. The good news is that I have taken her off the pain meds, tramadol and gabapentin, the bad news is that her lameness is not any better and probably worse. I am trying to be patient, but it is hard. I would like to hear how Belle is doing since she started her treatment 3 months earlier.
Thank you,
Mary Ellen Maloney