“My dog had been to his regular vet and the dermatologist, had a lot of money spent on him, but acupuncture and herbs cured his allergies in a short time.  Now he comes to get acupuncture for maintenance.” (said to a vet assistant by a satisfied client) Acupuncture and herbs have helped many dogs get relief from itchy skin, hives, skin break outs, ear infections or redness, itchy feet, yeast infections, staph infections, mange, and fungal infections such as ringworm.

            Acupuncture and traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM) have many herbal formulas and techniques such as food therapy to treat all these skin, or dermatological, issues in dogs.  Since TCVM looks at each patient as an individual, tongue and pulse diagnosis is made at each visit to assess the specific pattern.  For example, “wind heat” would be treated differently than “damp heat.”  The lungs, liver or spleen may need to be addressed, from a TCVM perspective, to help the patient’s immune system or clear the skin lesions. 

Contrast this with standard veterinary medicine where steroids and antibiotics are the mainstay of treatment for skin issues.  For those interested in using herbs or natural remedies instead, there are lots of options.  Recent marketing of over the counter herbal products for pets has really skyrocketed.  Some of these products may be helpful for some patients.  However, it can be trial and error to find which ones, unless you have a certified veterinary TCM practitioner assess their pattern.  Also, some internet herbal sites for pets are run by acupuncture students who have no experience with animals, are not veterinarians, and provide no customer support.  Buyer beware!

(see “Treating allergies in dogs with natural therapies—beyond allergy shots,” “Holistic tips for pets: skin” and “Holistic tips for pets: ears”)

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