Animal Acupuncture

Animal Acupuncture at Home

You may have heard of acupuncture and perhaps even tried it yourself, but did you know it can benefit your pets too? Acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years in many Eastern cultures. It involves placing very fine needles into specific points on the body to relieve pain, support recovery, and enhance overall wellbeing. Over recent decades, Western veterinary understanding has grown significantly, and acupuncture is now widely accepted as a safe and effective complementary therapy for pets.

Who Can Benefit & What Conditions Can Be Helped

Whilst acupuncture can be used for a number of conditions, here at Faithful Farewell our acupuncture sessions are aimed to support those pets who are reaching their golden years. We commonly treat arthritis or joint stiffness, muscle tension and soreness as well as age related mobility changes. 

Acupuncture is a complementary therapy, similar to hydrotherapy or physiotherapy. In a small number of patients the effects of acupuncture will remove the need for prescription medications, however it is intended to support medications, not replace them. 

Availability is very limited to allow us to provide a highly personalised service, and is only offered to those pets within the shaded area. 

 

Does it Hurt?

In line with our ethos, acupuncture is extremely gentle. Most dogs and cats tolerate treatment very well and show little or no distress. The needles are very fine and placed into points that are generally not painful. Many pets become relaxed, sleepy, or even euphoric during and after treatment, so it’s important they have a calm rest afterwards.

What to Expect During Sessions

Initial session: typically last 1 hour and includes a general examination, discussion of your pet’s history, and a placement of a small number of needles to assess your pet's response. During this session we will also discuss general pain management strategies and review your pet's current pain medications to see if they can be improved. Please note we do not stock medications, we can provide prescriptions but encourage long term supply to be via your regular vets.

 

Ongoing sessions: these typically last 20–30 minutes and provide more targeted treatment based on your pet’s response during the initial session.

 

Frequency: Initially acupuncture sessions are held weekly. After 4 weeks we assess how well your pet has responded. From there the interval between sessions can be gradually increased, with most pet's settling on a monthly schedule. 

Expected Response

Acupuncture response is highly individual. Whilst it works very well in the majority of patients, response is varied.

Improvements may be noticed within a few days, though some animals only respond after multiple treatments (often by the fourth session). Early effects may not last until the next session, but with time, intervals between treatments can increase as improvements become longer-lasting.

Initial sessions are taken very slowly to avoid causing overt soreness or sleepiness following the appointment. Despite this some pets may be particulary sensitive to the effects and may be a little stiff or uncomfortable after the sessions. We alter our needle placement accordingly in future sessions.

A small percentage of pets will not respond at all. If no improvement has been noted by the 4th session then it is unlikely that acupuncture will benefit your pet. 

Pricing

Home Visit - Initial Session: £150

Home Visit - Ongoing Session: £85

Add on to an End of Life Consultation: £30

Animal Acupuncture is a trading name of Faithful Farewell Ltd