Can acupuncture be used to treat behavior problems in dogs?

My holistic vet used acupuncture to treat my dog's chronic ear infections when she was a puppy, with a lot of success. She is ten years old and has never had ear infections since. I heard the end of a story on NPR recently about acupuncture being used to treat behavior problems in dogs. Has anybody heard anything about this, and if so what?

I think it is going to depend on the type of behavioral problem and your vet's clinical experience with it. If the dog seems prone to fear or panic, has anxiety, or tends to be obsessive-compulsive, then I think acupuncture could be quite effective. In general, acupuncture has a calming effect on people and animals. And, it won't have the side-effects of the pharmaceuticals that are sometimes used to treat behavioral issues.

Also, don't rule out massage for your dog ...
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May I suggest you look at these resources:
http://www.acupuncture.com/animals/dog.h...
http://www.beaveranimalclinic.com/holist...
http://www.beaveranimalclinic.com/educat...

I think you should go back to your vet. Get a diagnosis for the behavioral problem from both the Eastern and Western perspectives. Ask if the vet has successfully treated that problem before with acupuncture or Chinese medicine. Ask about other holistic therapies, like Bach Flower Remedies and homeopathics. Ask your vet if massage (by you) could be an adjunctive therapy for your dogs problem.

Good luck =)

Holistic vet..LMAO..Yes you can treat your dogs behavior problem with acupuncture if it is a Hippie dog..Or maybe you could hire a doggy psychic to find out what your dog really feels..As for the chronic ear infection, if you clean your dogs ears, you would not have had a problem at all. You probably had ear mites to begin with..