Hannah Zulueta Who Holds the Needles
What makes a dog’s acupuncture session work, and how to choose the right practitioner.
“Are you treating now?” an alumna asked when we ran into each other outside of school. “Yes, I’m finally a Senior Intern, and it’s all coming together.” To which she said, “I need to book with you. I trust you.”
Trust. It is such a core component of being needled by another person. We feel it instinctively. As students of this medicine, we are incredibly selective about our needle partners, because we need to feel safe.
We understand that this is an energy medicine just as much as it is a medical modality.
Beyond the point selection, the character and energy of the person needling you become part of the treatment itself.
As with everything in medicine, the tool is only as good as the presence and assessment of the person using it.
Why am I sharing a story about human acupuncture on my dog nutrition website? Because I was moved by a short email from a client who felt their dog’s recent acupuncture session didn’t go well. It got me thinking about a concept one of my teachers calls a “broken treatment.” This is when you get off the table and simply feel off. Something isn’t right.
I experienced this several times during the first years of my training. In lab, we have to needle, and be needled by, our partners on sequences of points we would never actually combine in a real clinical setting. We do it for science, sometimes 20 points on a single channel just to solidify our location and technique. Even if we aren’t needling to obtain De Qi, the arrival of energy, the needles still affect the body. After these sessions, we often feel depleted or tired. When a client tells me their dog had a bad reaction to a session, I often suspect the treatment was broken, or the points were disjointed.
It is also a misconception that one has to feel like taking a long nap afterward. I often see this as doing too much in a treatment.
The classical teachings tell us the patient should feel reenergized, brighter, and lighter after the treatment.
Another reason a session might go wrong is that the body just didn’t have the resources. In many veterinary acupuncture sessions, you will see the use of E-Stim, a modality where a small electrical current is attached to the needles using a specialized device.
In the right context, E-Stim is incredibly powerful. I remember a patient in his 70s who was in 10 out of 10 pain while awaiting hip surgery. He was a strong man and very active. Because he had bone-on-bone friction, the intern used E-Stim on the muscles surrounding the hip. By forcing those specific muscles to fire and activate, we were able to lift the pressure off the nerves, providing immense relief. Another time, a classmate used E-Stim on a patient in her 80s. She was in the first stages of dementia and could not complete full sentences. After E-Stim to her scalp, she was able to speak in complete sentences again.
But having both given and received this treatment, I know we must always consider the internal resources of the body we are treating. If a dog is already deficient, meaning depleted, elderly, or very low energy, E-Stim can sometimes be too much. I learned this firsthand years ago when my lab partner used it on me. The setting was just a hair too high, and we left it on a few minutes too long. I felt weak and hollow for the rest of the day, because my body didn’t have the spare energy to handle that level of stimulation.
I received it again in another session, during the summer when I had more Qi. My lab partner kept it at the lowest setting for a short time. Afterward my spine felt more erect and I felt stronger. In both stories, the treatment was tailored to the patient’s condition and resources.
When I see E-Stim used as a default for every animal, it concerns me. A practitioner should be asking: does this dog have the energy reserves to handle this, or are we overtaxing an already tired system?
Another reason a treatment might fail is a lack of resonance. If the practitioner’s energy doesn’t align with the patient’s, the medicine can’t flow. This is why finding a practitioner who is truly present is key. In our training, one of the first classes we take is Tai Chi or Qi Gong. We are taught to prioritize self-cultivation so we can bring a calm, centered energy to the table.
When I hear about someone performing acupuncture as if they were simply giving a dog a shot, it saddens me. To practice this medicine correctly, one must be present when selecting the points, present when advancing the needle, and in tune with the animal to know exactly when those needles need to come out.
I am often asked how to find a good animal acupuncturist. My personal philosophy is to look for someone trained in human acupuncture first, who then learns to treat animals. Both paths have real merit.
Trained on people, then animals
StrengthUndergraduate degree, then a four-year doctorate in Chinese Medicine, learning to treat patients from infants to seniors. Deep TCM theory and a year-long clinical internship before ever practicing alone. To needle animals, they add another year of study, mostly for equines, canines, and felines.
ConsiderationOnly a few states license human acupuncturists to treat animals. Elsewhere they must partner with a veterinarian, and few clear that hurdle, so the pool is small. A vet might argue they aren’t sufficiently versed in animal-specific physiology.
Find a human acupuncturist trained on dogsTrained on animals, then needles
StrengthUndergraduate degree, then a four-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. An unparalleled medical foundation across multiple species. They then take a short course to learn point prescriptions on animals.
ConsiderationFor many vets, acupuncture is a post-graduate addition learned through a separate certification. They learn point selection and TCM basics, but not always the immersive years in TCM theory, nor the requirement of being needled themselves, missing that firsthand feel of the medicine from the inside out.
Find a veterinarian trained in acupunctureChoosing a professional has merits on both sides. It simply depends on what you value most for your dog’s care. Whether you choose a vet with a certification or a human Doctor of Acupuncture trained on animals, look for two things.
Look for the Trust. Look for the Presence.
If you’ve read this far, you might think the intention was separatist, positioning this as us against them. That couldn’t be further from the truth. We have to be transparent about our skills. We can’t be all things to all dogs, or to all humans.
What I’d love to see is the healthcare profession move away from operating in silos. My dream is more collaboration. I’ve worked alongside vets and asked them to share what they observe so I could learn. And I’ve had vets approach me, curious about how I understand Qi, Blood, and Fluids in the body.
Lately, I’ve been noticing a real parallel between caring for pediatric patients, the infants and toddlers and children and teens, and caring for dogs. Infants and most toddlers can’t speak. So we learn to listen through observation, through our hands, through palpation. Dogs ask the same of us.
I hope this gives you some useful perspective as you decide who will hold the needles for your dog. I’ll leave you with something several of my mentors say: “Yes, and.” The idea is that you can hold pluralistic views, be in favor of many different approaches, and still discern which is best for your dog in the moment you need it.
Wishing you and your dogs good health.
Hannah Zulueta obtained her Certificate in Canine Nutrition from CASI Institute. She is also studying for her Doctorate in Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Herbalism from the esteemed Pacific College of Health and Medicine. If you’re as keenly interested in health for yourself, visit her website for human health: Satori Acupuncture and Herbs.
She resides in San Diego with her three dogs, Maggie, Orbit, and Mr. Higgins.
She is available for one on one consultations. She develops evidence-based recipes that meet both NRC and AAFCO nutritional standards while integrating the therapeutic food principles of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine into her formulations.
Additionally, you can find her sharing free content on Instagram.
