Welcome to Acu in practice! As the dog days of summer heat up, all of our four legged friends🐰🐱🐴🐄need help staying cool. Pictured here is Gunner submerging himself time bring down his body temp after a hot hike. The same effect can be achieved at home using cool water or cool wet washcloths on the back of your pet’s/animal’s neck and down their top line. There is a very useful acupoint located on the back of the neck where the cervical spine meets thoracic spine, it is mostobvious when your animal is standing and they lower their head. It is located just in front of it cranial to the shoulder blades.👉👩⚕️For vet acupuncturists, this is GV14. Other useful points for releasing heat include the jing well or ting(horse) points on the digits or hoof. These are typically tolerated much better than one might think!
At home, you could soak your pets feet with cool water or allow them into a cool bath/kiddie pool. The best way to prevent severe overheating such as heat stroke is to avoid high temps with your pets.🐰Please watch out especially for rabbit friends as they really prefer to be at 78 F or less. On hot days you can skip outdoor activity with your pet/animal or get out early in the morning/later in evening. Just remember they are also sensitive to humidity and may not cool off as fast as we do!👍🕶☀️
This post is created by Dr. Nell, DVM, CVA, FAAVA and is intended for informational use, not to replace medical advice. A big Thank You for Gunner's participation - pictured below!
