Acupuncture is theatrical placebo, nothing else. Acupuncture may, like absolutely any other action, affect measures of subjective phenomena, however, like the experience of pain. Pet acupuncture is even sillier, then, since it will not affect the pet’s experience of subjective phenomena. There may still be a placebo effect, though: Pet acupuncture will still affect the pet owner’s (subjective) perception of the pet’s symptoms.
Dr. Keum Hwa Choi, a practitioner of veterinary CAMwho started a Vet CAM service at the University of Minnesota,a number of years ago, handily misses that obvious point, however. According to Choi, pet acupuncture works because “dogs don’t experience any placebo effect like humans can. Their brains don’t tell them, ‘Gee, I got these needles stuck in me so I must be better.’ They either feel better or they don’t.” Right. That the humans who evaluate whether the dog feels better are affected by placebo, or the equally obvious point about how the treatment context affects animal behavior, is not on her radar. One suspects that Choi’s understanding of scientific methodology – especially the justifications for said methodology – is tenuous.
But Choi is nevertheless an Associate Professor, Complementary and
Alternative Medicine, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the
University of Minnesota. She is trained in a number of pseudoscientific modalities, including acupuncture for humans, and she is the proud recipient of
spam diplomas in Oriental Medicine from the American Academy of
Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (do follow that link!) and herbology
from the National Certificate Commissioner for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
Diagnosis: Don’t listen to her about anything whatsoever! Indeed, we cannot help to assume an initial attitude of suspicion toward anyone affiliated with the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the University of Minnesota, which is evidently not an institution that cares much about science, evidence or accountability.
*Update: Seems like she recently passed away.