Do you think pets can be victims of a placebo effect?
March 18th, 2010 | 
Author: One of the arguements against acupunture or other alternative healing practices using energies Science hasn’t proven exist is that clients feel better because they expect the treatment to work, that they’re victims of the placebo effect.
Do you think the same can be said for pets that receive such treatments? Can a dog or cat feel better because they believe this alternative treatment will work? Or can they feel better because they’re getting all this extra attention from their owner and the healing practitioner?
I had a wolf-dog who had some acupunture treatments for arthritis in her hips while she was also being treated for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. She seemed pretty happy when she was getting her acupuncture treatments. I don’t know if it was releiving her pain or if she was enjoying the attention and dried chicken treats.
- P.
Thought Bandit,
You must not own a dog. As a dog owner, it’s not difficult to tell when your dog is happy. They have a panting, open-mouthed "smile" and their ears perk up.
Placebo effect requires cognitive processing. Accupuncture works on dogs because it is a real science, not because dogs are perceiving that they will get better if needles are stuck in them.
If you have ever undergone accupuncture (I have), there is a seriously unpleasant side to it (the needle stick, the immobility). Dogs are not acting out a placebo in those terms. Yet dogs DO have symptom and pain reduction when accupuncture is applied to their bodies.
That is why dogs and other lower animals are the perfect test participants to prove whether a placebo effect is skewing the data.
Placebo has to do with believing you will get better because you are convinced that something that should realistically have no effect DOES have an effect just because of some data you are given that is not necessarily true.
Although animals (especially dogs) can be made worse or better if they are touched by ad physically near a human who loves them and they consider part of their "pack," they cannot wish themselves well like a human can.
So although a dog can die if left alone when ill or heal faster if a human it loves is beside it in a a recovery cage (yes there are many such annecdotal cases proving such) they cannot cognitively believe a sugar pill is a pain pill and show placebo results. So assuming at any level that they are experiencing a placebo effect is erroneous at best.
I hope this helps!
Posted in Pet Arthritis Treatment
15 Responses to “Do you think pets can be victims of a placebo effect?”
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NO.
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Well, for one thing, acupuncture has been scientifically proven to have beneficial effects for some medical problems–therefore, it’s not a placebo effect, it actually helps.
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accupuncture and many eastern and chinese medicine practices have been scientifically proven. Search the internet under "biophotons"
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I dont think so because pets dont base their decisions on bias and popular belief.They base their well-being and health on their condition after treatment.
For humans we see and hear what we want whereas animals just see it as it is.
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I think that in order to be a victim of the placebo effect, they have to have an understanding of what they are being treated with, and for. Extra attention isn’t probably going to cure what ever disease an animal suffers with, but a noticeable change in their behavior following the treatment might indicate that there is some benefit taking place. The effect of extra attention isn’t known to last for weeks.
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I could imagine a placebo effect working on animals if they learn to associate the administration of a particular medicine with pain relief. Maybe the animal would get relief from a placebo administered the same way. But how would a dog understand that acupuncture is meant to treat her arthritis if it hadn’t ever worked in the first place?
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The animal can’t tell you how it feels so as it’s owner you have to try and guess. Maybe you just thought your dog looked happier after acupuncture since there was no way to measure the effect objectively.
——————-
I do indeed own a dog, but like you I can only guess what it is feeling and why.
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The only way I can see if that can work is if they really like the dr. or whoever they are visiting. ..and get a "lift" from seeing them.But I imagine that the acupuncture really works for them. I know that my dog loved SOME vets..and didn’t like others..would get very upset if she had to go to one of them..even tho this vet..a woman ..was very nice to her and didn’t hurt her. She wasn’t that way at all with the last vet she went to. And she LOVED going to the "beauty shop". Wish I loved it that much! lol
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sorry ,i picked this up somewhere i don’t remember where.i read about an experiment that was done on rats,for whatever reason,they had to suppress the rats immune systems,they fead the rats an immunosupressant ,because it had a foul taste,they laced the drug with an artificial sweetner,after the rats immune systems were slowed,a mistake or oversight happened,and they failed to add the drug to the sweetner,but then to their surprise the sweetner alone suppressed their immune systems..placbo? or maybe a story,the taste of the sweetner had been linked to immunosuppression,i think some of the rats died,this might just be a story i can’t verify it.but i did read it….tom
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Placebo effect requires cognitive processing. Accupuncture works on dogs because it is a real science, not because dogs are perceiving that they will get better if needles are stuck in them.
If you have ever undergone accupuncture (I have), there is a seriously unpleasant side to it (the needle stick, the immobility). Dogs are not acting out a placebo in those terms. Yet dogs DO have symptom and pain reduction when accupuncture is applied to their bodies.
That is why dogs and other lower animals are the perfect test participants to prove whether a placebo effect is skewing the data.
Placebo has to do with believing you will get better because you are convinced that something that should realistically have no effect DOES have an effect just because of some data you are given that is not necessarily true.
Although animals (especially dogs) can be made worse or better if they are touched by ad physically near a human who loves them and they consider part of their "pack," they cannot wish themselves well like a human can.
So although a dog can die if left alone when ill or heal faster if a human it loves is beside it in a a recovery cage (yes there are many such annecdotal cases proving such) they cannot cognitively believe a sugar pill is a pain pill and show placebo results. So assuming at any level that they are experiencing a placebo effect is erroneous at best.
I hope this helps!
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I recently took my dog to the Vet.The dog was having trouble standing on her back legs.She had to be carried outside and up and down stairs.
The vet recommended acupuncture.I’m very skeptical of any benefits of acupuncture beyond the placebo effect.An effect I doubt would affect a dog.
Anyway,considering that and the outrageous cost,I said no thank you.I went with modern medicine.
My dog recovered and is almost back to normal.Was it the medicine?I can’t say for sure.If I had gone the acupuncture route.What would I have?Another anecdotal success story for acupuncture.
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I know when my cats need medication they don’t enjoy THAT experience.
But when I baby them after wards they enjoy that.
So I would have to say they enjoy the attention.
I don’t think they understand that the medicine we give is to help them with their illness.
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I recieved a very expensive horse for free once, but on the condition that I continue his chiroprator visits. So this lady cam by and thumped on the horse a bit. and supposedly this was treating his "gait" for a lack of better description , when he was urged to increace speed he would have a skip or mini-buck that wasnt desirable.
well these "treatments" didnt improve the condition and basically hid an inherent problem in the horses foot. yes he had been vet checked, but a problem was missed.
additionaly, she had me hold hay in one hand and touch the horse with the other. she claimed she could tell if the horse was allergic to the food. Felt like was being punked. But for a 10,000 dollar horse I’ll do alot.
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I do not think animals can benefit from the placebo effect. But then again I do think there is something about those methods you mentioned.
BB
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I don’t think so, I don’t believe that the pets have the brain function to undrestand placebo treatment. Meybe the accupuncture was just working.
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