Acupuncture Points in Dogs – The Gall Bladder Meridian

Learn the most important points used for acupuncture and acupressure in dogs. Today we’ll discuss the trajectory of the Gall Bladder Meridian including the location and clinical application of the most powerful points.

Acupuncture Points on the Gall Bladder Meridian

The Gall Bladder Merdian in Dogs

The Gall Bladder meridian is the Yang meridian of the Wood element. It starts close to the eye and terminates in the hindfoot. Many points on the GB meridian are used to treat arthritis, particularly in the hip joints. Others are helpful in gastrointestinal conditions, ear problems, and neurologic diseases.

Clinical Application of Pressure Points

• GB 20 – neck pain and ear problems
• GB 21 – Neck and shoulder pain.
• GB 24 – digestive issues such as diarrhea, and muscle pain.
• GB 25 – Urogenital disease and digestive issues.
• GB 29 – local point for hip pain.
• GB 30 – local point for hip pain.
• GB 34 – Knee pain, tendonitis, hind limb problems such as arthritis or paresis.
• GB 39 – Spinal cord problems such as IVDD.

How to Treat Pressure Points

There are multiple different ways how to work with acupuncture points. Professional practitioners use needles or acupuncture lasers to stimulate them. But you can achieve a beneficial effect by massaging them with your hand as well. This technique is called acupressure.

Massage Techniques for Acupressure

During acupressure, you will use your hands to be aware of any changes happening in the body. These could either be an existing blockage or the free flow of Qi after removing a blockage by acupressure treatment. Learning to sense what the body is communicating takes practice. You can educate your hands by focusing on the various sensations experienced during these sessions and by learning what the sensations indicate.

Massage Techniques:

• The One-Finger Technique: During this technique, you’ll use the finger pad of your thumb. Place it on the acupressure point and apply gentle pressure to it. Depending on the location, you can gently move your thumb and work a little bit deeper into the tissue. This technique is best used on fleshy, well-muscled body parts or on the limbs of larger dogs.
• The Two-Finger Technique: To perform this technique, place your middle finger over the nail on your pointer finger and apply gentle pressure on your dog’s body surface. Use this technique on smaller dogs or on the legs.

Recommended Acupressure Books & Videos

Practise, Practise, Practise!

The meridians and acupoints that will be treated are just under the skin, so you only need to apply gentle pressure. Extreme pressure could cause additional pain. If your dog ever shows signs of discomfort at any point, stop to apply pressure and move on to a different area.

If you are unable to feel changes in your dog’s body at first, that’s ok! It takes time to learn how to feel the sensation of moving Qi and removing blockages through the hands. Simply apply gentle pressure to the acupoint for approximately 30 seconds. If you don’t manage to stay on the point for the full 30 seconds, don’t worry, that’s ok too, it will still work. While performing your acupressure session, look for signs in your dog. Your furry friend will tell you when you’re getting better at what you’re doing.

How do I Know it’s Working?

Your dog’s body will give you clear signs that your massage is having a positive effect on their well-being. Releasing blockages and promoting the free flow of Qi will make your dog feel much better and show you release signs such as:

• Calming down
• Relaxing
• Yawning
• Groaning
• Becoming dozy and even falling asleep
• Stretching

After a few days of doing acupressure, you will notice that you’re not only helping your dog’s health and well-being with your daily acupressure session, but also you’ll see the bond between the two of you growing much stronger.

We were asked many times in the past if there’s a printable eBook containing Acupressure Charts and Meridian Maps for dogs. Over the past weeks, we put together an eBook with our high-quality illustrations. The result is a handy, informative, and printable PDF containing maps of all 12 canine meridians and their most powerful Acupressure Points. This publication is a PDF document that you can either use on all of your digital devices or simply carry with you as a printout.

Download your printable Canine Acupressure Chart now!

The Five Elements

The Five Elements theory forms the basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Each of the five elements Wood, Fire, Earth, Water, and Metal include subcategories such as climate, body tissue, emotion, internal organ…

You can find more information on the five elements here.

The five-element system also applies to your dog’s personality and physical constitution. Every dog can be categorized into one of the five elements. This gives us more information on dietary preferences and disease predispositions.

The Wood Element Dog

Wood-element dogs are thin and strong. They react fast to external stimuli but they tend to be impatient and become angry very quickly. Wood-type dogs are always alert, dominant, and capable to perform at high levels when they want to.
Predispositions: Allergies, aggressive behavior.

Organ	Liver
Bowel	Gall Bladder
Sense Organ	Eye
Body Tissue	Tendon
Emotion	Anger
Season	Spring
Weather	Wind
Color	Green
Sound	Shout

Learn more

Do you want to learn more about acupuncture points and acupressure? Don’t miss my Canine Acupressure Workbook on acupressure for dogs!

More meridians:

• How to Treat Cats with Acupressure
• Equine Acupressure Point – The Heart Meridian in the Horse
• Equine Acupuncture Charts – The Small Intestine Meridian
• Equine Acupressure Charts – The Triple Heater Meridian
• Equine Acupressure Charts – The Liver Merdian in the Horse