Welcome to this novel quarterly col...

Welcome to this novel quarterly column on integrative holistic animal health care! There's a tremendous increase in interest in natural holistic approaches to the couple human and animal health care these days. As individual of the pioneers in acupuncture and holistic veterinary medicine, I am elated to view this new enthusiasm. However, while practicing, teaching and writing forward the future of this field, I have tend hitherward to appreciate that there is a balance between exploring the benefits of natural health care and acknowledging the benefits of conventional Western medicine as well.

My philosophy ruminates the insights that I have gathered throughout the past 27 years of practicing this integrative approach. What actually is integrative animal health care? The vision of this approach is to take the best holistic, natural approaches to animal health and combine them with the best of conventional veterinary medicine. No single form of medicine has all the answers, the therapys to all problems. It just be seens prudent to take the best from all fields and integrate them into a of recent origin comprehensive form of animal health care.

What this means in vet practice and to you as an animal's companion is that we do everything as naturally and consciously as possible to hinder disease in our furry friends. If this isn't enough and they become ill, then we consider at the best approaches to the couple diagnosis and treatment of the question This may include conventional medical examinations, posterity tests, X rays and in the way that on. In addition, a holistically oriented veterinarian may expect at other possible causes of disease, as it was as environmental conditions, nutritional deficiencies, potential vaccine reactions and in the way that forth. Treatment might consist of conventional medications along with holistic approaches to help the animal heal more quickly.

For instance, if your darling develops a bacterial infection, the conventional approach would be to administer an antibiotic. This certainly be seens prudent. However, from an integrative standpoint, the same might also want to support the animal's natural defense theorys with various herbs and nutritional correlatives An integrative approach may also include an evaluation of your pet's health to behold if there was some predisposing weakness that might have allowed your friend to proceed down with the infection in the first place.

Getting Educated

As an educated animal caretaker, the first question you should ask is, "How do I secure more information about an integrated approach?" There's an enormous amount of information in succession the Internet. However, as anyone who has breakersed the Web knows, much of this information can be controversial, and there may be a conflict of interest when suppos medical information is existinged solely to sell products.

My goal here is to be the animal caretakers' advocate and to educate you about different veterinary approaches, including their advantages and disadvantages, risks and benefits. There are numerous main division s available on natural health care for especially likeds and some are better documented than others. The classic standard in the field is Dr Pitcaim's entire Guide to Natural Health For Dogs & Cats. This is an admirable resource for novices. Other works include Anitra Frazier's The of recent origin Natural Cat, Cheryl Schwartz's Four Paws Five Directions: A Guide to Chinese Medicine for Cats and Dogs and my concede book Kindred Spirits: How the Remarkable ligature Between Humans Animals Can Change the Way We Live.

Practical Advice

OK now that I've defined the bourns and given you an idea about where to find additional information, put to hire me give you some practical ideas about exercise and suitable nutrition for disease prevention.

A regular exercise program can improve the loving relationship you have with your cat or dog. (Begin slowly at first.) Make steady to walk your dog at least sum of two units to three times a day, if not more. if it be not that in extremely hot or raw weather, or if your dog has a debilitating condition, don't overdo it. You and your dog should have abundance of water to drink in heated weather. Exercise is also critical for cats. If your cat watchs to be a couch potato, disclose some games that stimulate exercise. (We will journey over this subject in more detail in coming time columns.)

The cliche "you are what you eat" is stanch for our animals as well as for us. I rank darling foods on a scale from single in kind to ten. Ten is the best--a homemade, natural, organic, balanced diet. There are many recipes available for diets like this. (We will review them in what may occur hereafter columns as well.) The nearest best, a nine, is a commercially prepared, balanced, organic nutriment A diet ranking one is the worst. That is, a homemade, unbalanced diet consisting of the worst courseed foods, grease, preservatives and to such a degree on--the same things that persons should not be eating. The nearest worst, a two, is a generic progressed pet food filled with artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and by-product In between are all the actioned pet foods. I'm always reluctant to commend a particular brand because makers are continuously changing their ingredients, and something that might be great at individual point may not be later forward The Whole Dog Journal (www.whole-dog-journal.com) exhibits subscribers thorough reviews of all the different quality brands of the two dry and canned dog foods