With more and more people turning to holistic health remedies for themselves it is no surprise that they are seeking the same for their canine confidants. People love their dogs and want them to live the best lives possible and are seeking treatments once reserved for people only. Holistic dog care aims to treat the whole animal rather than merely a set of symptoms and includes homeopathic remedies, acupuncture and nutritional therapy.
Homeopathic remedies are becoming more popular in pets and people and are the opposite of traditional Veterinary care which relies on chemical-based medicines. Homeopathic treatment requires administration of heavily diluted and distilled doses of certain substances such as wolf's bane, oysters, cinchona plants and other natural ingredients to boost the immune system. An overall health history is taken and a homeopathic Veterinarian creates a plan of specific dosages to treat the whole animal, not merely the symptoms of one cond ition. Remedies are also created from diseased fecal matter, blood and tissue samples. The diluted doses of these materials often contain none of the original material upon dosage. While some owners swear by homeopathic remedies for their dogs, the FDA has not approved these methods for Veterinary use. Clinical trails have proved inconclusive for this method of holistic care; however, it continues to increase in popularity.
Another popular holistic treatment for dogs is acupuncture. Acupuncture is an ancient medical treatment practiced for over 5,000 years beginning in the Stone Age in China with fish bones used as needles. Acupuncture was once popular in the United States; however, it slipped into obscurity with the wide spread use of antibiotics in the 1940s. The majority of modern Veterinary text books now contain information on acupuncture. Acupuncture involves the insertion of needles into certain pressure points within the body in effort to relieve pain by i ncreasing the flow of energy within the whole body. Acupuncture is used in the treatment of a variety of canine health problems including respiratory conditions, dermatological, gastrointestinal and immune-mediated disorders. While westerners find it hard to explain; there is irrefutable proof supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture in people as well as dogs. Whether you choose to use it in conjunction with regular Veterinary care, as exclusive treatment or as a last ditch efforts when other methods have failed; it is a valid and respected treatment method amongst Veterinarians and their owners.
Perhaps the most popular holistic treatment for dogs includes nutritional therapy. Nutrition experts suggest that the modern Western diet is responsible for many of the diseases and illnesses in modern society. Nutritional therapy in dogs suggests a return to a macrobiotic diet and a departure from commercially processed dog foods. The earliest recorded use of a macrob iotic diet was found in the writings of Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine. Macrobiotic type diets for dogs include a combination of 1/3 each of brown rice, lean meat and vegetables. Therapists also suggest feeding the proper combination of vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids. These natural diets are thought to prevent some of the diseases caused by over processed commercial dog foods including hypertension, heart disease and skin disorders. These diets are time consuming to prepare, but many owners are making the leap in reaction to wide spread pet food recalls caused by toxic materials found in dozens of popular dog food brands.
Other popular holistic methods gaining popularity include hypnotherapy and massage. When deciding on a course of treatment, make sure to get several opinions and consider all of your options. While some of these methods are not proven effective; others are and should be considered as valid courses of tr eatment. While it is easy to point out the shortcomings of medicine based treatment, dogs are living longer lives than ever because of them.