When people hear the word “holistic,” they may think of crystals, reading auras, and yoga by a tranquil lake. But there’s much more to holistic veterinary care than that.
Holistic Vet Denver offers alternative treatments, including acupuncture, herbal supplements, homeopathy, chiropractic, aromatherapy, and osteopathic manipulations. These treatments often help pets with conditions that traditional medicines and surgeries can’t treat.
Stress Reduction
Unlike conventional veterinary care, which often focuses on treating one problem at a time, holistic vets look for underlying causes. Online veterinary consultation by teletails.com also considers your pet’s overall health, including things that may seem unrelated to the current health issue, like their temperament and energy levels.
A common example of holistic treatment is changing your dog’s diet to a more species-appropriate food with the necessary nutrients. This can help ease gastrointestinal issues and improve immune system function.
Nutrition
There’s a lot of buzz about holistic pet care, especially regarding diet and herbal supplements. But what does that mean?
A good holistic vet will closely examine your pet’s current diet. They’ll likely recommend a change from cheap, carbohydrate-rich kibble to more natural foods.
This will help your pet thrive physically and emotionally. A holistic veterinarian will also encourage titer testing, which examines your pet’s antibodies to determine whether they need vaccination. It can prevent over-vaccination and other adverse reactions. They’ll also use a variety of herbs to soothe your pet, like chamomile or valerian. These are similar to the herbs your pets instinctively seek in the wild.
Herbal & Alternative Medicine
Like people, pets can suffer from a wide range of ailments. Holistic vets prefer to tackle these issues using natural healing methods rather than pharmaceuticals or surgery.
For example, a holistic veterinarian might recommend herbal treatments such as chamomile or kava to help calm an anxious pet. They also might prescribe a diet higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates than conventional kibble food.
Although some may think that holistic health involves crystals and reading auras, there is so much more to it than that. There are more veterinarians today who practice a holistic approach to health and wellness than ever before.
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a treatment that uses safe and natural substances like herbs to improve overall health. It can help relieve stress and calm animals and is often used to treat chronic diseases such as arthritis or heart disease.
When you visit a holistic vet, expect to spend more time talking about your pet’s diet, environment, and emotional well-being than you would at a traditional vet’s office. This is because holistic vets want to fully understand your pet’s health and wellness before treating their symptoms.
This approach can reduce the medication and vaccinations needed over your pet’s lifetime and cut long-term care costs.
Chiropractic
A holistic vet will be open to alternative medicine practices like acupuncture, hydrotherapy, and chiropractic. Often these techniques supplement traditional therapies and will help your dog recover quicker from ailments.
They’ll also work to treat the underlying cause of your pet’s illness. For instance, rather than just using drugs to mask symptoms, they’ll work to restore gastrointestinal balance with supplements like digestive enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics.
For more serious acute injuries, holistic veterinarian will still use their Western medical training to manage pain, remove debris, suture wounds, and administer medications. However, they may also recommend a more natural path to healing, such as massage therapy, herbal remedies, or chiropractic.
Osteopathy
A holistic vet will look at your pet’s entire picture. They’ll want to know what you and your furry family do and ask about your pets’ emotional health.
Veterinary osteopathy is a manual healing therapy that relieves pain and releases restrictions in the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, organs, tissues, and fascia, removing imbalances that interfere with your pet’s self-healing ability.
Holistic veterinarians will usually recommend a diet higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates. They may also recommend calming your pet with chamomile, kava, or valerian herbs. They’ll often also encourage acupuncture, chiropractic care, and homeopathy.