Judith Rae Swanson - What is Holistic Veterian care?

What is Holistic Veterinary care?

A holistic approach to health involves an entirely different attitude about symptoms. The conventional approach is to wait until a symptom appears then suppress or get rid of it. It assumes that the immune system has made a mistake, in other words, the body does not know what it is doing and needs correction. With a holistic perspective, we start with the assumption that the body does know what it is doing and that it shows a symptom in order to become well.

There is a measurable energy field in the body that regulates health. In Chinese medicine, it is called Chi or Qi (Ki). In homeopathic terms, it is called the vital force. Chiropractors sometimes refer to it as the Innate. It is a unitary bipolar energy with electrical characteristics and can be measured at acupuncture points where there is a change in the resistance of the skin. It resonates at a wide range of frequencies.

Illness or a symptom occurs when this energy field is disrupted (as with an injury, for example) or becomes out of balance (as with stresses like toxic agents, poor diet, negative emotional environment or with infectious agents). If the body's energy is strong, freeflowing, and balanced, the body is immune to most infectious agents and-mild toxins. It recovers from the stress on its own, without intervention.

Our goal in holistic medicine is to stop doing things that weaken the energy and to start doing more things to strengthen and balance it. Some things that weaken the energy are preservatives and dyes in food. Try to buy food that is totally natural. Health food stores can be a source of natural balanced pet foods. Natural Life is a good brand and feed stores often carry it. Lack of touch or exercise can weaken the body energy too, so make sure there is plenty of movement and touching. Therapeutic massage can actually increase the energy and correct imbalanced energy flow. Dr. Michael Fox wrote an excellent book with detailed instructions on pet massage, Massage Program for Cats and Dogs, and even has a video available. If there is a lot of yelling and anger, or even doubt or despair in a household, it can weaken the body energy of all living creatures in the home. There are many schools of thought and systems to help change attitudes that can improve and strengthen the body's energy and healing capacity. Dr. Bernie Siegel is one of many authors of books on the subject.

Another way to strengthen the body energy is to eat fresh food. Picture the coyote eating a wild rabbit and the energy involved, then picture the pet eating dry food and see if you can sense the difference. The energy of food can affect the body's energy and level of health. Try to add some slightly cooked organic meat and vegetables, and some well-cooked (mushy) grains to your pet's natural dog food. Totally homemade diets must be balanced and follow accepted recipes exactly. Dr. Pitcairn's book, Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, has recipes for totally homemade diets that are balanced. Also available is Dogs and Cats Go Vegetarian, by Barbara Lynn Peden. Otherwise, feed mostly a balanced commercial natural diet like Natural Life or Nature's Recipe.

One way to limit emotional stress in pets is to understand them better and communicate on their level. The Monks of New Skete's book, How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend, and Anitra Frazier's book, The Natural Cat, are two of many books that can help you.

Vaccines are a stress to the immune system and the body energy. The body believes it got the disease in the vaccine and then builds immunity to it. Try to get vaccines one at a time when possible (esp. rabies, parvo virus, and feline leukemia) and allow 3-4 weeks between each vaccine. Killed vaccines are less stressful than modified live vaccines. After the first year, it is best to get the 3-Year killed rabies vaccine.

If your pet does become sick, acupuncture, homeopathy, and chiropractic are ways of restoring health without suppressing the body's energy. After treatment using these modalities, the body is usually healthier than before the illness occurred. Surgery or drug intervention may occasionally be needed also. Christopher Day's book, The Homeopathic Treatment of Small Animals, is a good book, offering a brief introduction to homeopathy and remedies that you can safely try at home. The book and remedies are available at Merz Apothecary (733) 989-0900 on Chicago's north side and at Walsh Homeopathics (847) 864-1600.

NOTE: It is important to keep accurate, frequent records on each pet, including all details, such as behavior changes, symptoms, appetite level, all drugs or holistic treatment given (with doses), abnormal laboratory results, ect. A spiral notebook works best so pages don't get lost or out of order.