holistic animal care

[SportTees]

Does anyone use holistic or natural animal care? One thing I read was Only getting puppy shots then no more shots only titer test. I also read certain dog foods were bad for dogs. The sites I read agreed on most everything. They say you only get puppy shots, then rabies shots every 2-3 ,give heartworm prevenative regularly and Go easy on the flea and tick meds. They stated we are overmedicating our animals and it is producing negative effects like cancer, allergies, ......... I'm just curious on what everyone thinks about this ??

 

[keljonma]

I personally think there is some merit to holistic animal care.... we use it for our flock more than anything else. There is a lot of information out there online and in books. Read and study. Look for information that is confirmed by at least one other source of research or study. Just like most subjects, I think you'll get lots of different opinions.

 

[menageriemama]

I am kicking around the idea of becoming a certified Holistic Health Practitioner, and then building off of that degree with some animal massage and acupuncture training.

Yha, almost 30 year old mother of three STILL does not know what she wants to do when she "grows up"

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

My furry kids' Vet is Holistic and does acupuncture ..her whole team, actually. I wouldn't trade Dr. Jenny for the world, when it comes to good Vets (for furry kids).

I have another Vet for my reptiles ..and he's awesome, as well ...but he's not Holistic.


I studied Eastern Medicine, myself ...and I can say from my own experience with chronic pain.. it is an absolutely wonderful approach to wellness. Whether you have been diagnosed or you are just staying healthy and practicing prevention, the different perspective and approach cannot be beat! (Western medicine has its place, too, of course.)

 

[SportTees]

It seems like it would be healthier and safer then using chemicals ( shots, pills, meds).

 

[Henrietta23]

I know that the vets who see my animals went from recommending a distemper shot once a year to once every three years. Seems that they agree that we're over medicating. We used to give heartworm preventative year round and test every other year. Now they don't want to do that. Preventative for the mosquito months only and test every spring.
I had an adult dog who developed demodectic mange on his muzzle. No explanation for it. It's not common in adult dogs. The vet gave us this awful ointment and said to rub in to the bald red spot that kept getting larger. He said we had to stop when it reached Bear's eyes because it was so toxic. I did a lot of reading and determined that something, we didn't know what, was surpressing his immune system. So I worked internally, feeding him supplements that were recommended to boost the immune system. I ran everything past the vet first. He said he didn't think it would do much, but none of it would hurt. Well, I stopped using the ointment because it freaked me out how dangerous it seemed to be. And Bear got better within a few weeks! Never did know for sure what was the underlying cause.

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

If you look any further into a holistic approach, you will find that diet modification is essential. Whole foods are their own type of medicine ...once you discover your body type, metabolism, elements and so on.

I feed my cancer prone ratties (very much like little dogs) a preventative/supportive diet from the time they start eating solid foods ...and their Moms, if I had them that early. My Poodah is a prime example of what a holistic approach can deliver ...I rescued him when he was 7 days old (not even weaned ..eyes still closed tight), and I've been feeding him quality foods ..whole foods, too ....and giving him supportive supplements like spirulina and glucosamine, etc. ..his entire life! He's approaching 3 years old (ratties usually live 2 years, if that .. and rarely too much over) ...and he still gets around like he was 3 months old. He doesn't have skin problems like a lot of males his age ...his hind end is strong still (degeneration is a problem for ratties, just like big dogs) ...and he's never had a tumor, ever! I believe his good health is solely attributed to his proper diet and lovin' Momma (me!

).


There is a LOT to be said for holistic medicine ...besides the fact that it is ancient and proven.

 

[werblessd1s]

I just this year switched to holistic treatments with my dogs. Because we live in Skeeterville ( Florida) I will, continue their monthly dose of Swine Ivomec, which I give them.
I learned a lot from this forum I ran across doing a search
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/farmlife/msg1020122715675.html
I don't give them chemical filled flea treatments. I give them daily supplements to help keep the fleas run off.
http://www.puppy-stuff.com/articles/dog-healthcare/natural-flea-remedies-for-dogs-051214/page1.html
I want to start cooking their food instead of buying bagged food, but it's not in the budget right now.
I wish we had a holistic vet around here, maybe one day.

 

[warcard]

We are overmedicating our dogs. The AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association) has now come out (as of 2006) with a new recommended vaccination schedule, based on challenges to both the parvo and distemper yearly booster.

They now recommend:
Three puppy shots between 6-16 weeks of age, 3-4 weeks apart
An adult booster shot at 1 year
Then booster shots every THREE years or LONGER

http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/VaccineGuidelines06Revised.pdf
This also talks about vaccines that vets try and give that you might not need, and some that are really useless.

In TN I would stick with the heartworm meds year round, but you can possibly lighten up on the flea meds (Frontline Plus is actually supposed to be good every 3 months for fleas, its just for ticks that you have to apply monthly), or try the more holistic products. You just need to keep a close eye on the animals to catch any flea infestations early, and remember that you have to treat the whole environment (house, yard, dog) for fleas when you find them.

My girl has a minor reaction to shots, so I have been trying to titer as much as I can (with backwoods vets/kennels/etc who don't keep up on literature). I now drive 45 minutes to the holistic vet for my dogs. When I went on my first visit to get her rabies shot and I told them about her reaction (a month long lump at the injection site) they immediately offered to titer her for rabies instead.

You sound like you are on your way to educating yourself, which is the best thing you can do for your dog. Bring your questions/ideas to your vet, if s/he is a decent vet they should be willing to work with you. They might not believe the holistic approach will work, but some of them are willing to listen.

 

[walkswithdog]

Holistic treatment of dogs just rocks. Yes, we've been over vaccinating dogs and everything we feed matters.

The AVMA and AAHA and the Veterinary Medical Schools all went to diminished vaccination recommendations in the last two years. Based on the Dodds Protocol.

Dr. Jean Dodds is the vet who finally spilled the beans that yearly vaccines have been damaging immune systems and killing our dogs.

She is also the vet who developed titer testing.

Some recommendations have kind of stradled the line between business as usual and the actual Dodds Protocol. Dodds is more based on reality. You haven't been REVACCINATED for most of the things you recieved as a child - because you don't need to be. Neither do the dogs.

Much of the past reasoning behind annual vaccination was financial and social. It was the only way vets could get a majority of owners to get the dog in for annual check ups, to catch things developing that owner's were unaware of.

It is a major money maker since few that came in didn't also need something else and bulk vaccines don't cost a great deal but wow they can charge you for them.

Anyone who has given their own shots knows the difference in price.

And what you feed absolutely does effect the dog's resistence to pests and affects it's immune system, as well as all other aspects of a dog's health.

As a rescue/medical foster home, that's how I got introduced to holistic medicines and feeding. I took in the deathly ill, the starved, the shot, the stomped. In finding solutions for how very ill or starved, or injured a dog was I found out about nutrition. In trying to help parvo and distemper and other critically ill dogs to survive I found holistic medicine.

I had people see their own relinquished/impounded animals four or six months later and they could not believe the differences, in coat, condition, temperament and well being. Neither some times could I.

I spent years working on nutrition and what works for my rescues and our own dogs. No two dogs will get the same thing from a food. I have eight dogs. LOL. I've played with a lot of foods and supplements.

The first step is to be able to read and understand labels on dog foods. What actually indicates quality and what is a carefully rigged ingredient list.

Quick example, the first ingredient is chicken, but in the following list there are two or three rice based ingredients, two or three types of corn ingredients, or additionally one or two or three wheat and sorghum things.

Chicken - means that ingredient went into the food as meat - wet. Wet/water containing ingredients are not your friend, in the process of making it the water vanishes and the DRY wt of the ingredient is substantially less. Dry it might have been the third or fifth or sixth ingredient on that list.

Then there's all that separation of grain products. If they were forced to add them together. All the corn as one ingredient. All the wheat as one ingredient etc. Then my hypothetical feed is a grain based feed with a moderate or small amount of actual protein in it, and the truth would read:

Corn, rice, chicken, everything else. Not a great food.

Chicken meal or turkey meal, or fish meals, are dry weight ingredients. They include dried meat and bone and every carnivore needs that. They are weighed dry so it's the truth as to it's amount in the food.

I avoid feeds with split out grain products.

I find foods with two to four dried high quality protein sources.

I avoid soy and sorghum both can be serious allergens.

Individual dogs can react poorly to any grain and so I watch each new dog carefully for reactions to what I am feeding. Ear issues, skin issues, smelly or oily skin, excessive shedding-dry or oily coat, actual mange, excessive parasite loads are all suggestions that a food may be wrong for a dog.

Some dogs on the wrong grain are puffy, almost apparently water containing, and reducing the food and increasing the exercise yields no progress, because it is in part a reaction to the grain. Labs in particular sometimes do this with corn, dalmatians as well.

Well, I ran my big mouth forever again. But holistic medicine and nutrition are near and dear to my heart. What you feed, what you do matters and it's absolutely terrific that you're researching it.