What’s Really Behind Holistic Pet Care?
A true holistic approach to animal wellness is all about balance.
Holistic dog care means taking into consideration your dog’s physical, emotional and spiritual uniqueness–with particular emphasis on prevention as the best medicine.
At the core of holistic pet care are the cardinal components of sound nutrition, emotional security through proper understanding & communication and the appropriate use of natural supplements, herbs and vaccinations.
While some of the holistic pet care therapies may not be “scientifically proven”, positive clinical benefits, such as improved rate of healing, general comfort and remission of symptoms are proof enough for pet owners seeking an alternative to traditional western medicine to heal their dogs.
Plus, many alternative and supportive therapies do not have the same, if any, harmful side effects that many of the costly conventional drugs have on our canine companions.
Changing The Status Quo
In the holistic pet care model, disease is NOT simply the result of some opportunistic microbe lying in wait to infect your dog.
Instead of being an isolated instance, DIS-ease is seen as a symptom of a larger, systemic lack of integration of the whole body, mind and spirit.
DIS-ease is the body’s physical manifestation of an IMBALANCE. And the best way to correct this imbalance and gain back the essential life-force is to consider the whole dog and how the weight of all internal and external influences can cause imbalances that impact his health and well-being.
Holistic pet care takes into account your dog’s physical presence, his home environment (including the influence that social interaction of the dog owner), as well as your dog’s innate spiritual essence.
Most conventional ‘allopathic’ veterinarians would argue that this model is exactly what they do–however, what differentiates a holistic pet care practitioner from traditional western medicine veterinarians (beyond the primary use of drugs and surgery) is that these treatments are designed to address symptoms of disease and not deal with the underlying imbalance that is at the root of the problem.
In that respect, traditional allopathic medicine often addresses only parts of the individual dog, not the whole!
A good example is canine cancer where the non-holistic approach would be to cut-out the tumor or kill the cancer cells with toxic chemicals. By contrast, the holistic approach would be to go deeper, seeking to find and correct imbalances that enabled cancer to grow in the first place.
What Was Once Old Is New Again
Despite it’s ‘New-Age’ label, holistic pet medicine is by no means new. Based on historical cultural customs, holistic medicine has been used for hundreds if not thousands of years.
Some of the natural remedies used in holistic animal care have either been overlooked, lost through time or been demonized by a medical profession that often refuses to acknowledge the discipline outside of what is taught in traditional veterinary school curriculum.
A perfect example of the difference between holistic veterinary medicine & traditional pet care is the recent RE-introduction of cannabinoid medicine from natural hemp to support conditions such as canine epilepsy, anxiety & stress behaviors and resolve painful osteoarthritis in dogs.
At present, these disease states are not successfully treated with current available veterinary medicine but with the advent of CBD oil to help balance a dog’s Endocannabinoid System, pet owners are finding relief for their K9 companion, often with quicker results and at substantially less financial burden.
Holistic Balance – One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Today’s pets are being treated more like members of the family, and along with that comes shifting ideas about the types of products people purchase for their beloved four-legged friends.
So, it’s not surprising, when it comes to their pets, many Americans are more willing than ever to pull out all the stops to keep them healthy and happy.
In fact, the pet product industry has seen year-over-year spending increase 450% over the last 25 years, and consumers now spend $49 billion annually on pet food, supplies and treats, according to data technology company SPINS.
Indeed, what drives the growth of holistic medicine, including natural foods, vitamins, herbal supplements and CBD oil for dogs is that pet owners place a premium on providing wellness products for their pets that are not only therapeutically effective, but can also enhance their companion pet’s Quality of Life.
In that way, even home-remedy holistic pet medicine and allopathic care can be mutually integrated towards the primary principles of wellness through whole body physical, psychological and spiritual needs.
A single system approach to treating canine disease limits the healing capacity inherent in all living creatures.
In other words, every dog is different, and each should be evaluated with the emphasis on whole body, mind and spiritual requirements to achieve holistic balance.
Placing A Premium on Integrative Pet Medicine
Whether it’s a philosophical discussion or a dogmatic school of thought, the intention is to give your pet the best life possible.
By integrating a combination of the best traditional medicine (e.g., antibiotics, surgery, etc.) with centuries old natural medicine (plant-based healing), pet owners can provide a more comprehensive array of effective therapies but with less negative side effects–giving their pets the best of both worlds.
A good example of using an integrative, aggregate approach to pet wellness to help dogs is shown in recent University research combining the natural holistic therapies of full spectrum CBD oil extracts with prescription anti-epileptic drugs (AE) like Keppra to produce an exponential healing result.
Similar instances of complementary healing results using integrative approaches to animal wellness can also be found in the literature for the use of Cannabidiol (CBD) in conjunction with chemotherapy where toxic agents could be applied in much smaller doses in the presence of cannabinoids given during treatment.
Changing Perspectives – Principles of Complementary Holistic Pet Care
As we’ve seen, allopathic veterinary medicine assumes a disease is caused by a “renegade” foreign body and the course of treatment is often drugs or surgery to drive-out the invader.
In contrast, a holistic pet care approach doesn’t seek to kill what is causing disease, rather to support and bolster the body so it can correct itself and become balanced and healthy again.
As more integrative holistic wellness modalities like CBD-rich hemp oil, light therapy, acupuncture and touch-therapy massage become more popular with traditional mainstream veterinary care practices, pet owners can rejoice in knowing they are truly giving their furry Best Friend the best life possible!
Curtis has been passionate about the health and welfare of animals since his first dog rescue.
After studying Sports Medicine & Biology at the University of Oregon, Curtis went on to excel in a career of Clinical Nutrition, later owning a health care supplement company serving private-practice physicians.
Known for his expansive knowledge of natural health and alternative medicine, Curtis believes that natural plant-based therapies can be applied to veterinary animal care which led him to study the science of Cannabinoid Medicine. His expertise in Functional Medicine led him to formulate a unique hemp-based canine care product, Canine Support Formula, fulfilling a dream to combine natural pet-care strategies with the new therapeutic potential of medical cannabis.
In reverence for his own dog, Parker, Curtis has dedicated his company–K9 Medibles–to improving the health and longevity of all dogs.
To learn more about Curtis and how K9 Medibles can help your dog, click HERE.