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| Complementary/Alternative/Holistic Therapies |
| The American Holistic Veterinary Association defines Holistic (or Integrative) Veterinary Medicine as the examination and diagnosis of an animal, considering all aspects of the animal's life and employing all of the practitioner's senses, as well as the combination of conventional and alternative (or complementary) modalities of treatment. When a holistic veterinarian sees a pet, besides giving it a comprehensive physical examination, he/she wants to find out all about its behaviors, distant medical and dietary history, and its environment including diet, emotional stresses, and other factors. Holistic philosophy asserts that the disease occurs from the inside, because of a weakened immune system caused by an imbalance in the body. Holistic practitioners look for an appropriate remedy to encourage the body to heal itself. In many acute situations, treatment may involve aspects of surgery and drug therapy from conventional western technology, along with alternative techniques to provide a complementary whole. This form of treatment has great value for severe trauma and certain infections. It often outperforms other methodologies. It is also at this time that other treatment plans such as those listed below are brought into use. Once the symptoms have been treated, the task is not complete until the underlying disease patterns have been redirected. The patient, as well as the client, will be guided to a new level of health. The effectiveness of homeopathy has been documented in several clinical trials, including double-blind and placebo experiments. Still, may scientists and doctors remain unconvinced. Having personally used CAVM treatments such as herbal remedies and acupuncture when conventional medications were ineffective, I believe that CAVM can be beneficial and should be considered when treating many illnesses, including cancer. CAVM veterinarians use the following therapies: Modern Drugs, Surgery and Diagnostics Nutritional Therapy: Proper nutrition is the best preventative medicine. Each pet patient is designed a specific diet which will be palatable, preservative free, practical and cost-effective, environmentally sound and in keeping with the client's abilities to provide. Mega-nutrients, Augmentation Therapy: Sometimes known as Orthomolecular Medicine, it uses supplemental minerals, vitamins and nutrients that correct deficiencies, prevent pathology and reverse tissue damage. Supplements are prescribed that support the organs and body tissues, aid body detoxification and give energy to assist in the healing process. Behavior Modification: This incorporates ethology, biology, nutrition, pharmacology, lifestyle evaluation and aspects of modern psychotherapy. Every discipline listed here affects behavior (particularly homeopathy and Bach Flowers), disease and health. Humane considerations are often at stake. Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine: Acupuncture has been used in China for 3500 years. It is the main treatment for a quarter of the world's population. Thousands of years of acupuncture treatment prove its efficacy. The primary aim of veterinary acupuncture is to strengthen the body's immune system—to stimulate the body's adaptive–homeostatic mechanism. Acupuncture is a technique for relieving pain and for improving the function of organ systems by stimulating acupuncture points on the surface of the body. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that Chi, the vital force that flows throughout the body, travels throughout the body along channels of energy flow called meridians. Acupuncture points along the meridians are treated whenever a disease condition exists that blocks the normal flow of energy along these meridians. Acupuncture treatments elicit responses which regulate physiological processes. Acupuncture spans from ancient Chinese knowledge to state-of-the-art electrodiagnostic instrumentation. Homeopathy: Homeopathy dates back to the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates. Samuel Christian Hahnemann, a German medical doctor in the mid–1800's, developed the system we are using today. Homeopathy works on the principle of "Similia Similibus Curentur", or "like cures like." When a large dose of a toxic substance is swallowed, it can produce death, but when a homeopathic, diluted, minute dose of the substance is given, it can save the poisoned animal. Homeopathic remedies are made from plants, minerals, drugs, viruses, bacteria or animal substances. These remedies do not mask or suppress symptoms, they treat the deepest constitutional causes of the illness. Homeopathic remedies contain vibrational energy essences that match the patterns present in the diseased state within the ailing patient. Herbal Medicine: (click here for more information) The use of specific herbs and plants for medicinal purposes has been practiced for millennia all over the world. Veterinary herbal medicines include North American herbs, Aryuvedic herbs from India, traditional Chinese herbs and other herbs from all over the world. Herbs have healing powers that are capable of balancing the emotional, mental and physical dimensions of animals. Veterinary Chiropractic: Chiropractic can be used to treat a broad spectrum of conditions in animals. It works for any patient with a spine, bones, joints and muscles. There are healing potentials achieved through chiropractic that are not achievable by other forms of therapy. In chiropractic, the subluxated or fixated vertebra is identified and through hands-on specific adjustments the problem is alleviated and homeostasis is restored. A Wide Variety of Other Diagnostic and Therapeutic Modalities: Virtually every form of medicine and therapy used in holistic medicine for humans exists for veterinary medicine. Seminars, programs and workshops are conducted all over the world which advance and promote these valuable skills. The new and the old combine to make the future of veterinary medicine a healthier, more humane endeavor. |
| Information and Inspiration when you need it most |
| Read about Essiac Tea and why you should consider using it in your fight against cancer |
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| Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine (CAVM) is becoming increasingly popular. More and more people are using complementary therapies for themselves and well as their dogs. The terms "complementary", "alternative", "integrative", "holistic", or "homeopathy" are often used interchangeably to mean non-conventional style therapies. Several readers of this site whose dogs have cancer have tried alternative therapies, some with success. Click here to read what they have tried. If you have any information to add, please contact us and we will include it on this web site to share with our community. Together will can help each other. |
| Dogs Treated With Acupuncture For Wobblers Syndrome and Cancer Dog News DogExplorer.com News - Dog and horse owners in Birmingham, Alabama, are finding that alternative health care therapies like acupuncture, massage and herbal remedies yield real improvements in their pet's quality of life. One owner of a ten-year-old Doberman Pinscher with Wobblers Syndrome says her dog has done well with the services of a licensed Veterinary Acupuncturist. Another 13-year-old dog with cancer has been treated for two years with straight acupuncture and electrical impulses through the needles instead of chemotherapy and radiation (after first having a tumor removed). Watch the video to see how easy this therapy is. |
| There are some interesting and promising results from research performed using Artemisinin on dogs with cancer. Please see our Herbal page for more details. Could it be the cure for some dogs? We hope so! |