A holistic approach for pets involves considering the overall well-being of the animal in all aspects of their life, including their physical, emotional and social needs. Some of the key components of a holistic approach for pets may include:
Nutrition: ‘You are what you eat’ is just as true for our pets as it is for us. Provide a balanced and healthy diet that meets the pet’s nutritional needs and select foods that contain more meat ingredients and few grains, starches, and vegetables. The gut bacteria plays a vital role in many aspects of your pet’s health from digestion to immune and brain function.
Exercise: Ensure your pet gets enough physical activity to maintain a healthy weight and prevent health problems such as diabetes, reduce stress on joints and fight certain cancers.
Preventive care: Regular veterinary checkups and preventive care measures to detect and prevent health problems. An alternative to vaccinations is a titre test (blood test) which can determine a pet’s antibody levels should they be a stray/abandoned animal with no clinical history or to ascertain existing protection for lapsed vaccination. An alternative to worming tablets is a faecal egg count which should be carried out every 3 months.
Brushing your pet’s teeth regularly helps reduce bacterial growth and keep tartar from building.
Emotional support: Provide a safe and loving environment that meets the pet’s emotional needs to help prevent stress and anxiety.
Alternative therapies: Such as:-
Acupuncture – is used all around the world and gives positive results for both animals and humans. This treatment is used for problems such as paralysis, inflammation and pain.
Herbal Remedies – have proven results for many conditions including epilepsy, kidney failure, liver failure, chronic lameness, hormonal disease, behavioural disorders, allergic skin disease, inflammatory bowel disease and cancer.
Laser Therapy – a calculated dose of light energy on target tissue results in decreased inflammation, decreased pain and accelerated healing.
Physiotherapy – a treatment dedicated to restoring function to an injured or diseased pet by physical methods such as massage, heat treatment and exercise.
Chiropractic Care – involves undergoing spinal manipulation or manual therapy to move displaced vertebrae in the spine (vertebral subluxations) back into their normal position to release pressure on the surrounding nerve tissue.
