What does doing natural preventative care mean? I thought vaccinating, prevention medicines, and premium kibble was natural preventative care. Hardly.
Unfortunately the pharmaceutical companies and the pet food industry have really pulled the wool over everyone's eyes -but the wool is coming off! People are frustrated with the way traditional care has let them down and are seeking alternatives to help them not only give their pets more quality of life but longer lives. It seems as though we barely get our pets to a "settled" place in our lives before they're gone. It doesn't have to be like this.
Please don't misunderstand, mainstream care does have its place but it should not be the only choice people and their pets have. In fact, I think it's the imbalanced lean towards allopathic medicine rather than including homeopathic and naturopathic and alternative therapies that is a big part of the problem. At some point where do we stop and say, what happened to "first do no harm"?
Okay, so let's start with what preventative, natural, holistic care means with a definition of the words holistic, preventative and natural which I obtained from my American Heritage Dictionary: 1. Holistic: ?2) emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts. 2. Natural: 1) present in or produced by nature; not artificial or man-made; 3) pertaining to or produced solely by nature or the expected order of things 3. Preventive: 1) designed or used to prevent or hinder; acting as an obstacle; precautionary. 2) Thwarting or warding off illness or disease. When we put all these definitions together: the whole of the parts working interdependently, without artificial ingredients or synthetics, in the natural order of things you will then ward off illness or disease! Now that we have the definition of natural pet care in place, let's go deeper into the how to do this and thereby lowering the costs of your pet care and increase the longevity of your pets lives.
The first place to always start is with nutrition and that starts with what you are feeding your pets. My initial answer will be as species specific as you can get in a domestic setting. For dogs and cats that means that meat needs to be the primary ingredient of their food. Not kibble. Kibble isn't fit for anything or anyone to eat. There a couple I will recommend in the light of a very reluctant pet owner not being able to stomach the idea of feeding raw meat to their dog or cat, but I will say that as long as you adhere to kibble your pets will experience the problems associated with food that their bodies weren't designed to digest.
There are many different forms of feeding natural for example in dogs you can choose a B.A.R.F. diet which translates to Biologically Appropriate Raw Food and can also stand for Bones and Raw Food. This diet consists of all raw meats, veggies, dairy products, and nuts. Some adhere to strictly feeding raw meat. Some to a cooked diet of meat and vegetables. I think that you've got to decide what will work in your household and do that and any of these, including the cooked diet is far better than any form of a kibble diet. Think of animals in the wild ? they do not get kibble or pellets. Our domestic pets don't need those things either!
I feed my dog a cooked meat diet along with a natural whole food liquid supplement. I also use essential oils to thwart parasites and help with the pain in his forelegs. He came to us as a very abused, starved, neglected nearly 5 month old puppy. Through trial and error we've found what keeps him healthy, strong and happy and he is completely natural. We do homeopathic for heartworm prevention. He actually runs with me and traditionally his breed is not a running breed ? or so it's thought! So you also need to include some precautionary nutrition along with natural feeding. For horses you always need to be concerned with worms but there are natural ways like using food grade (ONLY use food grade) diatomaceous earth ?this also works well in cats, dogs and other warm-blooded animals but I prefer to use essential oils in my dog.
Next I would consider why vaccinating seems to be so important to your pets health. Let me give you just a few examples of why that could be the very thing that is harming your pets rather than helping them (information from www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com):
"Routine" vaccination has adverse side-effects, either short or long term. With vaccines that are repeated year after year, the frequency and severity of these side-effects in our pets has increased dramatically. Most of the problems involve the immune system. After all, the immune system is what vaccines are designed to stimulate. But they do so in a very unnatural way that can overwhelm and confuse the immune system." Donna Starita Mehan DVM. I believe that Dr. Mehan is saying here that while vaccinations stimulate the immune system and that is supposed to rev it up, the vaccine actually not only does this unnaturally as Dr. Mehan stated but it also causes so much confusion in the immune system that much more harm than good is done by vaccinating.
Dr. Ronald D. Schultz, Ph.D..- "Annual revaccination provides no benefit and may increase the risk for adverse reactions. The percentage of vaccinated animals (those vaccinated only as puppies) protected from clinical disease after challenge with canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus and canine adenovirus in the study was greater than 95%." Current and Future Canine and Feline Vaccination Programs. Dr. Ronald Schultz is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine, UW-Madison. Schultz, R.D. - Current & Future Canine & Feline Vaccination Programs. Vet Med 3: No. 3, 233-254, 1998 more. A chart provided in the report shows immunity levels for all vaccines currently given to dogs lasting a minimum of 5 years with most lasting 7-15 years! Don Hamilton, DVM -Yearly "boosters" are unnecessary, provide no benefit if given (will not increase immunity). Thus boosters are either a legal issue (Rabies) or a manipulation issue (inducing clients to come in for examination rather than directly suggesting an examination). Charles E Loops DVM - "Homeopathic veterinarians and other holistic practitioners have maintained for some time that vaccinations do more harm than they provide benefits. Vaccinations represent a major assault on the body's immune system.... Vaccine induced chronic diseases range from life-threatening conditions such as auto-immune crises to conditions destroying the quality of life of an animal as in chronic skin allergies."
These are just a few examples with veterinarians leading the way in sharing this information which I find interesting since vaccinations and surgeries are their bread and butter. A few of the holistic/homeopathic vets I know started in mainstream medicine and became frustrated and moved into the holistic arena so they could do their patients the most good. Feed correctly with proper back up supplementation and your pets will have natural immunities that protect them naturally from disease.
Another thing to do is to keep your pets stimulated mentally through exercise, play and training. Animals love to have a job and they love to be useful. The key to a good interaction here is training according to the natural interaction of the animal you own. What does that mean? For a dog it means approaching him or her using the "pack" mentality. For the horse it means approaching the horse the way another horse would. It all makes common sense really. Good practical common sense, do away with all these synthetics, using the natural order of things, and all the parts working together means you don't treat an illness, you treat the pet. I like what I saw Dr. Shawn Messonnier write recently to one of the groups I belong to, "I don't treat crystals in the urine, I treat the pet". That's what holistic means: all the parts working together interdependently. So not treating the symptoms but caring for the entire animal is the answer to lowering your veterinarian costs and increasing the longevity of your pets lives.
Article originally published on and for http://www.Suite101.com under the Holistic Pet Care topic.
Kim Bloomer is a preventative pet care consultant. She offers natural products and a business opportunity. She is partnered with a dog breeder and internationally known master dog trainer in their online audio pet care classes, All God's Creatures. Visit her website for details aspenbloom pet care and her dog's blog aspenbloom pet care
green cleaning service Park Ridge ..Who let the dogs out?Remember this song which gave birth... Read More
Are you irritated by your dog's drooping ears or your... Read More
Showing off your dog in front of friends and family... Read More
Just like when you bring home a new baby, you... Read More
A puppy wanting to chew makes you want to scream!... Read More
There are many places to find Westie merchandise, but before... Read More
Got a mischevious mutt on your hands? Then you may... Read More
Incredible advances in veterinary medicine are making it possible for... Read More
What kind of materials should you use when constructing a... Read More
When goldfish swim up to the glass of the tank,... Read More
Why does one breed appeal to a person over another?... Read More
Cats are living longer lives thanks to dedicated care from... Read More
Our pets depend on us for their every need, including... Read More
According to holistic veternarian Dr. Jane Bicks, the maximum life... Read More
Talk to the animals?Yes.And what's more, they talk to us!If... Read More
What should you feed your cat to make sure he... Read More
Playing reinforces the bond between you and your cat.Playing with... Read More
Having a boxer dog as a pet, although low-maintenance, require... Read More
Making sure that accidents don't happen in the first place... Read More
Many cat owners believe that their good little kitty would... Read More
The groups of fishes commonly referred to as Cichlids, comprise... Read More
Do you really get the fullest amount of enjoyment out... Read More
What is Canine Infectious Hepatitis?The word hepatitis refers to an... Read More
Last summer, we added a new pet to our family... Read More
Our dogs are now, more than ever, a very important... Read More
cleaning help near Bannockburn ..Cats need only be provided with decent shelter, food and... Read More
Vitamins Can Increase Your Dog's Life Span!There is evidence to... Read More
One of the most common causes of Feline Urinary Tract... Read More
Natural preventative pet care isn't a new thing but it... Read More
More and more folks are looking to the Internet to... Read More
Buying dog doors onlineIf you need to buy a dog... Read More
1.) Versatility- A good dog trainer will use techniques and... Read More
Do you want a Westie as a pet? What are... Read More
Pomeranians have tiny mouths and itty bitty teeth, but not... Read More
What should you feed your cat to make sure he... Read More
So you're bringing home that cute little puppy from the... Read More
Dog Training CollarsHaving a pet means having to provide for... Read More
Aren't they cute? Yes, they are! A nest of meowing... Read More
As a parent, you want to be able to give... Read More
People love big, protective and loving dogs and that's why... Read More
Wolves are magnificent and majestic creatures that have shared this... Read More
Cats are becoming increasingly popular as pets these days, and... Read More
You may wish to consider a chinchilla as a possible... Read More
Over the last 20 years, vaccinations have generally been started... Read More
It's no secret that Americans love their pets. In fact,... Read More
Pets are people, too. At least, that's the way they... Read More
Obesity is one of the greatest health concerns facing dogs.... Read More
From the first day of life on a leash, most... Read More
Over the past 30 years we have learned so much... Read More
Remember when you first met your dog? He was fresh... Read More
Pet |