Integrative veterinary care for your pets is a perfect alternative to traditional pet care. Here’s a guide as to why.
by Atomic Mommy Editors
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Integrative veterinary care uses conventional medical diagnostics and therapeutic options with complementary and alternative therapies.
This type of veterinary practice is increasingly becoming more popular in the Western world as pet owners look for alternatives to traditional medicine that offer more holistic and natural choices. Holistic veterinary treatments include acupuncture, herbs, nutritional therapy and more.
Personalized Care
Holistic medicine allows veterinarians to evaluate your pets as a whole rather than just a symptom-based approach. Your pet’s personality, environment, health history and diet will be considered to form a complete picture of your companion.
An integrative vet-like those from Divine TLC Integrative Veterinary Services-will perform a physical exam and may take blood or stool samples to help determine your pet’s overall health. They’ll also consider your pet’s emotional and mental well-being.
The individualized treatment plans offered by holistic vets can include supplements, herbs, homeopathic remedies or acupuncture. These treatments can be used in combination with traditional medicine for optimal results.
The best way to ensure your pet receives the best holistic care is to talk with your veterinarian about how the different therapies work together. This can be especially important if your pet has a chronic or complex illness.
Reduced Stress
A holistic approach to veterinary medicine takes the whole picture, considering the pet’s environment, disease pattern and the relationship between the animal and its owner. Holistic vets develop treatment plans that incorporate a variety of therapies and techniques.
They may use acupuncture, herbs or other alternative treatments to complement conventional medications and surgery for a holistic healing effect. They may also evaluate the patient’s vaccine needs and tailor them to meet the individual pet’s exposure to a particular ailment or disease.
Integrative veterinary care is a specialization that many veterinarians pursue in addition to their traditional training and practice. This specialized approach has proven to be highly successful in treating various illnesses.
Optimal Health
Integrative veterinary care is an approach to treating your pet that combines the best of conventional medicine diagnostics, drugs, and procedures like surgery with appropriate complementary medical modalities. This approach is a partnership between you and your veterinarian to use all available therapeutic options to achieve optimal wellness for your pet.
Holistic veterinary practices consider your pet’s health, including behaviors, environment, diet and personality traits. This holistic perspective will help your veterinarian create a diagnosis that focuses on treating the underlying causes of a condition rather than just symptoms or pain.
Some holistic approaches to a disease or illness include acupuncture, homeopathic treatment and nutritional supplements. These modalities can help your pet manage its pain and inflammation. They can also work to rebalance the body’s energy system. They may require more time for results to come in, but the long-term benefits of these methods are well worth it.
Prevention
Prevention is decreasing the chance of getting a disease or condition. In veterinary medicine, preventive care focuses on regular vaccines and examinations to help keep your pets healthy.
When your pet gets sick, traditional veterinary treatments like medications and surgery are often used to treat or suppress symptoms. However, these therapies cannot always address the underlying cause of your pet’s ailment, which is why holistic and integrative vets can be so helpful.
Holistic veterinary medicine incorporates a more comprehensive approach to your pet’s health and well-being, taking into account your pet’s personality traits, diet and lifestyle. This enables holistic veterinarians to use herbs, supplements, acupuncture or multiple treatment modalities to help your pet’s body heal naturally. This can reduce anxiety, improve sleep, alleviate pain and stiffness, and increase appetite and overall well-being. This can lead to fewer expensive visits in the long run! It can also allow your veterinarian to provide a complete treatment plan with fewer side effects.