There are many issues regarding conventional veterinary education and practice. Vets who practice integrative medicine not only have the conventional veterinary degree, but they also continue to study additional veterinary treatment. Not all conventional medicine is bad. When it is the ONLY treatment that a vet is able to provide to all patients, it is a huge concern. Sometimes there are cases in which conventional medicine is the only option for treatment, but it should not be the ONLY option that a veterinary practice is equipped to provide. Conventional veterinarians who practice ONLY conventional medicine are NOT treating our dogs. They are making them sicker because they don’t have the additional years of education that includes nutrition and natural treatment.
The best treatment for your dog is integrative veterinary medicine. That is the combination of the best of Western medicine combined with other therapies and modalities (nutrition, acupuncture, aquapuncture, lasers, and other holistic methods and treatments) to treat disease and to promote health (as opposed to merely making symptoms disappear). Integrative vets use Western medicine as a last resort. Many issues don’t require drugging up dogs unnecessarily. The education for such vets is extensive and requires further study which goes beyond basic conventional veterinary medicine. The goal in integrative medicine is to take care of the underlying issues that are causing symptoms to appear. Integrative vets are trained to use alternative methods to keep our dogs healthy and PREVENT issues rather that masking them. Such training requires a minimum of 3 or 4 years on top of the ordinary veterinary training.
Our dogs are being treated with antibiotics, steroids, pain-killers, antihistamines, which might manage the symptoms ONLY, but do not treat the immune system which weakens the immune system. Abuse of vaccinations is contributing to illness. Please see my articles about vaccination: Are Vaccines Really Safe? It is probably the most important articles in my website.
Ingredients of most commercial pet food is also compromising the health of our dogs. I have a plethora of articles about commercial dog food. A great one is What’s REALLY in Dog Food. I also have many articles about feeding dogs diets that are biologically appropriate. Why a Raw Diet is Vital. Like people, animals that have poor nutrition, compromised immunity will likely give birth to unhealthy dogs.
Most conventional vets know NOTHING about nutrition. They lack the training. Check out 8 Questions to Evaluate Your Vet. Believe it or not a great majority of conventional vets are not equipped to answer all those questions correctly! Pretty scary!!!
To find vets who have studied beyond veterinary school to address health issues you may visit the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association website which has a search tool. The very most important thing to check off is the nutrition option. Veterinarians who lack the additional education in nutrition (beyond conventional vet school) are not likely to have the expertise in the MOST important part of health. The articles about food on my website illustrate how critical biologically and species appropriate diet is.
Essentiallydogs.com is an educational resource, and all information herein is strictly for educational purposes. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure disease, nor is it meant to replace the (prescribed) veterinary treatment. Always inform your veterinarian or healthcare provider of any products that your pet is taking, including herbal remedies and supplements. Please do plenty of research so that you may equip yourself with the knowledge necessary to be an effective advocate for your dog’s well-being.
