None of us, including our pets, have a good time when they get nauseous and vomit. Car travel can be especially difficult. As I learned with my Golden Retriever Tikken, pets can be very nauseous and not vomit. Tikken did not vomit in the car but drooled so excessively that the fur on her chest was soaked after even a short ride. It got to the point where she felt so bad, one day she just refused to get within twenty feet of the car. Fortunately, Tikken’s car sickness resolved by letting her ride in the back seat instead of the crate, but for others, it is more difficult.
When asked by clients for advice on car sickness, my standard recommendation has always been the spice/herb ginger. An easy way to administer it is to get some ginger snap cookies, just make sure that they contain real ginger. However, ginger is not the only alternative. Dr. Karen Becker has outlined several remedies to consider if your pet becomes nauseous in this blog post – http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2016/09/04/upset-stomach-remedies.aspx
Don and Kate interview Dr. Michael Munzer about the use of acupuncture and chiropractic veterinary care with pets. In the first half hour we define acupuncture, discuss why Dr. Munzer incorporates it in his practice and ask him about his training. Dr. Munzer tells us how acupuncture can benefit pets, how they react to acupuncture and how you might determine if it might be a good choice for your pet. Acupuncture is not just for treating pain, but can be useful in treating skin issues, neurological issues and even behavioral issues. In the second half of the show, we focus on chiropractic for pets, asking about Dr. Munzer’s training, and how he as incorporated chiropractic care in his practice with everything from small cats to large cows. Chiropractic can be very beneficial for treating a number of issues, either alone, or used with other modalities. If you are curious about acupuncture, chiropractic or how both might benefit your pet, tune into this show.
< A version of this article was published in the October 2016 issue of Down East Dog News>
Don and Muppy in class*
I am often asked by clients how and why I became interested in holistic pet care. It was not a sudden revelation for me but has been a journey of many steps.
Holistic is a term that is thrown around a great deal, and often people attribute its meaning to be natural, healthy, or “good for you.” Merriam-Webster defines “holistic as – “relating to or concerned with complete systems rather than with individual parts. relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts <holistic medicine attempts to treat both the mind and the body> <holistic ecology views humans and the environment as a single system>.” Holistic simply means that we consider the whole individual organism and the environment where it lives. Complicated, but also pretty basic.
Gus, our first Cairn Terrier, was the catalyst for our first steps on this holistic
Don and Gus in WI
journey. Before he was a year old, he was suffering from chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) which his veterinarian felt was related to an unidentified nutritional imbalance. That led to our striving to continually learn about pet nutrition to find a food that would cure Gus’ condition. It was a long journey that involved many different foods, fed singly and in combination, and even homemade diets formulated from recipes in Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats. Gus’ UTIs finally stopped when we switched to a dog food made by Wysong which we fed in conjunction with specific supplements for his condition. We learned more about pet food and a holistic approach to wellness from Dr. Wysong, which eventually led us to start to explore raw diets for pets.
Paula and I attended our first seminar on raw diets for pets in 1998, started feeding raw to our dogs for at least one meal per day in 2000, and were selling raw diets at Green Acres by 2001. We continue to learn more about nutrition every year and have been feeding 100% raw for several years. We credit a raw diet to our Golden, Tikken, living for 16 years.
Appropriate nutrition is part of a holistic lifestyle, but it is not everything. Gus started having seizures, and when conventional medicine had done all it could to control the seizures, Paula started looking at other alternative treatments. She had read about homeopathy in Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats, attended a seminar, and soon Gus’ was being treated homeopathically for epilepsy. About a year later Paula enrolled us both in a four-day seminar on veterinary homeopathy being taught by Dr. Charles Loops. It would be fair to say that I went along kicking and screaming.
Before moving to Maine to purchase Green Acres, I had a seventeen-year career in the medical device industry in a variety of managerial positions. I was trained in and believed in traditional, modern medicine. It had been my livelihood. Since homeopathy challenged some very fundamental scientific principles, I felt it was “quackery” on a grand scale. Less than three hours into the seminar I was convinced that there was something to homeopathy, and it was far from quackery. However, what convinced me most was how homeopathy cured my Golden Retriever when traditional medicine could not1.
As our journey continued, we would learn about the benefits of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, herbs, chiropractic care, and essential oils. In 2002 I started formal training with the Bach Foundation, learning how to use the Bach Flower Remedies to treat emotional and behavioral issues with pets. In 2003 I completed my studies in England, becoming the first Bach Foundation Registered Animal Practitioner in the America’s. Holistic practices continue to be my approach to wellness for myself, my pets, and even dog training.2 To learn more about my experiences, check out my podcast Holistic and Complementary Wellness for Pets – Our Personal Journey at http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2016/10/08/podcast-holistic-and-complementary-wellness-for-pets-our-personal-journey
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Don Hanson is the co-owner of the Green Acres Kennel Shop (greenacreskennel.com) in Bangor. He is a Bach Foundation Registered Animal Practitioner (BFRAP), Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC), Associate Certified Cat Behavior Consultant (ACCBC) and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA). He produces and co- hosts a weekly radio show and podcast, The Woof Meow Show heard on The Pulse AM620 WZON and streamed at http://www.wzonradio.com/ every Saturday at 9 AM. A list of upcoming shows and podcasts of past shows can be found at www.woofmeowshow.com. Don also writes about pets at his blog: www.words-woofs-meows.com.
This is the first in a series of shows on Holistic and Complementary Wellness for Pets. Kate and Don start by defining the term “holistic” and then discussing how it applies to dog training and simply living with a dog. They then discuss how and why they started to take a holistic approach to pet care, beginning with experiences with their pets and nutrition. The importance of exercise and mental enrichment are also addressed. Then they discuss their experiences with the following forms of complementary medicine; homeopathy, Bach flower remedies, acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and chiropractic. Lastly they mention the Holistic Wellness Day for Pets which will take place at The Green Gem Healing Oasis on Saturday, October 29th. This event will involve ten different seminars and several vendors of holistic products and services for pets. For more information go to the Green Acres Kennel Shop website at www.greenacreskennel.com/event
In this episode of The Woof Meow Show from September 10th, 2016 Don and Mark address several timely topics about pets and Maine, including; dog bites, the canine flu, and the criteria they use to select and recommend flea and tick products and pet foods.
Don talks with Dr. Mark Hanks from Kindred Spirits Veterinary Clinic about Dr. Hank’s recent experience dealing with a serious health crisis with his dog Pierre. This was the first time that Mark had not treated one of his own pets in many years, and he describes how the experience has changed him and his approach to veterinary medicine.
You can hear The Woof Meow Show on The Pulse AM620, WZON, and WKIT HD3 at 9 AM on Saturday. If you are not near a radio, listen on your computer at http://www.wzonthepulse.com or your smartphone or tablet with the free WZON 620 AM app. A podcast of the show is typically posted immediately after the show, and can be downloaded at www.woofmeowshow.com and the Apple iTunes store.
Don and Kate interview Dr. Christina Chambreau from Sparks, Maryland. Dr. Chambreau has been practicing veterinary medicine since 1980 and started using homeopathy in 1983, and with Dr. Richard Pitcairn, and Dr. Jana Rygas, was one of the founders of the Academy Of Veterinary Homeopathy in 1995.
We ask Dr. Chambreau how she came to study homeopathy and add it to her practice, as well as other complementary veterinary medical modalities such as Reiki. Dr. Chambreau also discusses the importance of keeping a wellness journal for our pet. Lastly we discuss a seminar that Dr. Chambreau will offer in Maine called “The Introduction to Homeopathy.”
This seminar will be at Healing Spirit Farm, in Buckfield, ME on September 24th and 25, from 9 AM to 5 PM each day. You can learn more about the seminar at http://www.healingspiritfarm.com/ and more about Dr. Chambreau at http://christinachambreau.com/
You can hear The Woof Meow Show on The Pulse AM620, WZON, and WKIT HD3 at 9 AM on Saturday. If you are not near a radio, listen on your computer at http://www.wzonthepulse.com or your smartphone or tablet with the free WZON 620 AM app. A podcast of the show is typically posted immediately after the show, and can be downloaded at www.woofmeowshow.com and the Apple iTunes store.
