Creating a Healing Team: preventative care for your animal.

"It's time we give preventive healthcare recognition as a vital part of animal health and maintaining the human-animal bond."

^^ Yes!!^^ It's about time to consider preventative care as part of maintaining wellness as well as the human-animal bond. What is preventative care? Keeping the vital force alive and healthy. I say the foundation to this is nutrition. Species appropriate nutrition (no cereals, processed, GMO feeds, or grains for the carnivores). Once proper nutrition is in place, you continue to place your building blocks. Vaccinate the least! Understand what it is that you are injecting, what's in these vaccines, what are the adverse effects, read the vaccine insert, do your homework, and inform yourself.  Avoid overusing pharmaceuticals like antibiotics, steroids, and "parasite preventatives." Do away with toxic chemicals such as topical flea/tick products, wormers, and sprays.  These items often challenge the animals immune system and are toxic to them leading to other issues down the road.  Cats in particular are VERY sensitive to chemicals (get rid of that air "freshener!" It's hurting your animals).  As these toxins build up in your animal companion's body, the more taxed the immune system will be.  Interact with your pet.  Engage in play and training sessions.  Keep their mind and their body happy and stimulated.

Have a healing team in place.  A network of practitioners you can call on. Sound expensive?? It really isn't! Sometimes you will find one person who has all, or a majority of these skills. For example, for the animals in my care, they have an acupuncturist, a holistic vet, a homeopathic vet, and me. My horses also have an equine dentist and hoof care practitioner.  The holistic vet also performs chiropractic work, TCM, herbal, and cranial sacral. The homeopathic vet knows conventional methods and is fluent in other holistic methods such as reiki, flower essences, and dowsing.  I'm fortunate that I am able to bring massage/bodywork, acupressure, cold laser, crystals, energy work, herbal, and essential oils.  This isn't to say that you will need them all at the same time, but have them in place in the event a concern comes up so that you aren't scrambling at the last minute. Know who to call.  When I am stumped, I have experts who I trust and respect on the "team" that I can call and confer with (both of the vets have been phenomenal for me to bounce ideas off of so that I can treat many issues myself).  Integrative/holistic modalities are not a "last resort" option only to pull out when the chips are down and your conventional vet has no answers.  They are a great resource of support that will help tend the animal's needs BEFORE the crisis happens.  They are an essential part of preventative care.  What might this team look like?

·        Holistic/integrative/homeopathic vet

·         Massage/bodyworker

·         Energy healer/Reiki practitioner

·         Chiropractor

·         Acupuncturist/acupressurist

·         Aromatherapist

·         Nutritionist

·         Animal intuitive

• ((if you have horses, having an equine dentist and hoof care practitioner on board is also imperative))

There are a bevy of other practitioners and modalities you can incorporate, like: herbal medicine, TCM, cold laser, crania-sacral, crystals, flower essences, the list goes on.  Knowing who you can call will save you time and stress in the event of crisis.  Take a proactive approach to the health of those in your care.  This is the difference between merely surviving vs vibrantly thriving.

Dr. Becker has an insightful article discussing pet disease prevention.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/02/04/pet-disease-prevention.aspx

Meandering thoughts about balance and posture

I've been thinking a lot about balance and posture lately. Both in humans and in our animals. As I was carrying a heavy tote on my right shoulder, I began to pay attention to what was happening in my body, where I felt strain and tight, and how other parts of my body was compensating. The same thing happens in animals.. If one muscle is in spasm, the body will pull from another area to compensate.... If unable to address the problem (tight shoulder) and/or loosen and open it up, the spasm stays and before you know it, the tight shoulder adds in lower back pain. And if that is not addressed, it carries into your posture which then pulls from other muscle groups and the next thing you know you have pain in your neck, pain in your lower back, your shoulder still hurts, and you're leaning to one side because your muscles are tight.

Then, you go and ride your horse with your crooked, imbalanced self and the horse is forced to adjust his way of moving to balance you both out and the next thing you know, he is no longer rounding and collecting, he is heavy in the front and he has trouble bending. Interesting how this all relates together, isn't it??

Edited 1/17/13 to add:
And to break down the mouth/teeth/feet/body connection here's another example: you have a toothache on your upper right molar... it hurts! To "help" yourself, you may chew differently, perhaps only on your left side, the ache extends to your temples and you have a headache.. pain with every step... perhaps you crook your neck to the side a bit to avoid pressure on the tooth and temple, you're walking slower... from holding your head and neck gingerly to inside, you're sending your neck muscles into spasm.. to compensate, your body pulls from another area... diagonally from your left hind, lower back... you are bracing with every step... the compensatory action is now traveling down your legs.. because you have agitated your sciatic nerve, so now you are walking stepping in.. which effects the soles of your feet and shoes... doggone it!! Where did that bone spur come from??? Get the drift?? Soooo... the foot issue may not necessarily be the underlying problem, but a symptom of the original concern... which may be the teeth, or body... posture plays a HUGE role in this too!

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