Holistic Health Alternatives

Pretty much all the all the alternative health therapies used on humans can, and are, used on pets as well. Massage, acupressure, acupuncture, Reiki, craniosacral, aquatherapy, reflexology, chiropractic, Bowen, homeopathy, energy healing are just a few of the options available to pets. Foot reflexology is especially popular with rabbits, so if you have a pet bunny, you might want to treat her to a reflexology session for her next birthday!

Holistic Dog Training

Holistic dog trainers are actually training the owners more than the dog, teaching them to understand their dog’s behavior and body language, and how your emotions as a dog owner affects the emotions and actions of your dog, even if you think you’re hiding them well. If you get nervous when a large dog approaches your small one, your dog will pick up on that and react accordingly (perhaps with barking and hostility).

Animal Communicators

Have you ever wondered what your pet is thinking? They give you that look that you interpret to mean a certain thing, but they might be trying to tell you something completely different. Animal communicators can talk to your pet and find out what’s on their mind, and find out if something is bothering them, whether it’s an emotional of physical issue. Some also claim to be able to communicate with pets that have passed on.

What Does Holistic Mean?

Merriam-Webster defines holistic as: “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.” It can also be described as an approach to health care which takes into account not only the physical, but also the social, spiritual and emotional needs of the patient. You need to address all aspects in order to heal or maintain health.

Is Your Pet A Holistic Pet?

What does that even mean? Well, a holistic approach takes into consideration all aspects of the pet and his life: diet (do you feed raw, homemade or bought food? Supplements? Probiotics?); exercise (does he get enough?), socialization (does he get to hang out with other pets on a regular basis?); vaccinations (is your vet just routinely vaccinating or does he do titers to check for antibodies?). These are just a few of the aspects to consider.