The Holistic Alternative
Holistic veterinary medicine, alternative veterinary medicine, and complimentary veterinary medicine are all the same. Depending on whom you ask, it's either the only way to practice medicine, one of many tools that can be used in a veterinarian's practice, or complete mumbo-jumbo-voodoo-magic that should be avoided at all costs.
Well, we know the latter opinion is false — at least for the better-researched and tested modalities that fall under the definition of holistic medicine. For example, the AVMA has noted that acupuncture and chiropractic do have healing abilities and can be valuable to veterinarians in their practices. Other practices, such as homeopathy (the practice of giving very dilute quantities of substances that cause the same symptoms as those the patient is having to purge the system), flower essences (using extremely pure dilute essences of various flowers to treat emotions), and nutraceuticals (the use of certain nutrients in pure or concentrated forms to treat disease) show great clinical promise, but they lack the double-blind trials and substantial research that Western medicine relies on to prove efficacy.
Conventional veterinary medicine uses pharmaceuticals in its treatment program only after these drugs have been proven to be effective through double-blind studies, or research in which a study group is divided between those given a placebo and those given the medication being tested. Most holistic nutraceuticals, herbs, and other substances have not undergone these trials; however, many substances show excellent results clinically in individual patient cases.
Holistic Versus Conventional Medicine
The difference between holistic veterinary medicine and conventional veterinary medicine is in the approach to healing the animal. Conventional veterinary medicine, which is taught in veterinary colleges across the country, is based on treating disease through analyzing a dog's symptoms and using diagnostic tools such as blood, urine, and fecal tests, X-ray, MRI, and CT scans to pinpoint the cause of the symptoms.
Holistic veterinary medicine is based on treating the whole or entire animal — physical and emotional — and not basing treatment on a dog's symptoms alone. Holistic veterinarians are schooled in conventional veterinary colleges and hold DVMs or VMDs. After attending veterinary school, these veterinarians then research and educate themselves on one or many different holistic or alternative modalities, such as the use of herbs, Chinese medicine, acupuncture, or chiropractic. In some cases, expertise in certain modalities is certified by organizations through continuing education courses, seminars, research studies, experience, and formal training. For most modalities, however, there is no certification, and the pet owner must trust the veterinarian's interest, experience, and knowledge when treating his dog.
How can I find a holistic veterinarian in my area?
The American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA) has an excellent search engine on its Web site, online at www.AHVMA.org.
Talk to a Vet
Holistic modalities are noted for taking longer to have an effect but having few detrimental side effects than are often seen in conventional medications. If you are interested in this gentler approach to veterinary medicine, talk to the veterinarians on your list and see how they feel about holistic medicine. You will find that many conventional veterinarians implement one or two modalities into their own practices or regularly refer their patients to holistic specialists for specific treatments. Other veterinarians offer practices that are entirely holistic, or are holistic but also take advantage of modern diagnostics tools.
