OUR HOLISTIC APPROACH
Holistic care is the treatment of the whole pet, considering the nutrition, environment, genetics, behaviour, and medical history. Holistic thinking is centred around love, empathy, respect and looking at each animal as an individual.
As part of The Natural Vet, we offer holistic services as an option alongside our conventional treatments to created a combined care plan that works best for your pet.
WHY DO WE OFFER HOLISTIC AND ALTERNATIVE
TREATMENTS?
We believe in a holistic approach to looking after you and your pet. This is the treatment of the whole pet, considering behavioural, environmental, and nutritional factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease and using both conventional and complementary therapies to treat your pet.
A holistic vet will determine the best combination of conventional and complementary therapies for a given individual, this is also known as an integrative approach. The word “(w)holistic” means considering the whole picture of the patient including the environment, the disease process, the diet, and developing a treatment protocol using a wide range of therapies to heal the patient.
Many patients present in a state of “dis-ease.” We need to ask “why?” rather than just treating the symptoms. One symptom may have several layers of causation. When one area of the body is ill, it can manifest in many ways. Successful and sustainable recovery relies upon finding the true cause of an illness and treating it. The most effective and least harmful path to healing is selected.
Examples of treatments used in an integrated approach are herbal vet medicine, acupuncture, low level laser therapy, nutrition (including microbiome testing), physiotherapy and use of a chiropractor.The benefits of using these treatments include fewer side-effects than conventional treatments, increased patient safety, stimulation of the body to self-heal and individualised treatment plans.
What we offer.
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Herbal Medicine
Herbal approaches have been developed for the management of almost all conditions including epilepsy, kidney failure, liver failure, chronic lameness, hormonal disease, behavioural disorders, allergic skin disease, inflammatory bowel disease and cancer.
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Acupuncture
Acupuncture is used all around the world to treat a wide variety of conditions in many species of animal. Clinical research has been conducted showing positive results in the treatment of both animals and humans. Acupuncture is indicated for problems such as paralysis, inflammation and pain.
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Laser Therapy
When a calculated dose of light energy reaches target tissue it results in decreased inflammation, decreased pain, and accelerated healing. Laser therapy can be used to effectively treat a wide variety of conditions including pre-surgical, post-surgical, acute, and chronic disease states.
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Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is dedicated to restoring function to an injured or diseased patient by physical methods such as massage, heat treatment and exercise. It plays a vital role in relieving pain, improving joint and muscle health and aids the rehabilitation of patients after major injury or surgery.
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Chiropracter
Chiropractic care for pets involves undergoing spinal manipulation or manual therapy to move misplaced vertebrae in the spine (vertebral subluxations) back into their normal position to release pressure on the surrounding nerve tissue. This relieves pain and enables the body to heal itself naturally.
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Microbiome Testing
Our pet’s microbiome is a mini ecosystem located in the digestive tract, made up of microbes and other microorganisms including both desirable and undesirable bacteria unique to each pet. The microbiome plays a significant role in balancing not only a pets’ digestive health, but their overall well-being.
Holistic Life Stage Consultations
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Start off on the right paw with our holistic puppy and kitten consultation. This consultation is designed for pets aged 2 – 12 months, we advise having this consultation as early as you can so we can help you make the best choices at the start of your pet’s life. This consultation includes a full clinical exam and a discussion regarding primary vaccination, titre testing, worming, faecal egg counts, neutering and diet whether that be raw or home cooked.
The consult lasts around 45-60 minutes and costs £60!
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This consult is aimed at adult dogs aged 1-7 years old and adult cats aged 1-13 years old, it includes a full clinical exam and a discussion about vaccination, titre testing, worming protocols, diet and neutering. It is also an opportunity to identify any body systems that may need support or treatment such as the guts or joints. If your pet is neutered, we may look at starting glandular support. If we identify any areas of pain or disease our vet can offer a suitable treatment plan comprised of integrative therapies. The main aim of this consultation is to identify any issues that may become a problem later in life and start preventative support early to reduce or stop disease later in life.
The cost of this consultation is £90 and lasts for 45-60 minutes.
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This consultation is for dogs over 7 years old and cats over 13 years old. At this age our pets may start to develop old age-related disease such as arthritis, kidney disease or hypethyroidism. This consultation includes a clinical exam, urinalysis and full blood panel including haematology, biochemistry and thyroid. The blood sample will be taken and the test performed during the consultation and we will have the results in around 15 minutes! Depending on the outcome of the exam and lab tests our vet will devise an integrative treatment plan.
The cost of this consultation is £175 and lasts 60 minutes.
Alternatives to Vaccines & Wormers
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A Faecal Egg Count or FEC counts the number of worm eggs in your pet’s faeces. The results are presented as ‘eggs per gram’ (epg) of faeces. The number of eggs is an indication of the number of adult worms in the gut of your dog or cat. Lungworm screens are slightly different as they look for live larvae in the faeces.
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The veterinary industry agrees that vaccines are necessary but the frequency in which they are administered is often debated. In particular, the recommendation to administer core vaccines (Hepatitis, Parvovirus, Distemper) to adult dogs every 3 years.
It has now been shown that duration of immunity after vaccination with MLV vaccines for most animals will be many years or a lifetime, based on challenge and serological studies (Schultz et al. 2010). If an animal already has a protective level of immunity, further vaccination will not be required.
VacciCheck is a rapid and affordable option to check antibody levels for the core diseases, it provides easy to interpret results which determine whether your dog has a protective level of immune response or whether they need revaccination.
This is supported by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Guidelines, which state that an animal that returns a positive titre has a protective level of immunity and therefore does not require revaccination.
There are several ways titre testing can be beneficial to determine a dog’s antibody levels of the 3 core diseases:
To determine when it is optimal to end a vaccine series
After a vaccination to indicate immunisation success was achieved
To determine if a booster is required
To ascertain existing protection for a lapsed vaccination program
To test a stray/abandoned animal with no clinical history
To test animals on immunosuppressant treatment
Can be used as part of an annual health check program
Can help with minimising the risk of adverse effects of vaccinations
Reduces the risk of over-vaccination consequences
Quick results
Titre testing involves a full clinical exam and blood sampling from the leg or neck. We will then run the test and email the results and interpretation to you. The cost of titre testing is £50 or free as part of our holistic health care plan.
If your pet requires re-vaccination the cost of the vaccine is reduced to £15 (usually £48.50).
‘You are what you eat’
This phrase is just as true for our pets as it is for us. Our dogs and cats are living mammals that should be fed a fresh, moist, and nutritious diet to help them live a long and disease-free life. This diet may be in the form of a raw or home cooked diet.
Our veterinary team will help you to make the best decisions regarding your pet’s diet, from feeding a puppy or kitten, feeding an adult maintenance diet, or feeding for a condition such as kidney disease.
We offer beginner raw feeding consultations to get you started on the right path. We are always available to give advice over the phone, email or via our Facebook page and groups.
Natural Nutrition
