Lets start thisdog terrier Pet Health by saying one word. Yes! Yes our pets get sick, yes pets are affected by stress, air quality and other conditions but more than yes to that, lets say YES that they too can have their lives improved by herbs.

Animals can all achieve a healthier life if you just add herbs into their diets. They live in the same world as you, so don’t you think that air pollution, bad food, sedentary lifestyles would affect them just as they do people?

It can be believed that most if not all health conditions suffered by your pets are attributed to their lifestyle. It really is time for an herbs lifestyle!

In fact, many, if not most pet health concerns can be addressed by helping your pets to live a healthier lifestyle.

Of course modern medicine has its place in our pets life, but it seems to have missed the mark with keeping them healthy. It is time to give them a combination of remedies. It just takes a little knowledge to blend the two together, but by blending the two we can give them the best.

In doing specific research on this topic I saw over and over again that natural medicine practitioners stated as facts that it is vaccinations and commercial pet foods that are the main culprits for our dogs unhealthy lives. If the food you feed your pet is not substantially healthy for them then you are creating a life of chronic illness for your beloved friend.

It really does make some sense if you think about it. It has been a strong practice in our society to give our pets vaccinations, antibiotics and other modern medicine at the first sign of illness. This they believed would decrease the overall disease. However in fact it has had the opposite effect, our dogs are now more vulnerable to these diseases and others like it.

Because of this rising pattern many veterinarians and practitioners began to look into a more holistic and natural way to treat our pets.

One of the questions that was asked was why do animals in the wild seem to live a healthier life than their domesticated or zoo animal relative?  Of course they may not live longer due to being eaten by other predators, but all in all they seem to function well with what they eat.

There is a field of practice called Zoopharmacognosy.   Wikipedia defines Zoopharmacognosy refers to the process by which animals self-medicate, by selecting and using plants, soils, and insects to treat and prevent disease. Coined by Dr. Eloy Rodriguez, a biochemist and professor at Cornell University, the word is derived from roots zoo (“animal”), pharma (“drug”), and gnosy (“knowing”).

Some interesting natural tidbits of animals using herbs and natural things around them to help themselves.

  • Dogs – We all know that when dogs are sick in the stomach the first thing they do is go and eat some grass.
  • Elephants – And here is something incredible about elephants.  A female elephant that is pregnant, will walk sometimes for days to find one tree from the Boranginacae family. She will then eat the leaves and bark completely and within 3-4 days give birth.  This tree was then studied and found that it had properties to induce uterine contractions and was used as a tea by Kenyan woman for that purpose.
  • Snakes eat a certain plant called Panax pseudo ginseng, to stop bleeding if they are injured
  • Gorillas eat ginger when their tummies are upset.
  • Monkeys rub citrus plants into their fur to ward off bugs and mosquitoes. Yeup it is where we get our citronella repellents from.
  • Starlings use wild carrot leaves to line their nests to keep out mites
  • Pack-rats will use bay leaves at the entrance to their home to keep out fleas
  • Lemurs when pregnant will eat certain plants in the weeks before giving birth, sort of like prenatal vitamins, to stimulate milk production and kill parasites
  • Some birds in the wild will endure a particular ants sting in order to get what they need from the ant that will keep their feathers free of mites.
  • Chimpanzees will eat certain plants when they want to get rid of worms, or other parasites internally.
  • Bears will eat a certain plant to get rid of internal parasites

Those are just a few of the natural acts of wild animals to take care of their health. It has to show us that if our pets received what they need through natural herbs then they too would be better off.

It appears that homeopathic treatment of animals really has no dangerous side effects and more than that, it seems that the remedies are working.

Our animals are now unable to live out their natural instinct to eat something that will help them and it is our responsibility as their owner to supply what they need.

Again I will say there is always a place for conventional medicine, but you should compliment it with natural medicine.  There are more and more natural holistic veterinarians out there to choose from. We cannot deny that modern drugs can have some harsh side effects and we end up taking another medicine for something the first medicine caused and then it just goes on and on.

There are times when you need to get your pet to a vet, but as with people, our pets can benefit from being treated the natural way. Wouldn’t it be nice to give your pet something that does not make them sicker before they get better? Homeopathic/holistic remedies will allow your animal to thrive the natural way.

Another good thing about treating your pet with homeopathic remedies is that the cost will be far less than taking them to a vet and spending more money on the expensive drugs that may not work, or make your pet sicker. Animals have died from the wrong or harsh medicines. Invest knowledge and use natural remedies for your pets, it really will be worth it.