Halo Vita-Glo Daily Greens

How do you get Fido to eat his veggies? If you are not able to cook for your dog the
next best thing is giving him a healthy does of greens in pill form.

This product helps to maintain your pet’s nutritional balance, digestion, blood purity, urinary tract strength, cell efficiency and stamina.

For more information please visit the Halo
website. halopets.com

by Sheila Dichoso
March 03, 2009

It’s a ‘new age’ for pets as holistic health care is growing nationwide. They’re keeping fit and healthy with such methods as yoga, acupuncture and massage therapy.

“When I started holistic health care about 13 years ago, a lot of people were saying ‘wow, that’s crazy,’” said veterinarian Dr. Barbara Royal, owner of Royal Treatment Vet Spa on the North Side. Today, veterinarians call her regularly to ask about holistic techniques. “They’re really interested and they see the results,” she said.

Holistic health focuses on treating problems as a whole rather than a set of symptoms. It uses natural methods that connect physical, mental and spiritual aspects of life to heal your pet of injuries, diseases and other behavioral or health issues.

While the trend is sweeping the nation, procedures can be expensive. Acupuncture can cost around $100 while water treadmill sessions can range anywhere between $35 and $75.

However, conventional medicine and surgeries for pets can be even more expensive. An average vet visit can cost up to $800 and a kidney transplant can cost up to $10,000. Also, over-prescribing medication is a big problem, Royal said. In fact, she believes holistic methods saves money in the long run. It can help them get off medications and have pets avoid pricey surgeries.

Irving Park pet owner Birgit Mantilla, 44, agreed. “I like the fact that one does not need expensive medications and surgery to always improve your quality of life.”

Alternatives to conventional veterinary medicines, but here’s a rundown of popular techniques and what they can do for your pets.

Hydrotherapy

Underwater treadmill therapy. “A lot more people are doing more surgeries for their dogs, and as they’re doing more of those, they need to have physical therapy to recover,” Royal said. She has been working with this therapy for nine years and uses it to treat muscular and skeletal problems such as obesity, arthritis and back pain.

The warm water used in water treadmill therapy reduces pain and relaxes the animals, which can lower their blood pressure and is less stressful than walking on land. The water also provides a resistance throughout the range of motion that allows dogs to lengthen strides while minimizing pain.

Swimming. Sometimes pets need a little more movement. This was the case for Mantilla’s dog Hero, 10, who tried using a water treadmill but found that swimming gave a greater range of motion.

In fact, swimming saved his life. “Hero was almost euthanized a year ago because he could barely walk and do stairs,” Mantilla said. Distraught, the homemaker shunned away from conventional medication and turned to holistic care and hasn’t turned back. “It has made a huge difference in his quality of life,” she said. These days the Mastiff swims every week and is also taking natural supplements to keep healthy.

Acupuncture. The question isn’t what acupuncture does – it’s what it doesn’t do for pets. Royal has used it on a variety of animals, including an elephant and ferrets.

The traditional Chinese medical technique improves circulation and can treat, but is not limited to, allergies, kidney failure, and bladder problems. It’s especially effective for animals with chronic diseases, Royal said, who frequently uses it to treat animals with epilepsy.

The procedure is very similar to acupuncture for people, but the needles for pets aren’t as long and remain in the body for a shorter period of time.

Doga. Admittedly, doga sounds strange. Even Royal thought so the first time she tried it. “I thought, ‘Oh gosh, this is crazy,”’ she said. But doga can help calm and relax dogs, stretch out their muscles and gain flexibility, especially in the hip joints.

Even more, doga gives a work out for both pet owner and pets, and it keeps them happy as it offers another way to bond with them.
Read more of the article at news.medill.northwester.edu

Chinese herbal medicine is a major part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Combining both acupuncture with herbs when treating a patient can dramatically produce positive healing results. Most Chinese herbs work best when combined in a formula.

“In the last 1500 years the Chinese and others developed very logical, sophisticated and effective models for using herbs in the treatment of disease and promotion of health.

“Chinese herbal medical theory and practice is much more developed and sophisticated than most Western herbal traditions, and relies on carefully balanced formulas. These formulas are combined in ways that are simple in principle yet show a remarkable sophistication behind their construction methods. Formulas are made up of individual herbal substances with complementary (or sometimes antagonistic) properties to achieve what are often complex
therapeutic goals. Some ancient herbal formulas have stood the test of use over hundreds of years and millions of patients.” – Norman Kraft, L.Ac www.MyAcuDoc.com

PLEASE NOTE! Chinese herbs are pharmaceutical grade substances and should only be prescribed by a licensed acupuncturist or veterinarian trained in TCM herbal therapy. Please be careful of websites selling miracle curing herbs. Unfortunately most of these are scams and can be harmful to your dog’s condition.

If you would like to schedule an herbal/nutritional consultation for your dog please visit FourPawsAcupuncture.com for more information.

A growing number of pet owners in Italy choose to feed their own dog or cat with organic, holistic or even vegetarian food. The passion for natural food is contagious and influences the “pet world” as well.

Comparing the main nutritional qualities and the ingredients employed in conventional and natural food, indeed, it can be observed that natural foods are characterized by absence of additives, employment of natural preservatives such as rosemary oil, and use of meat and ingredients coming from certified stock farms, without GMO.
This trend is outlined by a report of the Italian specialized magazine “Quattro Zampe”, that reveals also a higher spread of alternative treatments such as Bach flower remedies, acupuncture, flower therapies, essential oils, homeopathy. With good results.”

From greenplanet.net

By E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) — After surgery for a ruptured disk two years ago, Nelly’s legs remained extremely weak. She could barely move, became lethargic and lost her appetite.

Things were looking grim, but then a concerned friend took the 10-year-old to an acupuncturist, who treated her three times in half-hour sessions.

“Almost immediately after the first treatment, Nelly’s energy went from zero to 100,” recalled that friend, Annie Washburn, who works as a community organizer in New York City. Nelly became more mobile, ate more and resumed regular bowel movements. “She bounced back in a way that seemed miraculous,” Washburn said

It’s a story that might be familiar to people who’ve benefited from the ancient healing technique. But Nelly, who lives with Washburn, is a frisky, fluffy bichon frise.

“I’m not really into alternative therapies, that’s not my thing,” Washburn stressed. “But this was really unbelievable.”

Dr. Leilani Alvarez, the veterinary acupuncturist who treated Nelly, confessed that even she was once a bit skeptical of what acupuncture could do for four-footed patients.

hings were looking grim, but then a concerned friend took the 10-year-old to an acupuncturist, who treated her three times in half-hour sessions.

“Almost immediately after the first treatment, Nelly’s energy went from zero to 100,” recalled that friend, Annie Washburn, who works as a community organizer in New York City. Nelly became more mobile, ate more and resumed regular bowel movements. “She bounced back in a way that seemed miraculous,” Washburn said

It’s a story that might be familiar to people who’ve benefited from the ancient healing technique. But Nelly, who lives with Washburn, is a frisky, fluffy bichon frise.

“I’m not really into alternative therapies, that’s not my thing,” Washburn stressed. “But this was really unbelievable.”

Dr. Leilani Alvarez, the veterinary acupuncturist who treated Nelly, confessed that even she was once a bit skeptical of what acupuncture could do for four-footed patients.

Read more of this article at click here

It is best explained in Wikipedia: Foo Dog or Fu Dog refers to any of the following closely related Dog breeds originating in ancient China which resemble the Chinese guardian lions and hence are also called Lion Dogs.

Chinese guardian lions, also called Fu (Foo) Lions, lions of Buddha, or sometimes stone lions in Chinese, are a common representation of the lion in pre-modern China, which is believed to have powerful mythic protective powers that has traditionally stood in front of Chinese
Imperial palaces, temples, emperors’ tombs, government offices, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), until the end of
the empire in 1911.

Lions of Fo are always created in pairs, with the male playing with a ball and the female
with a cub. They occur in many types of Chinese pottery and in Western imitations.

Pairs of Chinese guardian lions, also called Chinese stone lions are still common decorative and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other structures, with one sitting on each side of the entrance, in China and in other places around the world where the Chinese people have immigrated and settled specially in local Chinatowns.

In Tibet, the guardian lion is known as a Snow Lion and similar to Japanese shishi. In Myanmar they are called Chinthe and gave their name to the World War II Chindit.