| The Right Veterinarian For Your Maltese Dog |
| NEVER choose a vet based on: how friendly he is how close a drive he is to your house how much his office staff coos over your dog. Instead, it is a vet's philosophy of treatment that counts. Two different philosophies of veterinary medicine The allopathic philosophy is represented by the American Veterinary Medical Association. AVMA vets practice a type of medicine referred to as allopathic or western or conventional medicine. The holistic philosophy is represented by the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association. Holistic vets practice a type of medicine referred to as holistic or natural medicine. The AHVMA is growing VERY fast, as more vets realize its enormous advantages. How allopathic medicine works The allopathic medical philosophy is based on: drugs medications chemicals AVMA vets respond to virtually every symptom your dog has by offering a drug, medication, or chemical. The problem is, a living body doesn't respond kindly to foreign substances. It fights back by bringing its immune system forces to bear and trying to "kick out" the foreign substance. This warfare stresses your dog's immune system at the very time it is needed at full strength to fight the actual illness. In other words, your dog's immune system is forced to spend itself fighting the drugs, medications, and chemicals. To make matters worse, almost invariably there are side effects to each drug, medication, and chemical. In allopathic medicine, these side effects are then treated with additional drugs, medications, and chemicals -- which then cause more side effects -- and so the depressing cycle goes. Listen to what Dr. Richard Pitcairn D.V.M. says about allopathic medicine: "In our eagerness for quick and easy solutions, we seize on a certain drug that may just cover up symptoms without addressing underlying causes. For example, synthetic cortisone is powerful enough to stop a wide variety of symptoms in their tracks, but inside, the disturbance continues unseen. Animals vigorously treated with such drugs (apparently successfully) go on to develop another condition within a few weeks or months. The suppressed disorder has simply gone on to create more serious inroads in the body." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Nino Aloro D.V.M. agrees: "Sometimes the side effects are worse than the disease. Standard medications have the potential to cause frightening problems with the liver, heart, kidneys, skin, immune system, and digestive tract." How holistic medicine works Holistic comes from the word "whole." Holistic vets focus on your WHOLE dog -- his body, mind, spirit, and environment. Holistic veterinarians... Seek to PREVENT health problems by building up your dog's immune system so that it RESISTS disease. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Holistic veterinarians... Promote "wellness from within." If a health problem does develop, holistic vets work on strengthening the immune system even more with: medicinal herbs nutritional supplements vitamins and minerals enzymes and antioxidants chiropractic manipulation accupuncture homeopathy common-sense supportive care Holistic vets do not immediately attack your dog's body with drugs, medications, and chemicals, which would put even more stress of his immune system at the very time when he needs it to be at full strength. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Holistic veterinarians... Use the simplest, safest, and gentlest remedy... that will still do the job... without adversely affecting OTHER parts of your dog's body, mind, or spirit. Holistic vets resort to antibiotics, steroids, drugs, medications, and chemicals only when there is nothing else that will work. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Holistic veterinarians... Are qualified to practice BOTH holistic and allopathic medicine. Holistic vets graduate from the same veterinary schools and receive the same licenses and certifications as allopathic vets. But the holistic vet has undertaken additional training in natural treatments, as well. So a holistic vet is fully qualified to render the same treatments as an allopathic vet -- PLUS the safer and gentler natural treatments that allopathic-only vets know little or nothing about. You get MORE options when you use a holistic vet. |