Holistic Pet Medicine

If you’re looking for an alternative treatment option for your pet that doesn’t use drugs or surgery, we can help. We offer several holistic pet medicine options in Nashua here at All Pets Veterinary Hospital. With these options, we combine Western and holistic medicine to diagnose and treat medical conditions as well as the entire body, mind, and spirit.

Dr. LeeAnn Toolan, DVM, CVA, CVFT, CVTP (acupuncture) has had extensive training in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM). She utilizes all four branches of TCVM at our hospital, including acupuncture, herbal therapy, food therapy, and Tui-na massage to balance the body and help it return to a healthy state.

Holistic Pet Care in Nashua: Dog Receives Acupuncture TherapyVeterinary Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an ancient medical practice that involves placing needles into specific points of the body (called acupoints) to create a healing effect. It works by stimulating the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. It also stimulates endorphins and serotonin to be released in the brain, which then reduces pain and inflammation. Acupuncture can be successfully combined with conventional veterinary medicine to help the patient’s natural healing power. This alternative treatment option can be used to treat more than a dozen conditions, including:

  • Neurological diseases
  • Musculoskeletal disease
  • Gastrointestinal disease
  • Endocrine disease
  • Skin allergies
  • Chronic infections
  • Feline asthma
  • Equine COPD
  • Cancer
  • Liver disease
  • Chronic renal failure
  • Chronic corneal ulcers

Herbal Therapy for Pets

Chinese herbal medicine has been used for over 4,000 years and has been shown to be effective in treating a variety of medical conditions, including:

  • Gastrointestinal
  • Cardiovascular
  • Dermatological
  • Respiratory
  • Musculoskeletal
  • Endocrine
  • Many forms of cancers

The herbs we use are formulations containing multiple herbs that work together to treat a specific condition. All the herbs used are from a company called Dr. Xie’s Jing Tang Herbal, based in Reddick, FL. We believe the best therapy is a combination of acupuncture and herbal medicine to balance the body and provide long-term results.

Food Therapy for Pets

Food therapy is the use of foods to help enhance the effects of acupuncture and herbal medicine to treat and prevent disease. All foods have specific properties in them which can be used to help pets balance their energy. In TCVM, food therapy is used to help balance the body’s energy and enhance the chances of fighting disease. Food recommendations are specific to each animal’s needs and the kind of clinical signs he/she is exhibiting. In some cases, foods can be added as a supplement or topping to the current diet, or grouped together in a recipe and fed as the complete diet.

Holistic Pet Care in Nashua: Dog Receives Acupressure TherapyTui-na (Chinese Therapeutic Massage)

Tui-na is used to enhance the effects of acupuncture and herbal medicine to help balance the body’s energy, unblock areas of pain, increase blood circulation, enhance areas that are deficient, and sedate areas that are in excess. Tui-na techniques unblock and improve circulation of blood, which reduces pain. They can also improve organ and immune system function, making the body healthier as a result. Dr. Toolan uses Tui-na in three ways:

  1. Before acupuncture: A short session can help soften and loosen the tissues.
  2. As an entire in-house session: Some pets resist acupuncture needles but enjoy the Tui-na techniques.
  3. At home: Pet owners can be taught a few techniques that are appropriate to their pet’s condition. These can be done daily at home and in between appointments.

Call us at 603-882-0494 to schedule a consultation to see how YOUR pet can benefit from holistic medicine here in Nashua.