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This is going to be long.
I have been searching for a good holistic Vet for months. Found one and followed their process of first filling out pages and pages of paperwork. Part of it was all factual and related specifically to medical and nutritional information. Part of it was fun. Like a magazine/personality quiz. Is she: fitful and jerking or calm and peaceful while sleeping, Friendly or cautious and more questions like these. I learned today that all of that is a part of Chinese Medicine. After they received the paperwork and reviewed it, her office called and requested her full medical history (I was not surprised) and scheduled the appointment. That was several weeks ago. That is how far out she is booked.
Hope has had health issues primarily around chronic colitis and lumps that she keeps presenting around the hip, low back and groin area. Sure, she came from her breeder with a 2 year health guarantee but we certainly did not want to take her back and get another puppy. So we have been on our own for her medical expenses which have now tipped into the thousands, not hundreds, range.
The appointment was today and we had a full hour with the doctor. She got a thorough examination and then she did both acupuncture and chiropractic on her. She had a tight spot up by her shoulder blades and NOT surprisingly, in her low back/hip area.
I have attached pictures. The doctor is charming and just an itty bitty lady. She was a traditional veterinarian for 30 years. Her practice now is limited to nutrition, Chinese medicine, acupuncture and chiropractic. She will be used, then, in conjunction with our Vet, rather than instead of.
I knew that I would like her right away when we entered the office and she had posted printouts of Iams recalls and the FDA warnings on China made treats. As part of the paperwork I sent in January, I was to list all foods, treats and supplements Hope receives. She commended me right away on choosing such natural and USA sourced and made (well, except Ziwipeak which is a product of NZ). She indicated that I had done everything I possibly could in for her in terms of nutrition. I appreciate (rather than being defensive of) the honest, direct help/feedback from those of you here who helped. I appreciate the guidance very much. You taking time to help, answer and help again is making a noticeable difference in the lives of my girls.
She indicated that her issues could be helped beyond that. She said a few phrases that made me VERY happy. One is that she declared that we "have a very healthy dog". Another phrase I loved to hear was, "Wow. I am pleased to find this. This girl has perfectly tight patellas".
Her issues are are isolated to the middle zone of her body, according to how the body is divided in Chinese medicine. Makes sense as stomach and colon are there and all of her inflammatory lumps have been too. Stool eating can also be related.
I had been so busy with our shy/fearful dog with anxiety that I did not know that Hope, who seems all confident and independent, is not so much anxious but uptight. The stomach/colon stuff she loosely compared to a Type A person and ulcers. She indicated that she is a "Wood" in Chinese Medicine (the 5 elements related to health, personality and such) and this explains her physical inflexibility, cautiousness with things she perceives as dangerous, etc. Also her feeling an obligation to "manage" things. Okay. She is bossy. She said that she would enjoy structure and rules. That if she perceived there were no rules, her obligation to manage would mean to her that she decide the rules. I do observe that. She said that if we roll over in the night and she nips at us to put her down to show her that we have rules and we are the ones who make them. That is good as my husband and I are creatures of habit, love organization and rules. I'll be honest. The more she spoke of Hope I felt as if she was describing me.
So, she gave me enzymes and Chinese herbs. The herbs will help her manage her control freak anxiety and the enzymes will calm her stomach. Both could help with the stool eating. She drew an interesting link between a mama dog who eats her puppies stool and how Hope feels like she needs to manage.
I asked about her weight and she said it was fine but she might like to see her about 2 ounces lighter. That made me giggle. Easy to do on what we feed. Definitely continue with no grains. Keep up what we feed and treat. She does want their Fish Oil in the refrigerator.
So, we have an appointment in about 4 weeks to follow up on everything. Even though this is long, there are a hundred things more I learned that I did not share. This visit was well worth the wait and expense. Cannot wait to see how she does in the next few weeks and at the next visit!
Getting an incredibly thorough check up!
![]()
Adjusting her neck
![]()
Checking out the tight spot between her shoulder blades
![]()
Checking out the rest of the back
![]()
Acupuncture
![]()
I have been searching for a good holistic Vet for months. Found one and followed their process of first filling out pages and pages of paperwork. Part of it was all factual and related specifically to medical and nutritional information. Part of it was fun. Like a magazine/personality quiz. Is she: fitful and jerking or calm and peaceful while sleeping, Friendly or cautious and more questions like these. I learned today that all of that is a part of Chinese Medicine. After they received the paperwork and reviewed it, her office called and requested her full medical history (I was not surprised) and scheduled the appointment. That was several weeks ago. That is how far out she is booked.
Hope has had health issues primarily around chronic colitis and lumps that she keeps presenting around the hip, low back and groin area. Sure, she came from her breeder with a 2 year health guarantee but we certainly did not want to take her back and get another puppy. So we have been on our own for her medical expenses which have now tipped into the thousands, not hundreds, range.
The appointment was today and we had a full hour with the doctor. She got a thorough examination and then she did both acupuncture and chiropractic on her. She had a tight spot up by her shoulder blades and NOT surprisingly, in her low back/hip area.
I have attached pictures. The doctor is charming and just an itty bitty lady. She was a traditional veterinarian for 30 years. Her practice now is limited to nutrition, Chinese medicine, acupuncture and chiropractic. She will be used, then, in conjunction with our Vet, rather than instead of.
I knew that I would like her right away when we entered the office and she had posted printouts of Iams recalls and the FDA warnings on China made treats. As part of the paperwork I sent in January, I was to list all foods, treats and supplements Hope receives. She commended me right away on choosing such natural and USA sourced and made (well, except Ziwipeak which is a product of NZ). She indicated that I had done everything I possibly could in for her in terms of nutrition. I appreciate (rather than being defensive of) the honest, direct help/feedback from those of you here who helped. I appreciate the guidance very much. You taking time to help, answer and help again is making a noticeable difference in the lives of my girls.
She indicated that her issues could be helped beyond that. She said a few phrases that made me VERY happy. One is that she declared that we "have a very healthy dog". Another phrase I loved to hear was, "Wow. I am pleased to find this. This girl has perfectly tight patellas".
Her issues are are isolated to the middle zone of her body, according to how the body is divided in Chinese medicine. Makes sense as stomach and colon are there and all of her inflammatory lumps have been too. Stool eating can also be related.
I had been so busy with our shy/fearful dog with anxiety that I did not know that Hope, who seems all confident and independent, is not so much anxious but uptight. The stomach/colon stuff she loosely compared to a Type A person and ulcers. She indicated that she is a "Wood" in Chinese Medicine (the 5 elements related to health, personality and such) and this explains her physical inflexibility, cautiousness with things she perceives as dangerous, etc. Also her feeling an obligation to "manage" things. Okay. She is bossy. She said that she would enjoy structure and rules. That if she perceived there were no rules, her obligation to manage would mean to her that she decide the rules. I do observe that. She said that if we roll over in the night and she nips at us to put her down to show her that we have rules and we are the ones who make them. That is good as my husband and I are creatures of habit, love organization and rules. I'll be honest. The more she spoke of Hope I felt as if she was describing me.
So, she gave me enzymes and Chinese herbs. The herbs will help her manage her control freak anxiety and the enzymes will calm her stomach. Both could help with the stool eating. She drew an interesting link between a mama dog who eats her puppies stool and how Hope feels like she needs to manage.
I asked about her weight and she said it was fine but she might like to see her about 2 ounces lighter. That made me giggle. Easy to do on what we feed. Definitely continue with no grains. Keep up what we feed and treat. She does want their Fish Oil in the refrigerator.
So, we have an appointment in about 4 weeks to follow up on everything. Even though this is long, there are a hundred things more I learned that I did not share. This visit was well worth the wait and expense. Cannot wait to see how she does in the next few weeks and at the next visit!
Getting an incredibly thorough check up!
Adjusting her neck
Checking out the tight spot between her shoulder blades
Checking out the rest of the back
Acupuncture
