Supplement Index

These days, most people consider their dog a full-fledged member of the family. If you’re among them, you probably want to do whatever you can to boost your beloved dog’s health before illness sets in, just as you would for yourself, your children, and your parents. And who could blame you? Dogs bring so much unbridled comfort and joy that it seems only fair to be just as giving to them.

"The good thing about plants is they don’t have such strong side effects as medicines that have drawn out the active ingredient without the tempering effects of the rest of the plant," explains Dr. Gerald Buchoff of Holistic Pet Care in West Paterson, New Jersey. Here, he runs through a list of powerful plant medicines that you and your dog’s vet will want to know more about.

Veterinarian Dr. Ronit Berdugo has a house-call practice called Island Paws in Key West, Florida, and has treated two canine patients regularly for epilepsy, a Shih Tzu and a Boxer.

What is tea tree oil?
Tea tree (melaleuca alterifolia) oil is a highly potent oil extract from the tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) found in Australia, and is a traditional herbal remedy of Australian aborigines. Terpinen-4-ol, one of the main active ingredients, reduces swelling in inflamed tissues. Tea tree oil is also a broad spectrum antimicrobial (anti-infective agent) in even very tiny doses. This is fortunate, since toxic reactions ranging from mild to potentially fatal are common when tea tree oil is ingested to any extent. Tea tree oil should only be applied diluted to the exterior body surfaces, and should never be taken orally.

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) has been shown to protect the liver in all creatures, human as well as canine, and can actually help prevent liver damage when a dog is undergoing any harsh medical protocol.

What is it TTouch?
TTouch is a form of touch therapy devised and popularized in 1978 by Linda Tellington Jones, an equestrian with a long-standing interest in massage, training, and physical therapy techniques. TTouch is a very simple light massage technique where a clockwise circular motion of the fingers is used on the skin of the patient. TTouch is marketed as a means of counteracting reflexive adverse behaviors in animals, and was initially developed to facilitate the training of horses. For a fee, one can obtain certification in TTouch animal training approaches through books and specialized TTEAM courses offered by Linda Tellington Jones’ organization at www.tellingtontouch.com.

What is acupuncture?
The term acupuncture is from the Latin, "acus" meaning ‘needle’ and "punctura" meaning ‘to prick’.  Acupuncture, in its simplest sense, is the treatment of conditions or symptoms by the insertion of very fine needles into specific points on the body in order to produce a response.  Acupuncture points can also be stimulated without the use of needles, using techniques known as acupressure, moxibustion, cupping, or by the application of heat, cold, water, laser, ultrasound, or other means at the discretion of the practitioner. 

What is chiropractic?
The term chiropractic comes from the Greek words "cheir" which means ‘hand’ and "praxis" which means ‘practice’ or ‘done by’, and refers to the practice of manipulating the spine to treat disease.  Chiropractors base their theories of disease on the connections between various body structures and the nervous system via the spinal column, and on the role of the spine in biomechanics and movement.  Therapy is directed at the spine in order to modify the progression of disease. 

What is herbal therapy?
Herbs are plants that contain ingredients with active therapeutic properties.  These active ingredients may be present in the whole plant or only in a specific part.  Other parts of the same plant, or other plants in the same genus may have no activity or may in fact be toxic.  An herb may be used in various forms, including teas, granular extracts (Chinese medicine), fresh herbs, dried herbs, oils or tinctures.  It may be commercially available as a loose herb, capsule, tablet, liquid extract, lotion or cream. Herbal therapy is the use of herbs, either as single products or in combination with other herbs, for medicinal purposes. 

What is homeopathy?
Homeopathy is a distinct philosophy of medicine that has its roots in eighteenth century Germany, and subsequently spread to Europe, India, Australia, South America, the United States, and Canada.  The underlying basis of homeopathy is the principle that ‘like cures like’, or that a substance that is capable, in toxic doses, of producing a set of symptoms is also capable, in much lower doses, of curing the same set of symptoms regardless of their perceived cause.

What is massage therapy?
As a form of physiotherapy, massage therapy is the application of specific hand movements on a patient or recipient to improve muscle and joint function by relieving tension, spasm, or other restrictions to proper motion.  It may be used for warm-up purposes, for relaxing or stimulating muscles in order to prevent injury, or for rehabilitation of a patient after an injury has occurred. Massage is also used to compensate for impaired circulation by augmenting the normal flow of blood and lymphatic fluid. Finally, massage is used to stimulate the function of various internal organs through reflexively linked and externally located portals of access, often termed acupressure points and trigger points.

What is physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy, also known as physical therapy, involves the use of specific non-invasive treatments (massage, exercise, light, heat, cold, electricity, ultrasound, laser, magnetic therapy, hydrotherapy, etc.) to rehabilitate injured patients.  The goal of physiotherapy is to return the patient to normal function as quickly as possible, and to restore the full range of movement and strength to injured body parts.  The underlying principle of physiotherapy is that the least effective treatment for injury is excessive rest, and that stimulation of circulation through areas recovering from injury promotes an optimal rate and degree of healing.