Naturopathic animal health care

An experienced animal naturopath seeks to restore balance to the animal's health through the use of dietary changes, individually-prescribed nutrient therapy, herbal or homoeopathic medicines. Animal naturopaths also consider prevention to be an integral part of their work with animals – and educating pet owners about correct diets, nutrient supplementation and healthy environments is an important aspect of their profession.

Increase in natural animal health care

There has been an increase in consumer demand for qualified natural animal therapists to treat animals. This is probably due to the growing popularity of natural therapies in general and the increasing realisation that mainstream treatments do not always succeed. In addition, people usually want to try to identify the underlying cause of their pet’s health problems – not just treat the symptoms. Furthermore, people are becoming more educated in their own health and are realising that many pharmaceutical drug treatments can cause serious side effects and long-term effects. Consequently, more people are seeking natural therapies for themselves – often with great success. Therefore, it is only natural that many people also seek them for their animals. Many health problems in animals can be treated effectively with natural therapies. Conditions such as inflammatory skin conditions, degenerative joint conditions, recurrent ear infections in dogs, laminitis in horses, and many other conditions, including many being diagnosed as ‘untreatable’ can often be treated rapidly and safely by qualified animal naturopaths.

Qualifications of natural animal therapists

There are vast differences in qualifications between natural animal health practitioners. Many practitioners only have a diploma in (human) herbal medicine or homoeopathy and have not completed any training in animal health. This can pose a risk for the animal as it is important for practitioners to understand the physiology of each animal species that they work with as well as the potential side effects of certain natural remedies on each animal species. For example, using particular essential oils on a cat could prove to be fatal. Certain foods are unhealthy in some species of animals and not in others. In addition, there are particular herbs that should not be given to certain animal species and it is vitally important for practitioners to understand these factors.

HATO accredited practitioners must meet stringent standards for accreditation. In order to become an accredited HATO member, practitioners must have successfully completed approved training in the area of health they practice in. For example, many of the HATO animal naturopaths are fully qualified (human) naturopaths that have additional qualifications in the animal health field.

As mentioned previously, it is important to choose a well-trained animal naturopath as there are so many herbal remedies, nutrients and other naturopathic treatments that should never be given to certain species of animals. In addition, due to the unique anatomy of each of the animal species, dosages of herbal medicines or nutrient supplements can vary significantly from the dosage given to humans.

Why are natural animal therapy careers so rewarding?

Well-trained practitioners gain a lot of satisfaction using natural therapies on animals as, in many cases, they can be just as effective as most mainstream treatments but without the potential side effects. Not only that, an experienced practitioner will have the ability to identify the underlying cause of the disorder and treat it accordingly – not just treat the superficial symptoms. A large number of people seek naturopathic treatments for their pets when all else has failed. Therefore, it gives animal naturopaths a significant amount of satisfaction when they can help an animal, particularly when there is a history of a long-term illness, when no-one else achieved an effective cure.

The future of natural animal health care

There has been a dramatic increase in people seeking advice from professionals in the natural animal health field. Many people are realising that qualified natural animal practitioners can help them achieve their goals regarding their pet’s health - without the need for invasive surgery, drugs that may have toxic side effects or other potentially harmful treatments. This is why the natural animal field is growing so quickly and this is why it is really important for practitioners to be well-trained.

* Note: Please see your veterinarian for a diagnosis of the pet's condition before seeking treatment.