Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Great new site for holistic pet care!



Most of us try our best to provide our pets with wholesome, natural foods, organic if possible. Avoiding the “junk” that is in most commercial pet foods goes a long way toward maintaining the health of your pet and possibly extending their life. But what do you do if your pet gets sick? Or what if your pet already has a chronic condition that you are trying to deal with?

First of all, ALWAYS have your pet checked out by a veterinarian before you do anything. Don’t try to diagnose it yourself. Veterinarians, of course, will most likely want to give some type of prescription drug, and maybe even a special “prescription” diet. Most of the so-called prescription diets are of questionable quality at best. And so many of the drugs we use to treat our pets can have awful side effects. Even the prescription diets, while addressing one issue, may actually aggravate or cause another. For example, years ago I had a cairn terrier with a weight problem. The vet had me put her on Science Diet R/D. Sure, she lost weight, but she also got very dry skin and a dull coat. In reading the ingredients, one of the main items on the list was peanut hulls! Yes, you read that right. Peanut hulls, because they are very fibrous and bulk up the food so your dog gets full faster. They have no nutritional value so she wasn’t getting enough nutrients from what she did eat. That, combined with the very low fat content of the food, caused her skin and coat issues.

So where do you go from here?

When your dog or cat is facing health challenges like liver disease, cancer, skin problems or kidney disease, you have a lot of decisions to make. In addition to conventional treatments, you may also want to consider complimentary medicine like nutritional supplements, diet changes or even massage or acupuncture. With everything you have to consider, the choices can be overwhelming.

I recently found a website that helps put many of your options into perspective. The company is Pet NutriSystems and their specialty is well-organized kits that are designed to take a lot of the guesswork (and homework) out of complementary, holistic alternatives. Each kit contains the appropriate nutritional supplements, dietary recommendations (along with recipes) and helpful guides that put it all together and keep you organized. (more......)

There are kits for skin problems, immune boosting for cancer, liver function, urinary tract problems, pets with kidney disease and much more. The supplements and information appear to be well-researched and the guides are clearly written. The website is nicely organized and easy to navigate. It contains a great deal of free information that most readers will find useful. There is also a “Freebie of the Month”, so be sure to check back often.

Here is how it works. From their homepage you click on the condition your pet has. There is a section for dogs and one for cats. For example, if you click on “My dog needs help with allergies”, it will take you to a brief overview of the condition and give a description of symptoms and generally accepted treatments. From there you can go to a wellness plan that outlines a multi-step plan toward health using a natural approach. Often the steps include diet, nutritional supplements and lifestyle considerations. Each step is explained so you understand why it is necessary. The purpose of each supplement is also detailed.

From the wellness page, you can navigate to the Essential Kit and see the contents of the kit and ordering information. Because the kits contain multiple items, there is a price break when ordering a kit as opposed to getting the items individually, making the kit an attractive option. Once the kit is ordered, you have immediate access to the kit instructions and the reports and guides via a link to a pdf download. The whole process is very streamlined and convenient to the pet owner.

They are also starting a blog which will have all sorts of articles on pet health and nutrition, etc.

The bottom line is a site that puts a great deal of information at your fingertips, without being overwhelming. If you have a pet with health challenges, check them out. You may very well find the help and answers you have been looking for.

Check them out: http://www.petnutrisystem.com


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