By Carrie Hyde, The Spaw Pet Life Coach | July 5, 2023

This may seem strange for someone as holistically-minded as me to say, but it’s time to stop looking for a holistic vet.

Now, if you’ve already found a holistic veterinarian that you like, congratulations! This post isn’t for you. This post is for the thousands of pet owners out there who want a vet that treats causes instead of symptoms and the whole body instead of the problem, but just can’t seem to find a clinic to fit the bill.

If this sounds like you, it’s time to stop looking for a holistic vet. I’ll tell you why, below, and what you should do instead.

The Differences Between a Holistic and Traditional Vet

Many owners who seek holistic vets have had bad experiences with traditional practices. One of the most common stories I hear in regard to this is that their original vet treated their pet for years for the same symptoms without trying to find the cause.

That, in a nutshell, is one of the biggest differences between holistic and traditional vet practices.

While traditional vets tend to focus on the symptoms and help to erase or ease them using medicine or surgery, holistic vets try to treat the cause of the symptoms first. This typically involves looking at the body as a whole. When you bring your dog to a holistic vet for a hot spot, for instance, they won’t just look at the red, infected patch on your dog’s skin. They’ll ask you about diet, behavior, exercise, and many other factors that can contribute to hot spots to determine where the problem really lies.

Once a holistic vet has identified the cause of the issue, they typically rely on natural approaches to fix it. Eastern medicine, such as acupuncture, is common, as are herbal treatments, essential oil therapy, and homeopathic remedies. Nutrition and exercise modifications are also common therapies used in holistic practices.

In addition to alternative treatments, most holistic vets will give vaccines and prescribe traditional medications at times. But the difference here is that they embrace the “less is more” philosophy and only prescribe these when they are absolutely needed.

How Many Holistic Vets Are There in the US?

If you’re more inclined to approach your health through diet, lifestyle, and homeopathic medicine, then you probably want the same for your pet. And given the differences in approaches outlined above, it only makes sense that you would seek a holistic practitioner as opposed to a traditional vet.

But finding one can be hard, if not impossible.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, there are around 124,000 vets currently registered in the United States. Only about 1,350 of those are holistic practitioners. That means that less than 1% of the veterinarians operating in the US today are holistically minded.

True, it is easier to find holistic vet care in some states compared to others. California, for instance, has about 230 practicing holistic vets and Florida has about 180. But many states, including New Mexico, North Dakota, and Wyoming, don’t have any registered holistic vets.

So if you’ve been searching for a holistic veterinary practice and haven’t been able to find one, there’s a reason for that. These kinds of clinics just aren’t that common.

Why You Shouldn’t Waste Time Searching for a Holistic Vet

Even when you’re lucky enough to find a holistic vet in your area, waiting to get in with them may not always be the best option. And here’s why.

Many vets that advertise as holistic, aren’t

Any vet out there can claim to be holistic. In fact, as long as they’re willing to pay the membership fee, just about any vet can join the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association. But having the membership does not make you a holistic practitioner.

At best, the practice of claiming holistic leanings as a traditionally trained vet is an unethical way to land new clients. At worst, it can be dangerous.

As holistically minded owners, we’re used to having our guard up around traditional vets. We’re ready to put our foot down on unnecessary vaccines and preventative medications that do more harm than good. But when we walk into a vet’s office thinking their ideologies are aligned with ours, we’re less likely to think critically about their recommendations. And if those recommendations aren’t as holistic as you thought, you could end up in a dangerous cycle of chasing symptoms and treating side effects.

You don’t want to be stuck without a vet in an emergency

Finding the perfect vet for you and your ideals is always the end goal. But when the best vet for you is a holistic practitioner that simply does not exist in your area or does not have the bandwidth for new clients, then waiting for the perfect fit can be dangerous.

The last thing you want is to be left without a vet in an emergency.

If you’re struggling to find a holistic vet, I highly recommend getting your pet in with the second-best option you can find right away.

In an emergency, it is worth having a vet on call that knows your pet and has your information. Whether your cat just got bit by a snake or your dog falls suddenly ill, having an established vet is vital to prevent treatment delays.

And, once you have a vet for your pet, you can always keep looking for a better fit.

Narrowing your search won’t always yield better results

We’ve all been stuck with vets we just couldn’t stand at one time or another in our lives. Often, these bad relationships are more than a matter of not seeing eye to eye. Maybe your pet didn’t like the vet, you hated how they handled your furry family member, or you simply didn’t get along with them.

This kind of friction can still crop up in your relationship with your holistic vet. And if it does, you’ll be left with a tough choice: endure a relationship you don’t enjoy, or turn to a traditional vet for your pet’s care.

In my experience, choosing the latter option can often be the better choice.

When we don’t enjoy seeing our vet, we often look for excuses to avoid going to appointments. If this becomes a habit, it can be detrimental to your pet’s care.

Instead of putting up with a holistic vet you don’t enjoy seeing, broaden your vet search to include traditional vets and find one you can actually tolerate. You may have to do more work to ensure your pet’s care aligns with your vision, but at least you won’t dread having to talk to this person every time your pet’s checkup rolls around.

How to Choose a Vet When Holistic Isn’t an Option

When a holistic vet isn’t an option due to a lack of chemistry or a lack of them existing in your area, the best you can do is find a traditional vet you can work with.

Here are some tips you can use to find the best vet for you based on what’s available.

• Be forward about your holistic leanings. When getting information about a new vet clinic, let the receptionist know you prefer a holistic approach and see if they have any recommendations for a doctor that might be a good fit. If they can’t think of one that’s better than the others, move on to another clinic.
• Ask your holistically-minded friends for recommendations. If you’re struggling to find a holistic vet, you’re probably not alone. Find out which traditional vet your holistic friends like and give them a call.
• Join a local holistic pet care Facebook group. Social media can be a good resource for recommendations on veterinarians that are more open to holistic approaches. Here are a few of my favorite groups for the holistically minded: Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time, Dogs Are Individuals by Canine Herbalist, The Adored Beast Collective, OFFICIAL Dr. Judy Morgan’s Naturally Healthy Pets Group, DNM The Pack, and Pawformative.
• Go to a holistic pet expo. Perhaps one of the best ways to get started or to further your knowledge of holistic care for your pet is to attend an in-person holistic pet expo. Here is one of my favorites: Thriving Pet Expo.
• Open a holistic dialogue during your first appointment. There’s no reason to stick with a vet that fights you on the most basic principles of holistic medicine. By bringing the conversation up right away, you can establish if this is a vet you can work with and avoid wasting your time.

Once you’ve found a vet you seem to gel with on a personal level, take a look at our guide for talking to traditional vets as a holistically minded pet owner. Here, you’ll find tips for working with your vet to ensure their traditional values don’t eclipse your holistic preferences and find out how to make sure your pet still gets the best care possible.

By Carrie Hyde, The Spaw Pet Life Coach | July 5, 2023

Carrie Hyde is the founder, owner, and Pet Life Coach of The Spaw in Tustin, CA. Carrie’s extensive experience and understanding of pet nutrition and coaching enabled her to create The Spawdcast, a podcast dedicated to educating pet parents and pet industry professionals on ALL the options available to their pets. Her mission is to open pet-owners eyes to the questions they may not even know to ask, to shine a light on the many myths that have been part of pet care for decades, and to offer whole solutions for their pets. Carrie Hyde is a certified pet nutritionist with the goal of helping pet parents & pet professionals with a new understanding of how to care for pets in a “whole and natural” way.