How to get your pet to take his or her herbs

Yesterday, I offered some ways to make it easier to take herbs yourself. Today I'm going to talk about the tricks I have up my sleeve for getting herbs into your pet.

Some pets are pickier than others. We all know the cat who will give you scars you'll remember for the rest of your life, or the dog who will very carefully extract even the smallest pill from a big glob of peanut butter. Here are a few tricks for making sure they get the herbs that will keep them happier and healthier for longer:

• If your pet is taking teapills and your pet isn't too picky, hide the teapills in something delectable. Typically, peanut butter or a slice of hot dog will do the trick. There is also a product called Pill Pockets that are special treats for hiding pills in. They come in several different flavors and sizes, and work for both cats and dogs. Many pets LOVE the taste of these!
• If your pet still won't take their teapills, you can crush them and sprinkle them on canned food. This works for many pets who then can't "pick out" a pill.
• If you pet STILL won't take their teapills, they can be dissolved in warm water (no more than a tablespoon) and fed to your pet using a syringe. Most vet clinics can give you a special syringe for doing just this.
• If your pet is taking a granule formula, try sprinkling, or mixing it in with some tasty (read: stinky) canned food. For many pets, this will suffice.
  
• If your pet isn't a fan of the granules contaminating their food, you can encapsulate the granule formula and give the herbs as you would any other pill. (see the first 2 bullets for tips)
• If your pet still won't take their granule formula, dissolve it in just enough water to be able to suck it up with a syringe, and feed it to your pet via the syringe, just like you would with the dissolved teapill.

Pets can be a little tricky to get herbs into, but what I have often found is that once a pet learns that the herbs make them feel better and don't have any side effects, they are MUCH more cooperative about taking them. I've had several pet patients who would come running to their owners when they said, "Okay, it's time for Becca's pills!" and then gobble them right down!

Hopefully one or more of these tricks will help you get herbs down your pet in a more relaxed, less-stressful way!

Treating pets using acupuncture legally

Sorry for the recent lack of posts. I've had the flu that has completely kicked my butt! Feeling better now, and I'm ready to chat your ear off about acupuncture and Chinese medicine some more!

It has recently been brought to my attention that there are vets out there telling people that I am "practicing Veterinary Medicine without a license." I want to assure everyone that this is not the case. As much as I love helping pets, never in a million years would I put my license at risk by treating pets illegally. When I first received my acupuncture license, I very specifically, and repeatedly, asked the Director of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association what the laws were regarding my treating pets using acupuncture. She said that as long as pets were referred to me by a licensed veterinarian, I could treat pets the same as any other specialist.

I have written prescriptions from veterinarians for each of the pet patients that I treat and I am constantly referring patients BACK to their veterinarians whenever new symptoms appear. I am NOT a veterinarian and do not claim to be. I am an acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine specialist.