Advanced Care Beyond the Traditional
Animal Hospital of Dunedin is focused on giving your pet the most effective medical practices and procedures possible, regardless of where they originate. We pride ourselves on using the most advanced technologies possible to suggest treatment and give diagnosis. Some of these treatments include complementary therapies. We offer six kinds of complementary therapies, Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, Acupuncture, Veterinary Medical Manipulation, Herbal Medicine, Cold Laser Therapy, and Ozone Therapy.
Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine
At Animal Hospital of Dunedin, we integrate Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine with Western veterinary practices to support the best clinical outcomes in our patients.
Although these services have been used in China for thousands of years, they are relatively new to the veterinary field in the United States.
There is often the misconception that the terms Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture can be used interchangeably. In truth, there are four branches that make up Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine:
- Acupuncture
- Food Therapy
- Tui-na
- Herbal Medicine
At Animal Hospital of Dunedin, we integrate Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine with Western veterinary practices to support the best clinical outcomes in our patients.
Acupuncture
At Animal Hospital of Dunedin, we recognize veterinary acupuncture as a time-proven practice to reduce and eliminate a variety of ailments in dogs and cats. Our clinical approach is to combine veterinary acupuncture with modern veterinary science to help maximize our patients’ quality of life.
If you think your pet may be a good candidate for veterinary acupuncture treatments, we highly encourage you to schedule a visit. We can help your pet feel relief.
Herbal Medicine
The doctors at Animal Hospital of Dunedin have spent years studying Chinese medicine and herbal prescriptions, and are highly trained to determine the proper herbal formula for your pet.
Chinese herbal medicine is the study and implementation of herbs, or a combination of herbs, to help combat disease in the body. It has proven to be an effective treatment model for conditions ranging from dermatitis to cancer. Clinical outcomes are most successful when used in combination with modern veterinary medicine and other alternative treatments, such as acupuncture.
Because the ingredients are all herbal, very few, if any, negative side effects are produced. In small animals, herbal formulas are typically administered orally in the form of a capsule or pill.
When devising a treatment plan, our clinical team always looks at both schools of thought – Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine and Western Medicine. This means herbal therapy will always be paired with traditional veterinary medicine to bring forth the most comprehensive clinical outcomes in our patients.
At present, Chinese herbal medicine can benefit a variety of medical conditions that challenge traditional veterinary medicine. If immediate surgery is required, Chinese herbal medicine cannot be considered as a treatment option.
The most common conditions treated with the help of Chinese herbal medicine include:
- Epilepsy
- Chronic Kidney Failure
- Chronic Lameness
- Hormonal Disorders
- Behavioral Disorders
- Allergic Skin Disease
- Liver Failure
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Intervertebral Disc Disease
- Neck or Back Pain
In some cases, the herbs are not used to treat a condition. Rather, they are used as a tonic to support healthy organ functioning.
Cold Laser Therapy
At Animal Hospital of Dunedin, we use a special therapy known as cold laser therapy that can be an incredibly powerful tool in helping improve your pet’s wellness. Cold laser therapy is commonly used in human physical therapy and rehabilitation, with great success and no side effects!
This low-level laser energy uses a process called photobiomodulation that transmits energy from the laser to the cells of injured tissue. This increases cellular activity, and effectively jumpstarts the healing process in your pet’s cells to help them heal and recover more quickly.
Want to learn more about cold laser therapy? Feel free to ask one of our trained staff who will be happy to answer any of your questions.
Ozone Therapy
Our team is proud to work with Dr. Cheryl Caputo, DVM to offer Ozone Therapy here at the Animal Hospital of Dunedin. Dr. Caputo travels to our hospital once a week to provide this service to our clients.
What is Ozone?
It is when three oxygen molecules (O3), are administered and break down to ordinary oxygen (O2). This reaction will combine with other things in the body to ultimately assist the body to heal.
Free from side effects, this is a therapy that works in a number of ways. Ozone has many health benefits, and works to particularly increase oxygen in the body while treating inflammation. Ozone Therapy activates the immune system and brings easily soluble oxygen to target tissues. It is proven effective for treating viruses, fungi and bacteria, and for general health improvement anytime there is inflammation.
A few of the common uses of ozone are:
- Enhances other treatments for patients with medical conditions (digestive, liver, kidney, heart, brain, spinal cord problems or seizures)
- Aids and supports treatments for patients with infectious diseases or cancer.
- Decreases healing time for abscesses, wounds, mouth and ear infections.
Ozone gas in dogs is commonly administered rectally since it is easily absorbed and goes to the liver for distribution throughout the body.
Ozone gas can also be mixed with saline and administered topically, injected under the skin or into a vein.
If you believe your pet would be a good fit for Ozone Therapy, please reach out to one of our doctors at The Animal Hospital of Dunedin to begin the treatment discussion.
Cryotherapy
Does your pet have several warts that tend to bleed when scratched?
Cryotherapy might be a solution for your pet. Cryotherapy, a non-invasive form of removing those small warts on our pets is now being offered at Animal Hospital of Dunedin. The cryotherapy is the use of extreme cold temperature to kill off select tissue or lumps. Cryotherapy uses liquid nitrogen to freeze a lump. Typically, it will take 2 weeks to fall off, but can require a second treatment 2 weeks later.
Cryotherapy is commonly used on non-cancerous lumps such as warts or skin tags, but can be used on several other lumps especially if surgery is not an option for a patient. Aside from skin tags or warts, cryotherapy can be used on eyelid tumors, lick granuloma and distichiasis (abnormal growth of an eyelash).
There are several causes in which surgery will be warranted over cryotherapy. That is when a lump is too large or if a lump needs to be surgically removed to ensure proper margins surrounding the lump. It is recommended to perform a cytology prior to cryotherapy to ensure, if malignant, the proper approach can be taken. We can then make an assessment as to whether your pet is a candidate for cryotherapy.
Cryotherapy is performed using a small wand that expels liquid nitrogen. That is sprayed on the desired area for 3 sessions of 10 seconds each. It does not require any shaving or prepping of the area and can typically be performed during an appointment.