In our books section you can find “Natural veterinary manual”, of which she is co-author integrative veterinary Montserrat Hairstyle. It is a book that simply summarizes why it is important for our animals to eat naturally and take care of their health with natural therapies such as phytotherapy, acupuncture or Bach flowers.
We have been lucky enough to chat with Montserrat Peinado and she told us, among many other things, that she has always been in favor of taking into account the emotional aspect in veterinary health. Years ago she clearly saw how emotional imbalance was accompanied by physical illness and that prompted her to also train in Ethology, Acupuncture, Bach Flowers, Homeopathy, etc. Below you have a summary of the enriching interview we had with her:
We like to ask each veterinary professional with whom we collaborate how they understand integrative veterinary medicine and what their consultations are like. How would you explain it in your case?
For me it is a way of understanding health that focuses on a general vision of the animal. It does not focus on a device or an organ, or a symptom, but rather understands that a living being is an inseparable set of organs, fluids, emotions and experiences. What's more, it is included in a system in which it lives, which is the family. We take absolutely everything into account. Thus, even if an animal comes for a locomotor problem, for example, osteoarthritis, it is assessed and we try to understand that any other aspect of its lifestyle, diet and behavior are directly connected to that problem. It is inseparable.
For all these reasons, a consultation with an integrative or holistic veterinarian differs from a conventional one in that, for example, if we have a problem with an animal that suffers from lameness, a traumatologist will do an examination of that leg, will do a x-ray and establish a treatment exclusively for that symptom and disease.
In my case, my approach is integrative and I really like to base myself on TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). And continuing with the same example, I keep in mind that osteoarthritis is closely connected to the energy of the kidney, which has to do with vital energy, with sexual and reproductive aspects. Therefore, we are going to pay attention to whether or not the animal is castrated, and we will assess whether it has fears or has suffered traumas, since these are closely related to the energy of the kidney. In this way, the animal will receive a treatment that will work on all the emotional aspects related to the kidney.
This approach also has a tremendously preventive function because, although this animal presents musculoskeletal symptoms, the tendency will be to develop a kidney problem that has not yet shown its face. Therefore, we will also begin to work with homeopathy, phytotherapy, nutrition, etc. in preventing the development of kidney disease.
You mentioned prevention, what basic advice would you give in this regard to preserve the health of dogs and cats?
Prevention is super important, it is the way to preserve that treasure that is health. When we live with an animal that is healthy, it is essential that we know how to maintain its health.
The first basic advice for this would be to take care of your eating. We must get rid of the stereotype that has been generated and of which we have been victims, first of all the veterinarians in the Faculties, which recommends only and exclusively commercial diets of dry food, something not healthy. This type of diet accounts for 30 or 40% of the origin of the majority of diseases that we are seeing in young animals.
Another fundamental aspect to take into account would be food allergies and intolerances, also caused by an unnatural diet and to which I dedicate a specific chapter in my book. It is evident that our animals do not have a digestive system, starting with the mouth and teeth, designed to chew those small balls of hard, extruded and unnatural feed. The feed causes kidney problems and urinary stones, there are many publications that prove it. When a food is so dry, the stomach has to make a tremendous effort to hydrate that food. At that moment, slight dehydration or a higher concentration of blood occurs and this also leads to many more mineral salts, etc., being concentrated in the kidney. This leads to the animal having a propensity to generate crystals, these crystals become grit and those grit become urinary stones.
Regarding dental health, I would like to highlight that many cases occur due to poor diet. We have stopped providing our dogs with real bones. The best way to remove tartar is a real bone, frozen and under human supervision.
And if we talk about joint problems, there is also a relationship with feeding dry food. In addition, an overweight problem usually arises, since we are “baiting” our dogs and cats, which are carnivores. Although the dog is now an adapted omnivore, it was originally a carnivore, not as strict as the cat, but, in any case, if we feed a carnivore with cereals, we will have problems with overweight and a predisposition to suffer problems. joints very early.
The overweight that many animals suffer is also caused by a sedentary life and the stress and anxiety they suffer because there are many families who have committed to having an animal at home, but then cannot care for it properly. In the case of dogs, for example, they are not being taken for walks enough. And exercising is vital to have healthy, strong muscles that protect the joints. In this sense, most cases of animals with joint problems present overweight, weakness, muscle atrophy and laxity in the joints that are not protected, since one of the main functions of the muscles is to protect the joints.
El CBD (Cannabidiol) is showing its potential in various ailments, especially to relieve pain from joint problems without producing side effects, what do you think? Do you use it in your treatments?
I am very much in favor of CBD. I really like how it controls pain and inflammation, and I use it, above all, for the vast majority of cases of chronic joint pain. It can also be used in other types of pain that are very intense such as otitis pain and dental problems.
Another star plant is Artemisia annua. At the herbalist we are increasingly asking for it because many veterinarians use it to reduce or even eliminate medications in the treatment of Leishmaniasis. Do you have experience with it?
It is a fantastic treatment for leishmaniasis. I've been using it for quite a few years now. I have even had cases in which conventional treatments were not having any effect, the animal even worsened and the leishmaniasis progressed. For this reason, you end up looking for a holistic veterinarian.
The results with the annual mugwort They were very good and the animals improved, leaving aside the conventional medications that we all know for this disease. There are many cases in which the improvement was evident, but to name one, I would highlight that of the Slunfy dog. He had been treated with Glucantime, Zyloric and Milteforan, and was not improving. In addition, he had a lot of anemia and weakness, which affected his spleen. Artemisia annua radically changed the evolution of the disease.
In your bookNatural veterinary manual” quotes natural therapies such as phytotherapy. Specifically, what herbal remedies would you recommend having in a natural medicine cabinet at home?
Indeed, in the book I have a small table where there are some remedies that I recommend having and an entire chapter dedicated to phytotherapy. For example, the chamomile It is a plant that everyone knows for the digestive system in people, but we can also use it for animals, both as an infusion for the stomach and as a disinfectant for skin, ear or eye problems.
El thymeFor its part, it can be used as a disinfectant and pain reliever for ear, teeth and gum pain.
La valerian, passionflower y lavender essence They are beneficial in animals that are nervous. You can also make a calming oil by mixing essential oils from these plants with almond oil.
For wounds and skin irritations, I really like the calendula, the coconut oil I use it to hydrate the coat and I use rosehip oil when there is a problem with irritation or to heal. Another very useful product is argan oil, to nourish skin and hair.
That homemade natural medicine cabinet would include white and green clay. They are fantastic both topically for making plasters because they help with irritations, eczema, wounds or fistulas, such as, for example, when a dog gets stuck in a spike and the paw is inflamed, and orally, for example, in case of diarrhea.
The oil of tea tree I use it as an external antiparasitic, but only on dogs, since it cannot be used on cats.
How have our animals experienced the pandemic?
First of all, I would like to highlight that for me, the holistic vision made me discover the importance of keeping an animal emotionally healthy. When there is an emotional balance and the animal is at peace, when the instructions it receives at home are coherent and it feels understood because at home there is an atmosphere of harmony, this results in comprehensive health.
During the pandemic I have seen animals that have been worse, while others have been better. In any case, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on humans, there have been more divorces, etc. All of this has had a great impact on the animals. They have been soaked in our fears, tensions and dramatic situations, the deaths of loved ones, etc. They are sponges that absorb the emotions of their humans and can express them through illnesses that may already be somatic.
In this sense, although an emotional reaction occurs at the beginning, it usually goes unnoticed by families, who come for consultation when the animal has already somatized that mental or emotional situation into a functional organic disease.
On the other hand, we must recognize the emotional support that animals provide unconditionally and that, once again, has been evident during the pandemic. They were the excuse for many people to leave the house. I would go into great detail explaining the multiple ways in which dogs or cats have helped humans cope better with the pandemic situation.
What therapies do you use or recommend to help in cases of emotional problems such as: phobias, stress, trauma...?
I like to do an integration of therapies. I love the Bach flowers, but not only that system, but also those of California, Australia and the Mediterranean. For me the star would be the Rescue Remedy of Bach flowers and I advise always having a small bottle at home as a first aid kit, since at any time something can happen and at that moment you can start treating it.
I also use the zoopharmacognosis and plants like valerian, passionflower and lavender to relax and calm. On the other hand, I really like working on an emotional level with sniffing games and I also recommend a greater number of walks per day.
It is very important to work on a greater connection with the animal, for which I recommend the animal communication. In the latter, I prefer to recommend collaborators that I trust and who through communication try to know what is happening, the reason for their strange behavior, etc. In this way, you can know if the animal felt misunderstood and needed a change or modification of behavior on the part of the family.
Do you want to share a specific case that has improved with natural therapies?
I could share many cases, many of hopeless animals. It is the saddest thing, veterinarians with our profile are turned to when the animal no longer has any hope. However, it is also a source of pride to be able to demonstrate that so many things can be done and that, for example, quadriplegic animals that had no hope have recovered. Right now I am working with Maggie, an 11-year-old Cocker dog, who was terminally ill due to a neurological degenerative disease. Her prognosis was reservedly grave. She was flaccid tetraplegia, like a rag doll, she could barely hold her head up and had trouble swallowing. Thanks to an integrative medicine approach, adding to the work of the neurologist, phytotherapy, acupuncture, floral essences and behavioral guidelinesAfter a month of treatment, Maggie was able to stand up, and in a month and a half, she was able to walk again.
Other very notable cases are those of epilepsy. There are animals in which just by changing the diet, there has been an improvement in idiopathic epilepsy. This type of epilepsy is the majority and has no solution. They simply get worse with the medications and the animal ends up being euthanized.
The most shocking was the case of a cat with epilepsy for three years that I presented at an International TCM congress because it was cured from the first session of acupuncture. He was a cat who suffered from 8 to 10 epileptic seizures a day. He had been seen by neurologists, feline specialists and many veterinarians, and when he came to the clinic I gave him an acupuncture session and from that first session he never had an epileptic seizure again. That's how incredible the effectiveness of natural therapies is!
*You can contact Montserrat Peinado here.
