“10 holistic pet care tips you can trust”

[Blue Wode]

Apparently they are:


Peppermint and catnip
Medical grade honey
Glucosamine supplements
Acupuncture
Diet
Saw palmetto
Exercise
Cranberry extract, d-mannose
Pain control
Slippery elm


http://www.sfgate.com:80/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/06/10/petscol.DTL&type=news

But apart from diet, exercise and pain control, can these tips really be trusted? For example, is there any evidence that glucosamine supplements are a worthwhile long-term alternative to an NSAID like Metacam for dogs suffering from arthritis?

The article also promotes the herbal route for many pet ailments, but presumably the evidence for it is as sparse as it is for humans:

Conclusion: Individualised herbal medicine, as practised in European medical herbalism, Chinese herbal medicine and Ayurvedic herbal medicine, has a very sparse evidence base and there is no convincing evidence that it is effective in any indication. Because of the high potential for adverse events and negative herb–herb and herb–drug interactions, this lack of evidence for effectiveness means that its use cannot be recommended.

R Guo, P H Canter, E Ernst, A systematic review of randomised clinical trials of individualised herbal medicine in any indication. Postgrad Med J 2007;83:633-637

http://pmj.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/83/984/633




Anyone?

[Darat]

And the big commercial companies are getting into the act as well: http://www.bringbackthebounce.co.uk/jointcare/bbtb/challenge.asp

[MRC_Hans]

Most of this stuff seems harmless, and some may or may not be marginally beneficial. For instance, Glucosamine has been shown to be beneficial for horses with arthritis.

However, just exactly what makes these things particularly "holistic"?

... Anyway I see this is just backed by the usual anecdotical evidence.

Hans

[Acleron]

Most of this stuff seems harmless, and some may or may not be marginally beneficial. For instance, Glucosamine has been shown to be beneficial for horses with arthritis.

However, just exactly what makes these things particularly "holistic"?

... Anyway I see this is just backed by the usual anecdotical evidence.

Hans

Have you a reference for this? I've googled 'horse arthritis and glucosamine' but the first 100 hits were mostly for sales with a few anecdotes thrown in.

[flume]

(Aside from the specific items in the article, I just want to post that I have a high respect for this author. There are a few areas where I disagree with her, but in general she does thoughtful research into the areas she talks about. She is not anti-science and does not accept holistic ideas uncritically. She was involved with trying to publicize the pet food recall last year on a different website.)

[Mojo]

Apparently they are:


Peppermint and catnip



At least that'll give the homoeopaths an excuse. ;)

[Mojo]

However, just exactly what makes these things particularly "holistic"?


If they're promoting sCAM, they have to use the word "holistic". It's a tradition, or an old charter, or something.