Pet Care & Chinese Herbal Medicine

If you love your furry friends as much as we do, you want them to live a happy, healthy, pain-free life. Our pets are more than just family members – they also play a huge part in helping us find joy, practice unconditional love, and even improve our own physical and mental wellbeing.

One of the toughest things as a pet owner is seeing your beloved dog, cat, or horse suffer from pain, disease, or lethargy. While surgeries and medications are sometimes necessary to help our pets regain their strength, reduce suffering, or prolong their lives, there are also a host of natural and herbal products that can make a huge difference in the lives of our pets. Natural and holistic medicines are a great complement to traditional medications or to boost the vitality of your pet.

Best Chinese Medicine offers a wide range of Chinese herbal products that have been used and loved by pets and their owners. There are many options of natural supplements to help improve the quality of life and longevity for dogs, cats, and horses. We’ll dive into Chinese medicine and pet care, the safety and good practice of using herbal medicines for pets, and some of our most popular and useful products to get you started!

Chinese Medicine and Our Pets

For thousands of years, humans have benefited from the amazing healing results of Chinese medicine and herbal therapy. Chinese Veterinary Medicine is a logical medical system that focuses on balance and harmony in our pets’ bodies between all organ systems, the environment, and their mental space.

Just like humans, animals can fall out of balance in health. Some types of pets are prone to particular diseases, complications, or disorders. As owners, we want to combat the signs of aging, prevent potential health concerns, and moderate any issues like stress, fear, aggression, or anxiety in our beloved family members. Just as humans can use natural herbal medicines to improve their health and wellness, so too can our pets.

Are Herbs Safe for Pets?

An important thing to consider when shopping for your pet is always safety. This is true for toys, food, and medicinal products.

The good news is that natural herbal formulas can be extremely safe and effective when prescribed and used correctly. Side effects are rare and animals tend to enjoy taking their herbal formulas sprinkled into food, treats, or water bowls (best for tinctures).

The most common side effect for pets taking herbal medicine is a change in bowel movements. As the body gets used to the new substances and adapts to the formula, it is normal for pets to have softer-than-normal stool. If side effects last longer than a few days or seem to be affecting the daily life of your pet, contact your veterinarian.

What Types of Pet Issues Can Herbal Medicine Help?

Chinese herbal medicine is used to treat patterns of imbalance in our pets to help them restore optimum health and happiness. Because of this focus on the underlying root pattern, there are formulas that can be used to treat a variety of issues because the root problem is the same. There are also special formulas that have specific and direct effects on the body and are well-known for use in particular health concerns, such as cancer.

Some of the most common issues pet owners seek out Chinese herbal medicine for are kidney disease, constipation, inflammatory bowel disease, cystitis, incontinence, vomiting, diarrhea, liver disease, heart issues, anxiety, behavioral issues, asthma, bronchitis, arthritis, and in support of cancer treatment.

Best Chinese Medicine’s Most Popular Pet Care Products

Cancers, EIPH, Wound-Healing, and Emergencies: Yunnan Baiyao Line

Yunnan Baiyao is an incredible formula with a rich history in wound healing and combat medicine, but has a wide range of benefits and uses.

Yunnan Baiyao Capsules (Jiaonang) – For Humans and Pets
Rated 4.94 out of 5
Starting at $10.00 Add to Cart Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page

Yunnan Baiyao Capsules: Typical for use in dogs with muscle tension, exhaustion, or bleeding cancers.

For our pets, Yunnan Baiyao has become a secret weapon in the care and maintenance of pets (mostly dogs) with cancer diagnoses. Bleeding cancers like hemangiosarcoma can be a nightmare for owners and pets alike, but Yunnan Baiyao is a simple and safe way to help relieve your dog’s pain while extending their life. Yunnan Baiyao can also help in other cancers where chemotherapy has increased bleeding. This is due to the blood clotting effects of the medicine – Yunnan Baiyao activates platelets and help to staunch bleeding while keeping healthy blood flow through the area for faster healing.

Aside from use in cancers, Yunnan Baiyao is also well-known to help relieve general muscle pain from exercise, and supports the nervous system, immune system, and tissue health.

An important thing to consider with Yunnan Baiyao is dosing. It should be taken on alternating days or an alternating course of days (such as five days on, five days off) for a determined period of time. This helps to avoid any potential side-effects and keeps liver markers regulated. Discuss the best dosing regimen with your veterinarian to find the safest and most effective dose.

Yunnan Baiyao Powder
Rated 4.90 out of 5
Starting at $9.00 Add to Cart Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page

Yunnan Baiyao Powder: Typical for use in racehorses and wound healing.

Another popular use for Yunnan Baiyao is with horses who experience EIPH, or Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage. This occurs when blood fills the airways of the lungs after intense exercise, such as in racehorses. Yunnan Baiyao has become a popular pre-race treatment to reduce the amount of blood, how long the horse bleeds for, or to potentially prevent this excess bleeding completely. In the same way that Yunnan Baiyao works to stop excess bleeding in cancers, the herbs in this formula help to staunch blood and initiate clotting by activating platelet activity.

Collaborate with your horse’s veterinarian to determine the best dosing structure. Typically, a dose is given one bottle of powder in the morning, then another in the evening on the day before the race (saving the red pills). A third bottle is given on the morning of the race, and a fourth bottle just before the race starts along with all four red pills that come with each bottle.

The Yunnan Baiyao powder is also an excellent product to have on hand for pet emergencies. The powder can be sprinkled on wounds to help increase healing and reduce excess blood loss. Make a paste with the powder, place it over the wound, then bandage tightly to expedite the healing process. Learn more about Yunnan Baiyao for dogs.

Cancer and/or Immune Support: Mushroom Powders

We stock several types of healing, medicinal mushroom powders to help both humans and pets achieve their best health. For pets with cancer, these healing mushrooms can help to support the immune system through cancer treatments like chemotherapy. Consider Turkey Tail for immune support, Lion’s Mane for fatigue, or Chaga for immune support and digestive aid.

Turkey Tail Mushroom Capsules by Real Mushrooms
Rated 4.94 out of 5
Starting at $34.95 Add to Cart Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page

Plum Flower – Ming Mu Di Huang Wan
Rated 5.00 out of 5
$20.13 ~~$26.50~~ Add to Cart Add to cart

Enhanced Eye Health: Ming Mu Di Huang Wan

Dogs, cats, and horses can easily become susceptible to various eye health issues. Ming Mu Di Huang Wan is an herbal formula that helps to improve chronic eye conditions in pets by treating the root of the problem. The vitality and strength of our vision stems from the Kidney and Liver systems, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine. Ming Mu Di Huan Wan supports these two systems and helps to encourage better blood flow and healing to the eyes.

Ming Mu Di Huang Wan is a great choice for pets suffering from chronic uveitis, diabetes, equine recurrent uveitis, glaucoma, hypertension, and keratoconjunctivitis sicca.

Ba Zheng Tang (Dianthus Formula) – Liquid Extract (Tincture)
Rated 4.85 out of 5
Starting at $14.00 Add to Cart Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page

Urinary Health: Ba Zheng Tang Tincture

Ba Zheng Tang is a famous formula that’s used for UTI’s or other inflammatory conditions of the urinary tract or bladder.

If your pet is experiencing urgent, frequent, or sensitive urination, redness and irritation of the external genitalia, or their urine is very dark in color, Ba Zheng Tang is an excellent natural choice. The herbs in Ba Zheng Tang work together to clear heat and inflammation and soothe the lining of the bladder, ureters, and urethra.

Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang (Solitary Hermit) – Liquid Extract (Tincture)
Rated 4.80 out of 5
Starting at $14.00 Add to Cart Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page

Bone and Joint Health: Du Huo Ji Shen Tang Tincture

The classic formula, Du Huo Ji Shen Tang, helps to promote health and vitality in the bones, joints, and muscles, as well as the circulatory system of the animal. The formula helps melt away both physical and mental tensions and rehabilitates the body from overwork and fatigue. Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang is most useful in older, senior pets with chronic lameness, disc disease, or arthritis. Those pets who seem to be in more pain or more fatigued in cold weather will also benefit from Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang as it helps to warm and stimulate circulation.

As this formula is generally a good formula to boost the health of older pets, it can also help with similar issues related to aging such as dry eye, deafness, increased drinking and urination (PUPD), numbness, tingling, hip dysplasia, or degenerative myelopathy.

Natural Pet Health Solutions

We are all about natural pet health and want to help provide you with helpful, effective, and safe remedies for your beloved furry family members. Chinese medicine has done miraculous things for both humans and animals over thousands of years to help us reach our best health. Our pets deserve to have the best and live their lives to the fullest. Contact us today for more information about Chinese medicine and pet health!