Holistic Pet Nutrition: Not a Category, But a Concept

Episode 59 • 23rd July 2025 • Barking Mad • BSM Partners

Dr. Stephanie Clark: Ever felt overwhelmed by conflicting advice on what to feed your pet, or how to best take care of them? From the endless marketing claims to the hushed whispers in the pet parent groups, holistic nutrition is often thrown around. But what does it really mean for your pet's health?

Jordan Tyler: Is it about feeding raw? Using herbs? What about swapping out kibble for quinoa and kale? Today we're going to cut through the confusion and dive into what holistic nutrition really is—and what it isn’t.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: We're joined by some of the most credentialed voices in the field—veterinarians, herbalists, and educators who bring a science-backed, results-driven approach to holistic care.

You'll hear why this isn't about ditching traditional medicine but about expanding that toolkit. It's about food as therapy, prevention as priority, and nutrition as a first line of defense, not the last resort.

Jordan Tyler: Preach girl. From energetic food properties to species appropriate diets and individualized treatment plans, holistic nutrition offers a deeper, more nuanced approach to pet wellness, but it's also a space rife with misinformation and unregulated claims. So how do we know who to trust?

Dr. Stephanie Clark: Well, you're going to listen to today's episode! We'll help pet parents, veterinarians, and brands alike think more critically—and more compassionately—about what we feed our animals. Because nutrition isn't just about surviving, it's about thriving.

Welcome to Barking Mad, a podcast by BSM Partners. We're your hosts, Dr. Stephanie Clark—

Jordan Tyler: —and I’m Jordan Tyler. So holistic nutrition, it means a lot of things to a lot of different people. That’s kind of the beauty of it, but it's also kind of what makes it a slippery slope.

I feel like the trend toward holistic nutrition is really being driven by a few other trends that we're seeing in the pet space, and one of those are minimally processed diets. So, formats other than kibble or like canned food that have really been growing in popularity over the years. And Stephanie, I know that you have probably formulated a lot of these products yourself.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: I'll never share my secrets. Ha, I'm just kidding. Yeah, I mean, what does minimally processed mean? Does it mean feeding foods closer to what nature intended or the epitome of the ancestral diets or, I mean, we've had advice shared with us about just adding a little bit of “whole food” to the kibble can truly help. Where do people even begin with this?

Jordan Tyler: Yeah.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: And there's a lot of misinformation about pet nutrition online, right? And even in the more trusted communities like veterinarians and, and veterinary fields. And I can say that, because I've been in it, right? Like, we don't have time to read the articles. We don't have time to constantly be, you know, keeping up on the latest. And so sometimes that can lead to misinformation or outdated information.

Jordan Tyler: In your defense, you have been in the vet space, but you also have a PhD in… animal nutrition?

Dr. Chris Bessent: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Jordan Tyler: Like, a normal veterinarian does not have to go through all that and are lucky if they get any sort of robust nutrition training as part of their DVM. Right? So, it's just kind of like we don't know who to trust and the people that we do trust may not have the best information and so, yeah, lots of gray area around this topic, and that's why we're doing this episode!

Dr. Stephanie Clark: But at the end of the day, I think it's the pet parents that are suffering from it because it can leave them scratching their heads or feeling completely and utterly, totally overwhelmed. And often when they're in that aisle, they're paralyzed with fear. Fear of making the wrong choice, fear of picking the wrong diet, not just picking it, but will it do harm to their pet?

Jordan Tyler: We have this really emotional connection to what we feed our pets, and I think you've said this on a previous episode, Stephanie, which I loved, like food is love. Like, that's how we show our pets that we love them, is by feeding them and giving them treats and blah, blah, blah. But our associating love with food and feeding is absolutely contributing to a health risk facing our pets that is, it's life threatening. It's been deemed an epidemic. Pretty crazy.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: And I think it's a silent crisis, right? It's something that is literally smacking us in the face, but we don't talk about it. We don't address it, and honestly, we're not really doing much to educate on it.

Dr. Dody Tyneway-Robi: I think a huge issue is that we're dealing with 60% of the pet population is overweight. We're just creating so much disease with these pets, being overweight and obese.

Jordan Tyler: That was Dr. Dody, Tyneway-Robi, who has practiced veterinary medicine for nearly 30 years. She's certified in veterinary natural nutrition, as well as in veterinary acupuncture, chiropractic, herbal medicine, homeopathy, and veterinary physical rehabilitation. And she's right—more than 60% of dogs and cats in the US are overweight or obese.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: So, we keep harping on obesity and overweight and overfeeding. I think it's important to break down why. Why are we at this broken record? And over time, not only can excess weight contribute to chronic inflammation, joint pain, arthritis. Even some of our sausage dogs, as Bluey would say, have back issues, right? Because we're putting so much weight on their belly and it's bending their back.

But excessive weight can also lead to diabetes or hip dysplasia, cardiovascular disease like in us too, and even can affect respiratory, you know, the way pets breathe, and kidney and liver function. I mean, it really is full-blown systemic. It affects everything.

Jordan Tyler: This is why nutrition is really considered foundational, right? To our health and wellness as humans, and this can really be translated to pets as well. I think kind of the question today at hand is: is holistic nutrition, the answer to healthier pets, or feeding pets in a more healthy way?

Dr. Dody Tyneway-Robi: Even for ourselves, I think your nutrition is the baseline of your health. So, I think holistic nutrition is more looking at the big picture for animals especially, but also looking at what we know from humans and applying it to animals. I love One Health. We know that ultra processed foods for people are linked to, you know, cognitive decline. We have to ask the same question for animals. You know, there's just so many diseases that can be prevented with nutrition.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: One Health, according to the CDC, is an approach that recognizes that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment. This is definitely a holistic approach because it's not just looking at one factor to judge health status or using one school of thought to solve a problem. It's really integrating all factors and all tools we have at our disposal to come up with a solution that works for that individual and particularly in that environment.

Jordan Tyler: I think that's a really great point about the environment that the pet is in as well. It's not just nutrition, it's not just care. It's also just like how they go about their day-to-day lives. And I know Steph, you've written an article about, I think it was the Dog Aging Project?

Dr. Stephanie Clark: Yeah, yeah.

Jordan Tyler: Some research that they had done and how different, like, home environments—so like if a dog's in a home with kids, you know, being raised in it versus, you know, just me and Ron and that's it. So, it totally does impact health and it really is about looking at all the different tools you have at your disposal to solve a problem.

And while you were explaining kind of the One Health approach, I actually looked up the Merriam-Webster definition of “holistic” and it says, “relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts.” So, hopefully you can see how that really lends itself to kind of the One Health approach, because it's not just looking at like one part and being like, “Yeah, we've got to fix this and ignore the rest.” It's really looking at the whole animal, the whole picture of health.

So, let's introduce another guest—Terri Grow, a feline expert and advocate, former owner of Holistic Pet Store Pet Sage in Virginia, and a researcher, educator, and pet nutrition guide. Terri is certified in Traditional Chinese Medicine, herbology and veterinary natural nutrition. And for her, this whole holistic approach means going beyond ensuring pets survive to help them truly thrive.

Terri Grow: To be very honest, holistic isn't a food category. It is a concept. It's really all about mind, body, spirit. Even if we look at the whole environment, it's all connected. And so, when we look at the holistic concept, it's not just this food is holistic and because it has these ingredients, it's really more about what that food does to the body and how you can use a food to improve the health or shift things within a body.

I'm excited that people are taking more interest in nutrition and that they are, not everyone, but a lot are very open to the whole concept of holistic, of not just preventing starvation, but really look at how foods can be used as therapies, foods as medicine, how those foods react within the body so that we can look at healthier and longer lives for our companion animals.

Jordan Tyler: So, if holistic is a concept, how can we know if a pet diet is holistic or not?

Dr. Stephanie Clark: You know, Jordan, when reading through this and, and interviewing people, I kept having this haunting question… Could anything be considered holistic? Because it's essentially approaching it as a whole, and nutrition feeds the whole body, right? It's not going to be like, “You know, today, I'm not going to feed that left paw. I'm just not feeling it.”

Jordan Tyler: If I could not feed my lower belly or like my, um…

Dr. Stephanie Clark: Oh, your bingo wing.

Jordan Tyler: My bingo wing. Exactly. That sounds awesome. But unfortunately, yeah, that's, that's not how nutrition works.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: So, and the thing that makes it really crazy is there's no regulatory term or definition for holistic.

Jordan Tyler: I think that's the biggest red flag for me is because if there's not a regulatory term for it, then there's not a standard with which we can assess, you know, quote unquote holistic products through, which means it really could be anything. Since it exists on this spectrum, right? Meaning you have people who only, you know, seek out holistic diets or treatments or non-traditional practices. You have people on the other side that only use Western veterinary medicine and more traditional approaches, and then you have people who are like somewhere in the middle taking more of an integrative approach.

So, it kind of depends on, you know, what the brand is, what their approach is, who you're talking to, what kind of education have they pursued, what is their definition of holistic? Because it might not be the same as yours.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: And I think that's where we get a lot of the confusion or misconception or even like the hushed whispers, right? And so, I think this episode is really. Going to help us dive deep into really ferreting out what holistic means to people, and then at what level to our comfort or our philosophy can we incorporate that into our pet's lives.

Jordan Tyler: Yeah. And implementing it totally is also on a spectrum, right? It's not an all or nothing thing, which we'll get to a little bit later in the episode. So, speaking of multiple approaches, holistic is a spectrum—we're going to bring on another guest, and she is Dr. Chris Bessent, founder of Herbsmith.

Now, in her holistic veterinary career, Dr. Bessent has leveraged the power of Chinese herbs, acupuncture, food therapy, and chiropractic care on all kinds of animals, dogs and cats included. She's certified in veterinary, chiropractic, acupuncture, and herbology, and is also a member of several veterinary associations.

Dr. Chris Bessent: Unfortunately, there's not a defined definition of it, and the people in charge kind of feel like, oh, that's all fluffery. It's all marketing. And I'm here to say that's not true at all. It's not just marketing. It truly has a scientific basis behind it. Unfortunately, terms, unless there's a true legal definition for it, it can be used however, and it's almost buyer beware.

Jordan Tyler: Let's get into what is really driving interest in holistic nutrition and holistic pet care in general. And we said this earlier, but it kind of exists at the intersection of a few different trends that are happening in the pet industry, and one of them is humanization, right? Increasingly, we want to feed our pets the way that we eat. Which sometimes can be fine, other times can be disastrous. It's really important to have a robust understanding of pet nutrition in order to feed pets what they really need.

But it's really causing pet owners to look for products that say no additives or all natural, or, you know, no synthetic whatevers, or minimally processed, like we said earlier. So that's one of the trends that at least I've seen that I think is kind of encouraging interest in holistic. But Steph, what have you seen?

Dr. Stephanie Clark: I think it's interesting that you mention like all these terms, right? Because what does humanization mean? What does holistic mean? All natural or natural and organic are being brought up to question. I just, I sit back here and I think it's so hard to put it in a box. I want to put it in a box. I want to know what it means. I want to know if I'm buying into it because holistic sounds luxury. It sounds fancy. It means, right, typically you're going to be paying more, at least that's what people think, and so it must be better, but at the end of it, in its core and from a nutritional standpoint, is it healthier? Is it better?

Jordan Tyler: I think it's a perfectly good point because again, coming back to, you know, the fact that a lot of these options are typically more expensive, according to a report that was done by Mintel and Treetop—so Mintel is a market research firm, Treetop is an ingredient supplier—they teamed up to figure out that 79% of us pet owners are willing to spend more on healthier pet food, quote unquote healthier pet food. But again, like you just said, what does that really mean and why are we willing to spend more on such a vague promise? Like, “Oh, this is healthier.” I'm like, “No, I need to know why it's healthy. I need you to show me the proof.” So, I think it's a totally valid point. I think the vaguery, you know, the vaguery and the whole like semantics of it…

Dr. Stephanie Clark: The mystery, it's like the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. We don't really know what's really going on. I'm just kidding.

Jordan Tyler: I think all of that kind of lends itself to the variety of definitions of holistic when it comes to pet owners. So, we actually surveyed a handful of pet owners coming from across the US, and by and large what they said about holistic pet care… ranges, right?

So, it ranges from, “a food that's just more customized,” “one that takes a more natural approach.” Another answer was, “Something that has no GMOs, no preservatives and is quote, good quality.” Well, kind of depends on how we measure quality. And then, you know, you keep going down the list. “Nutrition that connects with every part of the animal,” is what another person said, which I thought, I was like, that was a pretty good definition.

And then coming back to, you know, the cost—one person [wrote for], “What does holistic mean to you?” Just put, “Typically it's expensive,” which I think is hilarious, because yeah.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: I think the one out of the responses that we got that is really interesting too, is, “Food treats, vitamins and supplements that are not by prescription, but a more natural way to fill our pet's bellies.”

Jordan Tyler: Hmm.

Dr. Stephanie Clark I just want to dive into that one deeper, but yeah. If you're out there and you wrote it, let me know more.

Jordan Tyler: I think that's a super compelling, and I mean actually might be kind of how I would think of like holistic care for my pets, right? It's more about preventing things before they happen rather than treating some symptom that I see, you know, retrospectively.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: Yeah, I mean, I think for me, holistic care just means taking the best care of my animals, whether that's taking them for a walk or making sure, when it's hot outside, it's not hot on their paws. You know, I'm not walking them in the middle of the day. Feeding them, but not overfeeding them. To me, that's what holistic means, just taking the best care that I can. So, it's interesting to hear everyone else's definitions or approaches.

Jordan Tyler: I think it's interesting too, you know, while there was kind of a range of sentiments around what holistic really is, there definitely were overlap and a few of those overlaps were, one, taking a whole animal approach. Right? So, coming back to kind of the One Health approach that we were talking about. Not just looking at, you know, “Here's your food, have a nice day.” It's like really looking at physical, mental, and emotional health and understanding that those aspects of health are super interconnected. We're not just addressing one at a time, right? We're addressing all of them all the time. So, I thought that was interesting and something that I think a lot of people are a lot more mindful of these days, so it makes sense that we're kind of taking that and turning it onto our pets.

One of the last things that I will say though about this survey is I thought it was really interesting how, of the people that we surveyed, we asked them about, you know, “What's the difference between traditional versus holistic nutrition when it comes to pets?” And people really see holistic nutrition as an investment in health, whereas a traditional nutrition is more about convenience and familiarity. So, super interesting. Like you're telling me that because I feed kibble that I'm not invested in my pet's health? That feels not good.

So, just kind of an interesting spicy little takeaway from our survey respondents. If you're listening to this and you took the survey, thank you by the way.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: Really good things to think about, right? I mean, I feed my dogs kibble. It is convenient. I am very familiar with it, but I also think it's doing my pets well. So.

Jordan Tyler: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: So, as Dr. Bessent mentioned, if holistic isn't just marketing fluff, how does it actually work? So, let's start with the foundations.

Dr. Chris Bessent: I think it goes back to the big idea that we are what we eat, that holds true for all species. If we can support a dog or a cat to their fullest so that every day of their life, they're living their best life, they're living healthy, vibrant lives, and that we're using food to support that. So, species appropriate diets are absolutely the foundation.

Another thing I talk a lot about is, another tenant is, the difference between nutrients and ingredients. You definitely have to have nutrients that are appropriate for that animal.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: Yeah, that's a really great point. We focus, we as a society, focus on that ingredient deck. We look at the bag, the pretty pictures, and then we flip it over and look at the ingredient deck. And we want to judge the quality or the potential health benefits on the ingredient deck, and we really don't have any transparency into the nutrients that are in there. We know AAFCO has guidelines and we can hopefully see the nutrition adequacy statement reassuring us that those nutrients are in there. But at the end of the day, the body truly cares about nutrients.

Dr. Chris Bessent: Once we all agree that nutrients matter, which I think the majority of the world does agree with that, then it's how do you get to those nutrients? And I'm a strong believer that it needs to be whole food ingredients because there's so much more to food than we think about.

If you needed vitamin C, so you've got a cold. Would you eat an orange or would you eat a vitamin C tablet? Ideally, you want to increase the amount of vitamin C in your diet, but there's more to that in an orange. So, there's the pH of the orange, there's the other vitamins or minerals that are in the orange that support health versus just distilling out just that vitamin C alone.

Jordan Tyler: Now moving into another one of Dr. Bessent’s core tenets of holistic nutrition, let's hear more about the inclusion of antioxidants.

Dr. Chris Bessent: Antioxidants are so important in food and absolutely necessary every day for getting rid of free radicals within the body. And these free radicals are molecules that bounce around and damage tissue. So, if we feed antioxidants—so blueberries and carrots and pumpkin and brightly colored fruits and vegetables—we're providing the body with a dietary source of antioxidants that help to decrease that oxidative stress. By decreasing the oxidative stress, we decrease the inflammation in the body, and we lighten the load on the immune system.

Jordan Tyler: And there's actually a pretty good amount of research out there that's been done in pets—and Steph, correct me if I'm wrong—that show antioxidants can be really beneficial for our pet's health. So, you know, we've talked a lot about how there are a lot of gray areas with holistic nutrition. What does it really mean? How do we really define it? But, the inclusion of antioxidants is one of those kind of more proven pillars, and Lenny loves blueb’s, so I'm happy to indulge.

I want to move into, and we'll bring on another guest here, to get into the concept of energetics, and this is a concept that comes from Traditional Chinese Medicine. And to talk a little bit more about that, we have Rita Hogan, a clinical canine herbalist who has worked with several notable herbalists to learn everything she can about how to use Western herbs (keyword) to help people and pets live better lives.

Rita Hogan: Energetics is a way of looking at the body and how it's circulating, how it's flowing, how it's manifesting symptoms, and it's a spectrum. You know, Hippocrates said that it's better to know the person than the disease. It really is true. I use a system of energetics to help get to know the dog as an individual because it really does dictate the palette of herbs I'm going to choose from, and then it's much more apt to work.

I think a lot of people get frustrated with herbs because they're not choosing correctly. They're choosing of what, you know, what they've Googled or what they've heard is popular and it's not good for their particular individual dog. You're treating just the symptom. You're also not thinking about herbs as individuals, which they are. They all have a set of constituents and energetics and how they manifest in the body.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: I want to take a step back for everyone in case they don't know—I didn't know—what energetic imbalances are, and these are identified by conducting an exam. Right where we take a history and then we look at behavior and the temperament of the animal, what their eating and drinking habits are like, maybe their activity levels, sleep pattern, and then of course environment and even their response to stress.

And then we do a physical exam. And I think this is really interesting that they actually, they look at the tongue, it's called tongue mapping or the tongue map, and they look at pulse, gait and posture. What practitioners call it is a pattern diagnosis, which allows them to create kind of a dietary and lifestyle plan as opposed to, here's the condition, or here's your illness, or here's your absolute diagnosis.

So, I think that's really interesting and they're taking, again, a holistic, a whole-body approach to observing and trying to identify what may be going on, good, bad, or indifferent in the animal.

Jordan Tyler: I had heard before of like food that's heating versus cooling, but I didn't realize that energetics also accounted for like dampness and dryness. So, if you want to learn more about energetics, we have put a link in the show notes for today’s episode, but Rita has also shared a great example of how energetics can be applied to pet nutrition.

Rita Hogan: If you have a dog with arthritis. For me, there's many types of arthritis and where are that arthritis is coming from and a lot of people just kind of blanket, it's arthritis, right? So, we're going to offer ginger and turmeric and Boswellia and things like that, right?

So, for me, a lot of dogs don't do well with turmeric and ginger if they're warm or hot. Well, if they have arthritis, they're going to be more on the hot side and over the long term, they're going to work against that dog creating more heat, more inflammation. Herbs work on the same system of energetics, but you're going to give the opposite. So, if you have a hot dog, you're going to give cooling herbs. If you have a cool dog, you're going to give warming herbs.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: So in Rita's example, her approach centers around the idea that all dogs are individuals just like us, right? This individualized approach is part of what separates holistic nutrition from a more conventional one-size-fits-all approach.

Jordan Tyler: This is really what Rita Hogan describes as an allopathic approach, or allopathy. Allopathy is, by definition, involves conventional methods of treating a disease or an ailment, so like drugs or surgery. Whereas with a more holistic or integrative approach, you tend to focus less on addressing individual symptoms and really look more at what's going on with the pet as a whole. So, any dietary decisions or treatments that are recommended are based on a bigger picture view of that whole animal's health.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: And again, kind of like what you and I talked about with the whole approach or the multi-pronged approach, it doesn't have to be just one thing or another. We can add in prescription drugs or surgery with whole food or herbs or Chinese, you know, Medicine as well. And so, I think, like you were saying, the whole spectrum, it's okay to be in the middle.

Jordan Tyler: Yeah, absolutely. And that's something Terri firmly believes in when it comes to feeding more whole foods.

Terri Grow: It doesn't have to be one or the other. You know, there's several studies now that show us that you have even 80% dry food, you have 20% fresh food—this is a dog study—it can be very beneficial for overall health. I think affordability, especially when it comes to foods, is a lot easier for people to use the combination. But you're also offering foods for overall benefit of the animal.

Chinese Medicine Food Therapy is really fascinating and how you can integrate that a little bit for a lot of things. I kind of pull from a lot of different areas and that's holistic. It's really trying to put it all together.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: And so, I'm all for people wanting to learn about nutrition, right? It's fascinating. It's something that we all have in common. It's a very passionate topic. Again, food is love. When I go grocery shopping, after I put all the groceries away, I take my husband into the kitchen and I show him all of the gatherings that I have brought home, look what I have hunted and gathered for.

Jordan Tyler: All on a day's work!

Dr. Stephanie Clark: So, I totally understand people wanting to learn it, they love it, they're passionate about it. But I think where things get really tricky is there is a lot of nutritional courses out there that maybe aren't exactly a hundred percent fact-based or maybe a little biased to that person's belief system.

And the scary thing I've been learning through all of this is, certified can really mean just a piece of paper that they're certified. It doesn't mean that there's really anyone regulating or reviewing or controlling the information that's out there. So, I say all of this, and if you're going to learn nutrition, if you're wanting to find someone to help you with nutrition, take a look at their credentials and make sure that it is actually a valid training program or schooling or coursework, or just go with a PhD animal nutritionist because we have been through the ringer all to help you and serve your pet. So, ask for credentials, ask for references, and that is totally okay.

Jordan Tyler: Yeah, if they're Bonafide, then they don't have any problem sharing, and it just comes back to, again, there's so much misinformation out there about nutrition for humans and also for pets. So, it can be hard.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: Because holistic isn’t regulated, there are a lot of people who are making claims without the credentials behind their name to back it up. And so how can pet owners separate the real experts from the quote unquote posers?

Jordan Tyler: Quite the question, and Terri has some ideas.

Terri Grow: I think so many of, especially the younger generations are using social media to learn. And my thing is, if you're going to do this, it should be validated information. I always used to tell veterinarians, and I still do, “Give your client a reference list.” These are people that you know, and you can trust that have the proper information.

Jordan Tyler: Dr. Tyneway-Robi, for her part, says the proof is in the credentials.

Dr. Dody Tyneway-Robi: I ask people to look at the credentials of the person that they are seeking advice from, and if that person calls themselves holistic, all they do is sell vitamins and sell supplements, and they have no background in, let's just say, medicine as a baseline, like studied animal health and you know. What did they study? Acupuncture? Did they study herbal medicine? Did they study nutrition? Are they integrating these other modalities? Do they only have one tool in their tool belt?

Jordan Tyler: So, again, as Stephanie mentioned, things that you can look for are things like veterinary education and are they part of an active practice? Look for, again, different certifications, and if you want something that's really holistic, look for somebody that's practiced multiple modalities or you know, that's just kind of a fancy word for multiple approaches to holistic care. And we'll get to some of those other holistic pet care approaches in just a minute.

Another thing you can do is ask for references. So, other pet parents that have worked with this individual and are pleased, or you know, if there are bad reviews too, that’s probably a good thing to know before you work with somebody. And this is really critical, I think, not just for holistic nutrition, but when you're dealing with anybody who's claiming to be an expert on really any given topic.

Dr. Dody Tyneway-Robi: I feel bad for the public because they don't know who to trust and. It's really confusing to them. And you know, you see on Facebook as you're scrolling, oh, become an animal naturopath or become a this or that, and it's like, really? I mean, even a human dietician, like I would never say I'm a human dietician because I know how to balance a diet for a dog or a cat.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: Preach girl.

Jordan Tyler: Unfortunately...

Dr. Stephanie Clark: And so animal doctors, human doctors, you know, they may not be experts in nutrition, but they can definitely up their game through validated credentialing and trainings, right? So, just like MDs can do functional medicine, you know, veterinarians can go through integrative medicine and holistic veterinary approaches.

Jordan Tyler: Totally. And I wanted to plug Rita Hogan’s book here, The Herbal Dog. The book dives deep into herbal medicine for dogs, energetics, and some of the other holistic principles we’ve touched on today. The book is designed for pet parents and practitioners alike, and it’s split into two parts—the first half covers the foundations of holistic herbalism and energetics, and the second part is essentially like a Rolodex of Western herbs and how people can practically use them with their pets.

So, if you’re curious and want to learn more about canine herbalism, this is a solid resource, and we’ve linked more information on the book in the show notes for today’s episode.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: And so sometimes, like Terri and other guests have mentioned, there's really that integrative approach. And so, taking the best of both worlds from conventional and holistic care can be a great way to incorporate this.

Jordan Tyler: And again, this is something that somebody who took our survey about, you know, what does holistic really mean to you? They said, you know, “It's never just one thing. It's many things,” working in tandem. Like there's not a silver bullet solution to pet health in general, but holistic is really embracing that, right? And saying, “It's not going to be just this is going to fix everything. This is going to fix all your problems.” Because it's not, it's going to be this, this, this, and maybe also this, you know?

But really, I think so this more integrative approach, if you can take it. Really helps to kind of seek out multiple solutions, see what works without, you know, overlooking something that might be a really viable solution for your pet.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: And Terri has shared some great questions that pet parents can ask manufacturers when searching for holistic pet nutrition products.

Terri Grow: You know, where are the ingredients sourced? What type of ingredients are you using? For instance, what type of vitamin D are you using, so that you are making sure that you're approaching the right species or the animals can actually utilize those ingredients.

When you're looking at a package, make sure they turn the back over and look at the ingredients and really follow through what those ingredients are. Look for more whole food ingredients, things that you can actually pronounce. I know that's a challenge with a lot of the nutrients. I always used to say if the manufacturer's proud of their product, they're going to say, so if you can't get a good answer from them, walk away.

Jordan Tyler: Now, we mentioned this a little bit earlier, how, you know, there are some aspects of holistic nutrition that have been really fleshed out by scientific research, but there are also some things that really haven't, and I know we talked about antioxidants, that being kind of a proven pillar of holistic as there's plenty of research out there that shows that antioxidants are beneficial for pet health, but what about stuff like, you know, we've heard a lot about Omega-3 fatty acids recently. Also, like, biotic ingredients. Like, is there enough research out there for those things to really, you know, be able to say, yeah, these are awesome for pets?

Dr. Stephanie Clark: I mean, I think so, right? There's research in a lot of different species—humans, mice, cats, dogs—that are showing some of these nutrients can have an effect on different metabolic processes or inflammatory cascade. However, I think the caution about this is just because a food is claiming it has Omega-3 fatty acids doesn't necessarily mean they have the appropriate Omega-3 fatty acids, like EPA and DHA, that are anti-inflammatory. But then also, we don't even know if they have them at the appropriate amount to make them efficacious to see what's been studied at like a dosage level.

Jordan Tyler: There are definitely still gaps in the research. Absolutely. The onus is really on, you know, formulators in the industry, brands who want to play in the holistic space or make holistic claims, academics that are looking into some of these, you know, minimally processed or new ways to make pet food, to collaborate and do that research so that we can know, you know, more about pet nutrition to make more informed choices for our pets.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: Yeah, I think that's a really good segue as we wind down today. I think there's really three key points that we want to address here. You know, holistic isn't a regulatory definition, a label, or a buzzword. It's really a mindset for those individuals. It moves beyond how we treat issues as they arise, as it moves into preventing diseases and supporting overall health, wellness, and vitality.

You know, number two, there's no one right way to feed a pet. They're individuals, cats, and dogs, just like us. And third, real expertise matters more than ever. Credentials, the transparency, continued education—these are all critical. Your pet deserves more than a Dr. Google search.

Jordan Tyler: If there's one thing we hope this episode leads you with, it's this: you don't have to do it all to do better. Holistic care isn't about getting everything perfect. It's about staying curious, being intentional, and choosing what serves your pet best in this moment.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: Whether that means adding a handful of fresh veggies, trying a new supplement, or just asking your vet a few more questions at your next appointment, every small step matters. Because when we nourish the whole animal, we nurture the whole relationship.

Jordan Tyler: So, let's recap what we've learned today. One, holistic nutrition isn't just marketing buzzwords. It's a science-based approach that looks at the whole animal, uses individualized methods and focuses on prevention rather than just treating symptoms or disease.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: But you don't have to choose between traditional and holistic care often, and—like Jordan and I—the best approach is integrative, using the best tools from both worlds. Remember, small changes can make a big difference. And the goal isn't perfection. It's progress. And that progress will look different for each and every dog, cat, and human. You got this, pet parents!

Jordan Tyler: And if you're curious to learn more about holistic beyond just nutrition, stay tuned for another episode later this fall in which we we'll be exploring several holistic pet care tools like acupuncture, reiki, light therapy, meditation, and more, all for pets.

Dr. Stephanie Clark: Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Barking Mad. If you want to learn more about BSM Partners, please visit us at www.bsmpartners.net. Don't forget to subscribe on your favorite leading podcast platform or share it with a friend to stay current on the latest pet industry trends and conversations.

Jordan Tyler: A huge thanks again to Terri Grow, Dr. Dody Tyneway-Robi, Dr. Chris Bessent, and Rita Hogan for sharing their time and insights with us. We'd also like to thank our dedicated team, Ada-Miette Thomas, Neeley Boden, Kait Wright, Cady Wolf, and Dr. Katy Miller. A special shout out to Lee Ann Hagerty and Michael Johnson in support of this episode, and to David Perez for our original music in the intro and outro. See you next time!

We're going to cut through the confusion and dive into what nutristic… holism…? What…?

Dr. Stephanie Clark: A new phrase. I feel like that's pig Latin.

Jordan Tyler: It was pig Latin. What just happened? My brain...

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