Nikki Fischer - Optimum Pet Wellness
Bio:
Nikki has been a Naturopath for 14yrs, focusing mainly on human health and specialising in areas such as fertility, mental health & behaviour, and acute prescribing. In the last 5yrs however her clients have been transitioning from 2-legged to 4-legged as Nikki now concentrates her skills, efforts and business on helping your pets to live their best lives.
Nikki founded Pet Potions & Remedies in 2017 in response to local demand for her information and alternatives to standard veterinary advice, and requests for remedies to support and promote pet health rather than just masking symptoms. Having become a first time dog mum 2yrs prior, this passion was born out of navigating the very confusing and often conflicting information presented to pet parents that just seemed at odds with all of her professional training and experience.
It began with a range of herbal medicines addressing the most common concerns and has grown to incorporate whole-food supplements, naturally fermented probiotics, homeopathic first aid kits, essential oil sprays, and offering nutrition and health consultations to help pet parents navigate the path to their pets optimum health and wellness.
Based on the Sunshine Coast (& currently awaiting the arrival of her first child!), Nikki operates her business predominantly online via her website.
Website: www.petpotions.com.au
Instagram: @petpotions
Facebook: /petpotions
Show notes:
- An ear infection with Nikki's dog Jetty gave her a inkling that maybe the food had been part of the problem? Nikki then dived down the rabbit hole of information & research.
- The herbal dispensary Nikki was working in enabled her to begin holistic pet care, gaining great results
- You can decrease the chances of your dog developing long term chronic disease by increasing fresh raw food by 20% into their diet
- Meat only diet can create other health problems due to lack of calcium, vitamin D, iodine, etc.
- Best ratio to follow (using BARF guidelines.. Biologically Appropriate Raw Feeding): 2-3% of animals body weight per day. 80% muscle meat (lamb, pork, duck, chicken, turkey, fish, roo, heart, tongue, lung, tripe, etc): 10% raw bones (ground or whole bird carcass, chicken neck, duck feet, brisket, whole fish with bones, etc): 5% liver: 5% other excreting organs (kidney, spleen, etc) + fresh fruit & veg (blended or ground is ideal - spinach, kale, broccoli, beans, carrot, asparagus, pumpkin, sweet potato, veg pulp, berries, etc). Frozen in ice cubes is handy. 10-20% of fruit/veg extra is ideal - can be used as a treat. Supplemental foods are ideal as well; spiralina & coconut oil ice cubes, flax oil, hemp seeds, chia seeds (soaked), kraut, etc.
- Turmeric paste/golden paste to reduce inflammation can be used as a supplemental food.
- The food we feed an animal affects their behaviour
- Vets have a tricky & demanding role as they need to be across all categories; so be kind to them. Nutrition is not their focus in their training.
- Titre testing allows a vet to assess the antibodies in an animals body - so revaccination isn't needed. Homeopathics can be an alternative.
- Flea & tic medication can be dangerous - observe your pet's behaviour if they are off food or even worst case scenario they can die. Observe your risks at first. Tics need to be on your animal for 24-48hrs to have an impact, so daily checks can support this. The chews concentrate in the tissues after running through their blood stream, so therefore you need to poison your dog in order to poison tics. Tremors, stumbling, seizures, etc can occur. Sonic devices perhaps?
- Pet Potion Tinctures & probiotics