Veterinary Herbal Medicine in Scottsdale, AZ:
Custom Formulations by Dr. Schwartz

What Are Custom Herbal Formulations for Pets?

Custom herbal formulations are individualized, plant-based medicines that Dr. Schwartz prepares for one specific dog or cat, most often as a liquid tincture. Rather than matching a single herb to a single symptom, she builds each formula around your pet’s full medical picture, including diagnoses, medications, diet, age, and your family’s goals. Because that tailoring takes real clinical work, the first visit is a Complex Integrative Evaluation, the same in-depth appointment we use for our other integrative services.

What Is Veterinary Botanical Medicine?

Veterinary botanical medicine, also called herbal or plant medicine, uses whole plants or a broad range of natural compounds rather than one isolated chemical. Its many active constituents can work together or change how each is absorbed, and a single formula often blends several plants chosen to support one another.

Dr. Schwartz weighs details that a common plant name alone cannot capture:

• Correct species and Latin plant identity
• The specific part of the plant used
• Extraction method, concentration, and preparation
• How each botanical interacts with the others

This is why botanical medicine for dogs and cats is far more involved than choosing an herb by name.

What Health Conditions Can Herbal Medicine Help Treat?

Western herbal medicine for pets may be added to treatment plans for many acute and chronic concerns, depending on the diagnosis, severity, and your pet’s other conditions. Dr. Schwartz has used botanicals in individualized plans for issues such as:

• Urinary incontinence and select urinary concerns
• Acute and chronic diarrhea and other digestive upset
• Osteoarthritis, joint pain, and stiffness
• Chronic pain and reduced mobility
• Seizures and epilepsy
• Chronic inflammation and age-related changes

Herbal support for osteoarthritis in dogs is one of the most common reasons families come to us. Botanicals may also help skin, respiratory, liver, kidney, immune, and cancer patients when appropriate. Two pets with the same diagnosis can still receive different formulas, because their histories, medications, and constitutions differ.

What Are the Signs My Pet Could Benefit from a Custom Herbal Formula?

A custom herbal formula is worth discussing when your pet has ongoing needs that a generic product cannot meet. Consider an evaluation if your dog or cat:

• Lives with a chronic condition that needs steady management
• Has several health issues that must be balanced together
• Still shows symptoms despite a current treatment plan
• Struggles with osteoarthritis, joint pain, or declining mobility
• Needs added digestive or urinary support
• Receives integrative oncology care or long-term supportive care
• Is already taking many supplements that should be reviewed and simplified

New, severe, or rapidly changing symptoms should be examined first, so we know what we are treating before adding botanicals.

What Should I Expect During the Complex Integrative Evaluation?

Your pet’s first herbal visit is a Complex Integrative Evaluation, designed to understand the whole patient rather than match an herb to a symptom. Dr. Schwartz reviews your pet’s history and current care, performs an exam, and may recommend labs or imaging when useful. The review typically covers:

• Full medical history, diagnoses, and current symptoms
• Prescription medications, supplements, and nutraceuticals
• Diet, previous therapies, and how your pet responded
• Concurrent conditions, allergies, and disease severity
• Your family’s concerns and top treatment priorities

From there, she decides which concerns take priority and where herbal tinctures for pets fit within the larger plan.

How Is a Custom Herbal Tincture Formulated for My Pet?

After the evaluation, Dr. Schwartz designs an individual herbal tincture when one is indicated, selecting botanicals whose actions fit your pet’s priorities and combining them into a single tailored preparation. Her training through Purple Moon Herbs and Studies informs how she chooses each plant and preparation and screens for herb-drug and herb-herb interactions.

A separate professional formulation fee applies to each custom tincture, and the finished product is priced separately. Formulas are not fixed forever. As your pet improves, changes medications, or develops new needs, the recipe may be adjusted, and any reformulation fee reflects how much rework it requires.

Does Natural Mean Safe for Herbal Pet Remedies?

No. Natural does not automatically mean safe. Botanical medicines are biologically active, which is why they can help and why they deserve professional oversight. The same compounds that carry benefit can also cause side effects, interact with medications, or be wrong for a given patient.

Safety depends on many factors: the plant’s identity and part, its preparation and dose, your pet’s species and size, and any medications or surgeries involved. Because each formula is coordinated with your pet’s full medical picture, therapeutic herbs are used thoughtfully rather than guessed at.

Why Does Herbal Product Quality and Sourcing Matter?

Quality matters because not every herbal product contains what its label claims. Potency, purity, and identity vary widely, and poorly made supplements may be contaminated, mislabeled, or weaker than stated. Our practice prioritizes practitioner-grade botanicals from reputable manufacturers, many certified organic or responsibly harvested.

We also encourage families to consider where a product is purchased, not just the brand on the bottle, since online marketplaces can carry counterfeit items. When a botanical treats a real condition, traceable sourcing and third-party testing confirm your pet is getting the medicine intended.

How Often Will My Pet Need Follow-Up Visits?

Follow-up timing is individualized, because no single schedule fits every patient. How often your pet returns depends on the condition, its severity, how your animal responds, and whether labs or imaging need monitoring.

Some patients need closer check-ins when treatment begins, then move to longer intervals once they are stable, and a recheck may involve a focused exam or lab work to measure progress. Our goal is never to refill the same bottle indefinitely. We reassess whether the formula still matches your pet’s needs and adjust as their health changes.

How Does Herbal Medicine Fit with My Pet’s Other Treatments?

Herbal medicine works best as one coordinated part of a complete plan, not a replacement for conventional care. At our practice we deliver integrative veterinary medicine, meaning standard diagnostics and treatments stay foundational while botanicals and other therapies are added when they genuinely help your pet.

Dr. Schwartz weighs how a formula fits alongside your pet’s diagnoses, medications, nutrition, and any acupuncture, spinal manipulation, laser, or ozone therapy already in place. Some pets are managed mostly with botanicals, while others with complex or progressive disease need herbs carefully woven into a broader strategy. This whole-patient method reflects how the profession increasingly views complementary and integrative veterinary care, and it is also where integrative pain management for pets often makes the biggest difference for an animal’s comfort and quality of life.

Why Choose Kaibab Animal Hospital for Herbal Medicine

Families choose us because our herbal care lives inside a complete medical framework, guided by a veterinarian with botanical training. Dr. Ashley Schwartz is certified in veterinary spinal manipulation and medical acupuncture, and has pursued advanced study in Western herbal medicine, formulation, and safety. What sets our approach apart:

• One doctor coordinating botanicals with your pet’s full medical plan
• A philosophy to upgrade and simplify, replacing redundant products with purposeful ones
• Practitioner-grade, responsibly sourced herbs
• Herbal care connected to our full integrative medicine services and broader veterinary services

The goal is not to add more products, but to build a plan that is prioritized, high-quality, and realistic for your family.

Start Your Pet’s Custom Herbal Plan with Dr. Schwartz

Ready to see whether custom herbal formulations could help your dog or cat feel better? The next step is a Complex Integrative Evaluation with Dr. Schwartz, where we listen to your concerns, examine your pet, and build a plan around their whole health. 

Call 480-947-8113 or reach our team through our contact page to schedule. Pet families across Scottsdale, AZ turn to our veterinary herbalist for botanical care that blends time-honored plant wisdom with modern medicine, so animals throughout the area can feel their best.