Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #415349 in Books
• Published on: 1995-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 383 pages

Review
"The most comprehensive guide to natural health care for pets-- required reading for all animal lovers!"--Allen M. Schoen, D.V.M., Editor, "Veterinary Acupuncture: Ancient Art to Modern Medicine"

Synopsis
Discusses the nutritional value of commercial pet foods and recommends drug-free treatments for common diseases.

Customer Reviews

Great Introduction to Holistic Dog & Cat Care
This is often the first book I recommend to someone interested in learning about the holistic approach to dog and cat care. Dr. Pitcairn includes info on the pet food industry and what's wrong with most commercial foods. He then provides balanced recipes and ideas for feeding a homemade, natural diet. Unfortunately the diet he recommends is too high in grains (dogs and cats are carnivores and if grains are fed at all, they should make up only a small percentage of the foods fed -- raw muscle and organ meats, bones, fish, pulped veggies, eggs, even fruit and nuts, are all more appropriate foods for the canine or feline). On a positive note, Pitcairn's perfectly balanced "fresh food kibble booster recipes" are an excellent way for those who are not ready to feed a diet that's entirely homemade to add fresh foods to their animals' kibble several times a week. Apart from nutrition, Dr. Pitcairn addresses grooming and exercise, creating a healthier living environment, natural and effective flea control, alternative therapies, caring for a sick animal, handling emergencies, plus a large A-Z section of pet ailments and their holistic treatments. Since Dr. Pitcairn is a homeopathic vet, it is not surprising that the focus is often on homeopathic remedies.

An excellent, common sense approach to caring for your pet.
I love my dog and have always been concerned about the chemicals, dyes and other additives found in most commercial dog foods. I have talked to many veterinarians who are unconcerned about the rancid meat scraps, etc. that are put into kibble. Although I have found a product containing no chemical additives, I still felt guilty about feeding my dog something that I wouldn't expect a person to be able to live on. I have read many books on dog health, and was not impressed by any of them. Then I read Dr. Pitcairn's book. It was intelligent, well written and made perfect sense. The only inhibition I had about starting a natural diet for my dog was the cost. I'm a graduate student and money is tight. However, I started supplementing my dog's kibble with Pitcairn's suggested recepies. She is bouncing and playing like a puppy, her teeth are cleaner and her coat has gone from dull to shiny. I am so impressed by the changes I've seen, I have decided to eliminate the kibble entirely. Feeding my dog a natural food diet is much easier and less expensive than I thought. I have already extolled the virtues of this book to all of my dog owning friends and would highly recommend it to anyone who cares about the health of their animal. A wonderful book!

If you have pets, you'll need this book.
This book is a pet guardian's bible. It provides invaluable info on nutrition, health care, homeopathic and herbal remedies and cases of emergency. It really paid off for me when my kitten had an infection in August 2001, the vets of my area were all on vacation and I was desperate. And following the info on this book, I chose a homeopathic remedy (with fingers crossed). My boy was fine in a matter of hours.

Now I keep it close to my bed for fast access.