Customer Reviews

The Complete Holistic Dog Book: Home Health Care for Our Canine Companions

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When I saw the word "complete" in the title, I thought the
publisher was probably stretching the truth...but now that I've read it I think the title does not go far enough in describing it. This book covers alot more than health care. For instance, under caring for an older dog, the tips are practical, simple, and have nothing to do with medicine or illness. Simple things like buying the dog a softer bed. Life style changes that may not cure, as somethings cannot be, but can make your dog
alot happier.

Dog care books are usually either written by a vet, who takes the linear Western medicine approach, or a holistic practianer who never sees the need to darken a doctor's office. This book is written in a partnership between a vet and a holistic person and the book shows the wisdom of both and suggests when and how to use either one or both of the approaches. Good common sense abounds. And always practical information. In a section on diabetes the authors list the dog breeds most likely to be susceptible. If you have one of these breeds it may make recognizing the signs easier. They do this for most of the diseases they discuss.

And they discuss alot more. Prevention, diet, homeopathy, herbs, TCM. bodywork, alternative therapies and conventional medicine, and more. It's a fat book packed with info.

If you have a dog, you need this book....though in truth I think alot of what they say can be applied to any animal, including the human.

I have a variety of books on health for dogs, which I reference often. I noticed lately, however, that I've gone to this book first over and over and often I don't need to look at any of my other books. I usually cross reference material, but I've found valididated information from several other sources in this book so often that I save myself the trouble and just reference this book now.

Rarely do I find a "the only book you'll need" in any book, but this one definitely has it all, and the information is not extreme. The authors recognize balance, recognize that there are a variety of methods to attack a problem, and they present each method thoroughly and non-judgmentally.

For example, if a dog is vomiting and has nausea, they first differentiate between acute and chronic. If acute, they first give information on nutritional support, then homeopathy, then herbs, then accupressure and finally other methods including flower essences and considering addressing the dog's emotional state. If chronic, they are just as thorough but give other paths to follow in trying to treat the dog's vomiting.

In addition to concrete suggestions for treating many health problems, very clear and professionally drawn illustrations abound throughout the book. In the section for vomiting, one drawing shows the dog's digestive tract and another the accupressure points for the digestive tract. When referring to the illustration in the text, the authors also reference corresponding charts and additional illustrations in another part of the book (and give page numbers!) that will further explain information regarding that particular illustration, such as finding the exact meridian point on the dog.

The treatments the authors focus on in the book include diet, homeopathy, herbs, accupressure, acupuncture, TCM, bodywork, and energy medicine. The authors touch on a few other areas of therapy but they focus primarily on the topics just mentioned.

I found the illustrations to be extremely valuable. They are peppered throughout the book showing parts of the dog that are relevant to the corresponding text. The illustrations aren't too detailed; they have just enough to explain. They're clear, concise, and easy to understand.

Overall, this is the best comprehensive book on holistic dog care on my shelf. I'm gradually getting rid of the others because they don't compare at all to the accurately named, "The Complete Holistic Dog Book."

I sat down with this book intending to go through it in a "first time kind of glance through" way and ended up reading it for four hours - non stop.

I started with the homeopathy section which had an excellent discussion on how the remedies are made and used. I am a novice in this area of medicine but found the explanations clear, concise, and informative.

I then turned to the puppy section - and found a wealth of valuable information on the importance of puppy socialization - how exposing my puppy to lots of different people, dogs and places, (after their vaccination series is complete, of course!), helps him learn manners, gives him confidence, and allows me the luxury and joy of taking him with me to many places without having to worry about his behavior. The book also discusses how to select a good and compassionate trainer.

There is a section on "Letting Go" - always a difficult and painful part of sharing one's life with an animal. I found the author's advice personal and heartfelt.

The chapters on new vaccination protocols and nutrition are informative and complete. Although the two authors recommend a homemade diet, they also tell the reader how to select a high quality commercial diet, as well.

I appreciate the author's balanced view and the fact that they explain the "why" of things - something which is often lacking in many books. Excellent.

The book is loaded with helpful tables and graphs and personal stories. In addition, there are great photos of "Found Dogs" sprinkled throughout the book.

It is obvious these two authors love their topic and want to improve the lives of puppies, dogs, and their people. I will recommend it highly.

Dr Katy Sommers is my vet, yet when my Irish Wolfhound pup, Jessica, had problems with her diet, I took Katy's home-cooked-diet advice with a smile and continued to buy the top kibble. I was intimidated by the responsibility of balancing a diet for a giant breed!

As she grew, Jessie failed to thrive on kibble. By the time she was 10 months old, she was a walking skeleton and I added more "home cooked" to her diet with some success.

Then she had a medical crisis brought on by my feeding her fat trying to get her to gain weight. Dr Katy and I sat on the floor of her clinic late into the night, giving her morphine to help with the pain, and I had to make the decision to put her down or see her through her problems. When she recovered, I was convinced that I needed to switch over completely to a home-cooked diet.

Luckily, Katy's book came out the same week! Great timing, Katy!

I have several highly recommended books on Natural Health Care for dogs, but Jan & Katy's is the easiest for me to apply. It provides easy-to-follow instructions on food selection, preparation and balance. Using her guidelines I'm able to easily fix Jessie's meals as I fix my own - my diet's improving too!

I was also pleased to find thorough sections describing major illnesses, health problems and injuries, and appreciate Jan & Katy's common sense approach to herbs and alternative medicine.

Results? You Bet! I bought the book at the end of September; Jessie was 11 months old, 30" tall at the shoulder and weighed 74 pounds. A month later, Jessie has gained +25 pounds and is a strong vigorous dog. The change is phenomenal, and has convinced me that THIS is the way dog should eat!

Jessie agrees! Thanks Dr Katy, for being there for the Jessie's of the world!

Linda Cowles

After getting another book, I found I wanted to ensure diversity in my book collection of reference materials. Saw this book, flipped through it in the book store and decided to get it. That simple. It has great information in it and bullets out just what I want to know. I also have the Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats : Your A-Z Guide to Over 200 Conditions, Herbs, Vitamins, and Supplements by Shawn Messonnier. Both of these books complement each other and provide what I need to know for taking care of my animals. Often, the herbs recommended correlate to the ones I'm taking (or that people take). I certainly don't mind sharing with my best friend and loyal companion.
My quest initially started because my 7 YO schnoodle suddenly experienced a slipped disk and couldn't walk (essentially hind leg paralysis, both hind legs). I was completely distraught at the prospect of surgery on the little guy. After learning a local chiropractor (ours as it turns out) would take a look at him, I took him in. I consider it CAM - complementary alternative medicine. I kept him on steroids, and pain management, and the chiro adjusted him. By the next morning he was able to walk out of his cage (where the meds had clearly made him sick all night). I decided then and there that there is no question in my mind that there is something to be said for alternative therapies. No one can convince me otherwise. This dog dragged himself around for two days, and the vets told me they saw no improvement when they had him. I continue with touch therapy and supplements to his diet. But I will never forget this extraordinary and valuable lesson. Our families are valuable treasures and we are entrusted with good stewardship of our K9 companions. This book helps make that job a bit easier.

Fabulous book!! It is packed with information, but easy to understand and apply. I found the book to be very balanced and subjective in it's approach and advice. For example, it fairly presents the pros/cons of different diet approaches, without specifically recommending a "one size fits all" solution. All chapters of the book are valuable, but the section on diet and nutrition is particularly outstanding! Since reading the book, I have adopted a diet of home-cooked meals for my german-shepherd-mutt that is virtually 100% vegetarian! Seeing the way she responded to the new diet has converted many of my friends into believers who were total skeptics of a vegetarian diet. Although my dog was always healthy and happy, the changes are unbelievable in terms of her temperament, appearance and personality.

Regardless of whether you're looking to change your dog's diet (as I did), this is a valuable book and must-have for every serious dog owner!

I found this book extremely balanced in terms of providing feeding information if you are interested in providing fresh food for your dog's diet. Its good to realize that it can be done without a tremendous amount of extra time and effort. In fact, my husband and I realized that WE don't eat well enough to just cook a little extra for our dog, as suggested. We were inspired to improve our own diet to include the variety proposed for our dog!

After losing our 9 1/2 year old Boxer to cancer, we wanted to take the cancer prevention nutrition suggested by the veterinary oncologist we worked with and combine that with a good whole foods diet for our new Boxer puppy. This book, since it is co-authored by a veterinarian, seemed to give the best all around advice for those wanting to move their pet's care in a holistic direction, but who also feel more comfortable knowing there is good research and science supporting the advice given. We looked at a lot of books on the subject and truly liked this one.

Since buying this book it has become my best friend, it has helped me and especially my animal friends time and time again. Many of my dog loving friends also own this book now because of the info i have shared with them from this book . A definate must have if you are searching for alternative health care.

I recently ordered several books about dogs and how to maintain their health. This book was the BEST one of the bunch. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants the best for their animal companion(s). After reading this book I ordered several more to give as christmas presents.

I especially loved the chapter on the healthiest foods to feed your dog. It has changed the way I feed my own dogs and they absolutely LOVE their new way of eating. Who knew that the healthy foods that humans eat is exactly what is the healthiest foods for our own dogs. I know that I wasn't aware of that fact until I read this book.

I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who shares their life with a dog.

Excellent book Well Written. Great format, great philosophy well researched.
All dog lovers should read and have this in their library. High marks !


Soleng K. Tom MD
Palo Alto, California