Customer Reviews

Earl Mindell's Nutrition & Health for Dogs: Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy with Natural Preventative Care and Remedies

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Ordinarily I would not provide a review, however, I am aghast at the only review you have on this website that was provided anonymously. It seems that they were not sufficiently confident in their convictions to even identify themselves!

This book is not intended to provide herbal remedies for dogs. It is a simple no nonsense approach to providing the reader a basic understanding of the nutritional needs of dogs. It starts out with a good description of the problems with commercial foods and some good reasoning for preparing your own dog's meals. It then provides the basics of what dogs will need in terms of nutrients. It also provides some good advice about more natural approaches to combating fleas. He obviously believes in giving dogs the basics for a strong immune system which will help to stave away many ailments that might be linked to poor commercial nutrition.

This should not be the only or the first book you buy when looking into canine nutrition, but, it is certainly a valuable tool to make part of your library.

I originally read this book so I could get a recipe to make dog treats. However, I found myself drawn into the other chapters on flea control and nutrition.

While I would not go so far as following a vitamin regime or homeopathic treatment for dogs (I don't even do that for myself!) I found the information on the content of "average" dog food, treats and flea control very helpful in making consumer decisions.

I would agree with a previous review that Mindell does depend heavily on human physiology for his nutritional and medical advice for dogs. He also tends to be a bit "preachy" in his commentary on canine health.

However, commonly reported scientific studies on canine nutrition is lacking and none of the human-based nutrition regimes he presents would hurt a dog (only be a bit more expensive and/or time consuming.)So why not err on the safe side?

Moreover, I have had regular vets (non-hollistic)recommend some of the flea treatments he suggests; so something must be working.

When you discover the shocking ingredients in dog food and flea control you'll be glad you read the book and were offered some alternatives.

Oh, and my dogs absolutely loved the treats!

I must have about 20 books on dog care, health, nutrition, etc and this book is one of the most practical so far. I would highly recommend this as a must have for any dog owner. It covers nutrition but also vaccinations, fle treatments, common conditions in dogs and nutritional support. This is a concise, easy to read book with information that you can really use whether you feed your pet commerical or homemade diet.

My dog was diagnosed with cancer. As I grew up with him and love him very much,..I read every book I could find on cancer. It's important for me to strengthen his immune system. With all of my homemade dog food, dog vitamins, shark cartilage, flax seed oil, vitamin C pills,..etc. I found it extremely helpful to have a book that informed me of the correct amounts of vitamins and such for a small dog. This is very important as no other book I found had this for dogs. The main negative I saw in this book was having so much of it dedicated to listing many dog breeds and the health problems that are common to them. Somehow I though this could have been more concise(like a chart with a check next to the breed that corresponded to the ailment),..and my one dog only fit into one breed(and had none of the problems listed for the breed,..though I could see where it could help someone in looking for a new dog, or in planning what to expect and watch for..),..so the weight and cost of the book contained a large percentage(1/2 the book) of what didn't apply to my dog. But, the rest of the book is so valuable. I break down human vitamins into the amounts recommended by him(if you do this be careful of hidden ingredients,.. or vitamin E repeats etc.). Great book to have and follow for any dog owner.

Earl Mindell has written several books on herbs and herbal remedies, unfortunately this latest contribution shares many of their faults. The authors do not specify which portion of the plant is used for many remedies and very little research is presented to support their use. Through out the book I had the sinking feeling that there had not been enough thought given to how dog physiology differs from human physiology. The skeptical reader may want to check out the quackwatch website for more information on Mr. Mindell's other books.