Customer Reviews

The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There are several books along the same lines, but this highly comprehensive and up-to-date holistic health encyclopedia for pets is the best. 500+ pages of info on feeding a raw diet, supplements, aromatherapy, herbal medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, flower essences, hands-on therapies such as acupressure and massage, holistic first aid strategies, cancer treatments, the vaccination controversy, interviews with several holistic vets, and an A-Z guide to ailments and their natural remedies. Excellent!

We are very new to the holistic care for pets ... and we were looking to find a good book that would introduce us to this more natural method of looking after our dogs ...

Ms. Puotinen's book is everything that we could have asked for ... her first few chapters takes the beginner gently through the methods, means, whys and wherefore of holistic care. Her writing is clear, concise and sure ...

The rest of the book is (to our mind) quite detailed, with lots of specifics ... and we suspect will cater even for the more experienced.

The book takes the reader from feeding raw food & supplements, to aromatherapy & homeopathy, and even guides the reader through the more esoteric art of flower therapy and massage for pets. There is a wonderful chapter on common ailments and possible natural remedies.

The author draws from numerous sources of information & reference (all carefully indexed and referenced) and she reproduces conversations & interviews with other practitioners of the art (including vets). To beginners such as us, this is quite essential ... and we found great comfort, to learn that holistic care is not only an ancient art but is still actively practised today (and gaining much ground), by even those with medical and professional qualifications.

Interesting reading ... offering much to those willing to learn. Well worth the time and cost ...

The word encyclopedia promises a lot, and C.J. Puotinen's latest book delivers on that promise. Wide ranging in its scope, The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care offers caretakers of dogs, cats, bunnies and birds an excellent look at behavior, exercise, nutrition and various alternative/holistic therapies. Clear, concise and informative, this book is full of practical information and recipes. Conversations with leading veterinary healers provide insight into the philosophies & practices of some of this country's most innovative healers. An A-Z of Ailments (dogs, cats, birds & rabbits) gives readers a valuable quick look at the problem and possible holistic treatments. Comprehensive index and a detailed appendix with excellent sources for further information and reading. The Encylopedia of Natural Pet Care is a wonderful book for anyone interested in holistic pet care. We recommend it highly!

This was one of the few decent references I used in preparing my books, 8 Weeks to a Healthy Dog, The Allergy Solution for Dogs, and the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. The book is well written and easy to understand, yet informative for owners who would like to explore natural care for their pets.

This is an excellent book. It provided me with the information that I needed to save the lives of some puppies that were malnourished and dehydrated at 3 weeks of age due to the loss of thier mom. I would have lost the litter with out this book. I have since bought a goat....

I was disappointed in this book. In the first few pages I found several inaccuracies, i.e., grapes and raisins shown as people food recommended for dogs. These two foods are highly toxic to dogs. One of my clients nearly lost their dog due to a box of raisins he raided from their trash. Who knows what other inaccuracies there are in the book. After seeing those, I am afraid to try recipes for home cooked food for my dog. Nor am I willing to try any of his recommended natural remedies. I am a professional pet-sitter and certified in pet first aid. I do not recommend this book.

I wish the author had stuck to the topic of natural health care. Her chapters on dog training promote outdated methods. Reading Baumann's description (in interview format) of her own methods and her misinformation about positive reinforcement methods forces me to lower my rating of this book as a resource for the average owner. This is undoubtedly the problem with attempting an "encyclopedia" approach, but as a serious researcher the author should've done better. I won't be ordering this book for my store.

This one book will expose and educate you generally about nutrition and holistic pet care. The downside is that she can't be an expert in every subject she tries to cover. I was delighted that rabbit care had a place in the book -- though a little disappointed that timothy hay as a staple of the diet & for chewing wasn't mentioned, only raw greens. And also related to rabbits, she got cecotropes mixed up: it's the moist ones that are destined for re-digestion, not the hard dry ones.

Other than that, she has good information for dogs, cats. A good discussion regarding onions, garlic, and chocolate. Raw food, herbs, vaccine controversies. I enjoyed it, and the interviews with vets.

I guess the author's hope was to get a bunch of disparate information in one place and she does that, but some of the topics are simply verbatum interviews and not very well written at that. Other topics, like her explanation of clicker training, are techniques that she's read (from Karen Pryor's Don't Shoot the Dog) and not understood correctly. It makes me wonder what else might be misconstrued or miscommunicated in the rest of the book.

This book is a wonderful reference book for all pet medical needs. It helps when your vet is not readily available (weekends). It describes many illnesses and conditions, what you can do to help keep your pet healthy.