The Natural Pet Food Cookbook: Healthful Recipes for Dogs and Cats [Hardcover]

Wendy Nan Rees (Author), Kevin Schlanger (Author), Troy Cummings (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2007

You Want The Best For Your Pets

After the massive commercial pet food recall in 2007, you're probably concerned about why to feed your dog or cat. The Natural Pet Food Cookbook: Healthful Recipes For Dogs And Cats gives you great ways to supplement your pet's primary diet with nutritious meals that you prepare; that way, you're sure your dog or cat gets healthy variety. With nn emphasis on natural ingredients and lots of colorful, fun illustrations, this cookbook gives you:
* More than 50 vet-approved, pet-tested recipes, ranging from basic kibble to casseroles to stews
* Tips on cooking techniques, food selection, and more
* Info on storing and freezing your homemade pet foods
* Details about the nutritional requirements of dogs and cats
* Warnings about potentially harmful foods

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

You Want The Best For Your Pets

After the massive commercial pet food recall in 2007, you're probably concerned about why to feed your dog or cat. The Natural Pet Food Cookbook: Healthful Recipes For Dogs And Cats gives you great ways to supplement your pet's primary diet with nutritious meals that you prepare; that way, you're sure your dog or cat gets healthy variety. With nn emphasis on natural ingredients and lots of colorful, fun illustrations, this cookbook gives you:

• More than 50 vet-approved, pet-tested recipes, ranging from basic kibble to casseroles to stews
• Tips on cooking techniques, food selection, and more
• Info on storing and freezing your homemade pet foods
• Details about the nutritional requirements of dogs and cats
• Warnings about potentially harmful foods

About the Author

Wendy Nan Rees has been involved in the pet industry for more that 25 years, starting when she founded Lip Smackers, a company that provides all-natural treats for pets. She has authored three pet cookbooks, written for Your Pet Magazine, served as the Pet Lifestyle Advisor on Animal Planet's Petsburg, USA, and helped to create Cedar Green, a line ff all-natural pet odor eliminators. Rees also hosts an Internet radio show, Wendy's Animal Talk, at www.healthylife.net. Her new line of natural pet products can be found at www.wendynanrees.com.

Kevin Schlanger, Dvm, is the owner ff Westside Animal Medical Associates and chief veterinarian of Brent-Air Animal Hospital in Los Angeles. His areas of expertise are general surgery, pediatric medicine, and nutrition. He works with numerous nonprofit rescue groups.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 110 pages
• Publisher: Howell Book House; 1 edition (November 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470225300
• ISBN-13: 978-0470225301
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 0.5 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wendy Nan Rees has been involved in the pet industry for over 25 years. Her career began when she founded Lip Smackers, Inc., a company dedicated to providing healthy all-natural treats to consumers concerned about their pets' well-being. The Lip Smackers bakery still operates today out of The Pet Care Company located in Hermosa Beach, CA.
Wendy has come full circle with her new book "The Dog Devotional: 365 Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Living a Rich Life with Your Dog". It is a collection of many of Wendy's most popular tricks and techniques she has used over her 25+ years as a Pet Lifestyle Advisor(tm). It is one of the most comprehensive "How to" dog books that has come along in many years. While reading this book you will be able to pick up on Wendy's enthusiasm. The real secret Wendy is teaching us here is that we are giving back the unconditional love that our dogs offer us.
It is the latest in a long line of books, published by MS. Rees. Her most recent book The Natural Pet Food Cookbook: Healthful Recipes for Dogs and Cats, published in 2007, is a collection of fifty recipes which rely on natural ingredient, which also includes information about holistic pet care. It is available many places and is one of the few books sold by Whole Foods.

Other books include: No Barking at the Table: Canine Recipes Most Begged For. The book was so well-received that No Barking at the Table 2 and No Catnapping in the Kitchen were not far behind. Moving in a different direction, Wendy then published The Name Game, a collection of over 100 celebrity essays along with over 1,000 suggestions of pet names. This fun book offers pet owners an entertaining and unique take on how and why people name their pets. A percentage of the proceeds from The Name Game go directly to PAWS, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people with HIV/AIDS to care for their pets.
Wendy's success as an author and dog-treat creator is no less amazing, due to the fact that she was born with severe dyslexia and ADHD. Wendy and her family were told that Wendy would not graduate high school. However, whenever Wendy is presented with obstacles in her life, it kicks her driving engine into gear and she charges ahead to prove all the naysayers wrong.
Her previous successes led to numerous television appearances and newspaper and magazine articles. She was the "Pet Lifestyle Advisor(tm)" on Animal Planet's Petsburgh, USA and has also appeared on The Home Shopping Network. Wendy also wrote a monthly column called "In the Kitchen with Wendy" for Your Pet Magazine.
Not one to rest on her success, Wendy focused on her entrepreneurial side, helping to create Cedar Green (R), a line of all-natural odor eliminators created with pet owners in mind. The signature product is Freshen Vac; a heat-activated natural odor eliminator that can be used in vacuum cleaners, dog beds, any home air vent and in cars.

In 2000 Wendy was diagnosed with breast cancer, which forced her to take a break from her career to focus all her energy on her recovery. Today, Wendy is happy to say she is cancer-free and working on her worldwide internet radio show called Wendy's Animal Talk. You can hear Wendy every Tuesday at 1PM PST at www.healthylife.net. Wendy also writes two weekly pet tips for the web site www.lovetoknow.com where she provides dog and cat advice.

You can use many words to describe Wendy Nan Rees - author, cancer survivor, inventor, and entrepreneur. And while each of these terms is accurate, they are only part of a truly inspiring and creative woman, who uses her talents to innovate an industry that she has loved since she was a child--the world of pets. Wendy lives in Los Angeles with her dogs Senator, Cappy and Little Man
Wendy Nan Rees- Pet Lifestyle Advisor(tm) www.petlifestyleadvisor.com
"Remember the animals in your life are not just your pets they're your friends" WNR (C)2005

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun for the home cook but needs improvement, January 5, 2010

By 

Kimmy in Valencia (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Natural Pet Food Cookbook: Healthful Recipes for Dogs and Cats (Hardcover)

If you're cooking for your dog or cat and want to move on beyond the basic boiled rice and chicken, this is the cookbook for you.

I'll primarily comment on the dog food recipes because that's why I got it... so can't really say anything about the cat food portion.

First, the recipes are fun because they include a variety of meats, grains, ingredients. If you don't like cooking, this book is *NOT* for you. I've enjoyed making the meatballs and the chicken soup/stew. The book also includes recipes for making your own dry food (kibbles), which many other cookbooks lack.

But with all that said, sometimes the "Dr. Kevin says" little box inserts are not very helpful... and have a "duh!" factor. I wish the vet had more scientific/medical approach to his advice.

Also, my second beef with this book is the lack of nutritional information. For dog owners who are serious about adding/replacing their pet's food with homecooked meals, nutritional analysis is crucial... as it's easy to under or over-compensate for needed vitamins and supplements including calcium/phosphorus (especially the ratio). ((For more on nutritional needs, I would highly recommend Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats))

Lastly, since many dogs are overweight (which has a host of health-related issues) it would have been nice to have the calorie information as it's difficult to gauge how much to feed your dog based on their weight. The author simply tells you how many portions/servings a recipe makes but that's not helpful if your dog should get 200 cals (as my Maltese) vs 300 cals or whatever. Those extra calories are crucial to know especially for owners of tiny dogs. I've found cookbooks that tell you calories per weight (not cup) are the most helpful.

As for the taste of the food, both my dogs loved what I've tried (but how can you go wrong with meat and cheese together?) My maltese, Lucy, tends to be a finicky eater but she has scarfed down every homemade meal I've ever made. She's sometimes picky about commercial dog food (wet or dry -- Natural Balance, Wellness, Solid Gold)

Edited to Add: I want to quickly address the other reviewer who was concerned about corn in some recipes. There aren't many of them and if corn bothers you so much, simply omit. But since corn is sweet, it can definitely help palatability for really picky dogs. Also, corn itself is not a bad food. If it doesn't get digested, it can still help move their bowels. But if you find that your dog likes food with corn, simply toss it in the food processor so they can get some of the nutritional benefits (and you won't have to see entire kernels in their poop). Fruits and veggies must be cooked long enough so it's easier to digest for them.

All in all, I would recommend this book with slight reservations and give it a solid 3.5 stars.

30 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dog-UNFRIENDLY Ingredients, January 25, 2008

By 

Ellie "Dog Lover" (New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Natural Pet Food Cookbook: Healthful Recipes for Dogs and Cats (Hardcover)

I was very surprised to see that many of the recipes call for corn. Dogs cannot digest corn and this is widely known. Before I was aware of this fact, I included mixed vegetables (which include corn) in my dog's recipes. Her poop would contain undigested corn. That's what made me Google corn for dogs. So, I was disapponted to see corn in the recipes - supposedly OK'd by a vet.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not So Great......!, February 7, 2011

By 

Baazumi (New York City, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Natural Pet Food Cookbook: Healthful Recipes for Dogs and Cats (Hardcover)

This book was a real disappointment, and was sent back to Amazon the day it arrived. The book states it contains "more than 50 vet-approved, pet-tested recipes, ranging from basic kibble to casseroles to stews". Well, I don't know what Vet recommended this diet for cats, but their not an informed one. Cats can have allergies just as people do, and most health oriented Vets know that whole wheat flour, with its high gluten content is unhealthy for a cat. Same goes for rye flour and corn; rye with its high gluten content, and corn with its high sugar content. Feed your cat meals filled with wheat flour, corn, rye, cheese and eggs and sooner or later you'll have a very sick cat.

If you're seriously interested in how to feed your beloved feline companion and are looking for healthy recipes, (as well as advice)
check out "The Natural Cat" by Anita Frasier (may be Anitra) and "Whole Health for Happy Cats" by Sandy Arora. They know what their talking about.