Customer Reviews

Ultimate Dog Care: A Complete Veterinary Guide (For Dummies (Pets))

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I had never seen this book and bought it blind on marketplace and all I can say is WOW! I wish I would have bought it sooner!!

It contains 12 chapters
~The wolfs descent
~The healthy dog
~Feeding and nutrition
~Canine structure
~Life support systmes
~The respiratoty systam
~The dogs world
~The skin
~The next generation
~The question of inheritance
~The Canine athlete
~Alternative approaches

Each chapter is very detailed with many drawings and photos of a healthy dog and problems that can arise. This book has a good section on first aid and a supply list for your kit and advice on what to do at home on while in route to the vet. Detailed instructions on bandaging variuos parts of the body and the easiest way to give medicines (liquid, pill, topical)

Chapter on how to elvuate your dogs food and what each part of the digestive system does. Also, what each ingredent in food does for your dog at diffent stages in his life (puppy, adult, senior).

Skeletal chapter very detailed showing normal bones and also problems in the bones and muscles. Detailed on many diesases that plague the bones with the appropate treatment listed.

Has a chapter devoted to the senses of the dogs and how problems in each sense affect the dog. Also covers behavioral problems in this chapter with ways to correct each problem.

Breeding chapter discusses pros and cons of breeding, spaying and neutering, natural breeding, artifical inseminaltion (very small section), ways to confirm pregnancy, whelping and complications.

Genetics chapter is a little more complicated, but has diagrams to help. Also has a chart of genetic defects in the dog and the mode of inheritance and age of onset.

Exercise chapter is a good outline for anyone with a sporting dog. (I have chi's so I didn't get much use from this one)

The book ends with alternative approaches showing different ways to deal with common problems. I have no idea if these work, but several vets wrote this book, so I assume it's pretty safe to say that they can't hurt, however in any medical emergency the only thing to do is rush to the vet, these are just suggestions which readers may find helpful for supportive therpy for non-life threatening problems.

Overall I rate this book very highly in my canine library. True, it is not the Mereck Vet Handbook, but for the average owner it is a great book with many photos and clear cut info.