The Ultimate Pet Food Guide: Everything You Need to Know about Feeding Your Dog or Cat [Paperback]

Liz Palika (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

The 2007 pet food recalls followed a multitude of pets getting sick and dying from contaminated food; now pet owners must take charge of what they feed their dogs and cats. With The Ultimate Pet Food Guide, veteran dog trainer, behaviorist, and author Liz Palika focuses on nutritional needs and covers every type of feeding, including controversial raw diets, homemade cooked food, and commercial foods. Palika also addresses introducing new foods; what “human foods” pets shouldn’t eat; free-feeding; responsibility for food safety; where ingredients come from; and red flags in ingredients. Included are over fifty veterinarian- and pet-nutritionist-approved recipes and diets tailored to special-needs pets, such as puppies/kittens and pregnant, older, overweight and/or more sedentary animals.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Will soothe your nutrition fears and educate you to feed your pet a healthy diet. Read this book. Maximize your dog's nutritional health. Stand back while the dog you love loves the food in his bowl.”—Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

“Effectively this is a reference book, and it’s a good one. It has all the hallmarks: clear writing that is easy to comprehend; a usable table of contents and index. It’s a handy manual that won’t overburden someone who loves his or her pet.”—Augusta Metro Spirit

“We just wish we’d known about [this book] a bit sooner.”—Smart Stuff

“Amazingly informative book... It's an interesting read, and one that will help you make an informed decision about your dog's diet for a happier, healthier bow-wowser.”—MyDogBliss.com

Animal Wellness, Dec/Jan 2008
“Helps you steer clear of poor quality foods and guides you towards more wholesome nutrition choices…Includes a handy appendix of food values.”

Jamestown Post-Journal(NY), 7/25/09
“Tells you everything about feeding your dog or cat, from commercial to home-cooked to raw…Covers it all, including supplements.” 

About the Author

Liz Palika is a dog trainer, journalist, and author of more than fifty books, including The Ultimate Dog Treat Book and The Idiot’s Guide to Dog Tricks. She lives in Southern California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600940714
• ISBN-13: 978-1600940712
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Liz Palika has been writing professionally since 1985 when she was first published in DOG FANCY magazine. Since then she has written more than 65 books and more than 1,000 magazine articles and columns. She has been published in DOG FANCY, DOG WORLD, CATS, CAT FANCY, AKC GAZETTE, and other pet publications, as well as NEWSWEEK, THE SATURDAY EVENING POST and WOMEN FIRST.

Her books include PUPPY LOVE and THE KISS GUIDE TO RAISING A PUPPY; both of which are favorites with new puppy owners. THE ULTIMATE DOG TREAT COOKBOOK received rave reviews in magazines and newspapers all over the country, including USA TODAY. ALL DOGS NEED SOME TRAINING was listed by PET LIFE MAGAZINE as one of the ten best training books available to dog owners.

Liz's books have been awarded many honors. THE HOWELL BOOK OF DOGS was awarded Best Reference Book by the Dog Writers Association of America and was nominated as Best Nonfiction Book by San Diego Book Awards. AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD: CHAMPION OF VERSATILITY won Best Breed Book from Dog Writers Association of America and Best Nonfiction Book from San Diego Book Writers. SAVE THAT DOG! won best General Reference Book from Dog Writers and the First ASPCA Pet Overpopulation Answers Award from the ASPCA. Liz's work has also won awards from Cat Writers and Purina, as well as others from Dog Writers. Liz was honored with the San Diego Leadership Award, was a North County Woman of Merit, and in 2005 was awarded Dog Writers Distinguished Service Award.

Liz has an international platform to connect with her readers. Not only is her podcast, "It's a Doggy Dog World" on PetLifeRadio.com the #1 most downloaded show on that site, but she is also a blogger for the PetConnection.com.

Liz has been teaching dogs and their owners in North County San Diego for almost 25 years. Her dog training is based on an understanding of dogs and what makes them tick. Liz is a Certified Dog Trainer (CDT)and a Certified Behavioral Consultant. She is an AKC CGC (Canine Good Citizen) Evaluator #4182.

Working in Vista, California (San Diego County), Liz is the owner of Kindred Spirits Dog Training and sees more than a thousand dogs and their owners every year. Liz and her dogs, over the years have participated and trained in many dog sports, including agility, carting, conformation, herding, obedience, search and rescue, therapy dog work, and more.

Liz and her husband Paul share their home with three Australian Shepherds.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ok, but definitely not the "ultimate guide", April 16, 2008

By 

RWC_Reviewer (Redwood City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ultimate Pet Food Guide: Everything You Need to Know about Feeding Your Dog or Cat (Paperback)

This book has some good information about why commercial foods are not ideal for dogs (and cats), but really the bulk of it is for feeding homemade cooked foods and there is not a lot of other options. My main issue with this book is that it claims to be something that it's not. If the title was "Ultimate Guide to Feeding Homemade Meals", that would be fine.

Mostly, I was disappointed with the lack of information on raw feeding. The author is clearly against raw feeding, so there is not a lot in that chapter except warnings. If you want to feed raw, there are a lot of better books to read. Also, there was a chapter on feeding kibble, but adding supplements to it. I've heard countless times there can be serious bloating issues with mixing kibble and other foods since the kibble expands in a dog's stomach. She didn't mention this at all.

Additionally, there were some contradictions that left me confused. In one part, the author says not to feed garlic to dogs, and then later she recommends several products that contain garlic. She also states that dogs need vitamin C and a good source of this is citrus fruits, and then later says never to feed a dog citrus fruits.

Overall, I think it was a decent read and there is pockets of good information, but it is by no means an "ultimate guide" and I would recommend several other books above it. If you're looking for information on home cooked meals, there was a lot of recipes. But I haven't read a lot about cooked feeding, so I can't say if this is truly the "ultimate guide" to home cooked pet food compared to what other books are out there.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important book for all pet owners, May 13, 2008

By 

Gary Bertolin - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ultimate Pet Food Guide: Everything You Need to Know about Feeding Your Dog or Cat (Paperback)

This book presents an easily understandable, yet comprehensive review of the options available to feed your pet. The book covers the complete range of pet foods, from kibble you can get at almost any store, through specialized dehydrated natural pet foods, and finally to raw or cooked foods you can prepare at home (too much effort for me!) Being a dedicated dog owner, I focused on that part of the book, although there is also lots of information on cat foods.

Although the book provides a few examples of good and bad pet foods, its real value is that it taught me how to become an educated pet owner, so that I can provide my dogs with healthy meals that meet their nutritional needs. Understanding the nutritional needs of dogs is not obvious to the typical consumer - for example, it turns out that there is "good" kibble and "bad" kibble. Good kibble tries to mimic what dogs and wolves evolved to eat in the wild, while bad kibble mostly consists of grains and whatever meat byproducts that pet food conglomerates can put together at a cheap price. (You don't often see wolves, which are closely related to dogs, out cooking up a batch of rice or wheat for dinner....) I found this book to be a tremendous source of information on this subject. As another example, ground corn (the first ingredient in some dog foods) includes the entire ear of corn - not just the corn kernels, but also the corn cob, all ground up together. Yuck - but it's a lot cheaper than meat! Care to guess how much of that ingredient nourishes your best friend and how much passes straight through, for you to clean up later?

In summary, this book really makes you think about what you are feeding your pet, and gives you the information to make better decisions. As Ms. Palika writes, the old adage that states "we are what we eat" also applies to our pets. Taking the time to understand that can pay benefits in healthier pets that are likely to live happier, longer lives. Highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Common sense talk about dog and cat foods, May 15, 2008

By 

Lori Abbott "mere presence" (Vista, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ultimate Pet Food Guide: Everything You Need to Know about Feeding Your Dog or Cat (Paperback)

I found the information in Ms. Palika's book has helped me a lot in looking at the labels of my cat's and my dog's foods. I appreciate the recipes for home made diets, both raw and cooked, but I don't cook that much for myself. But at least after reading this book I understand what to look for when buying a commercial food--and I even found a safe, easy to feed raw food brand for my pets. Thanks!