General Overview of Holistic Health
First you do need one or two books that give you a great overview of ways of thinking about health from the Whole, from an Energy basis rather than a “this caused the problem” perspective. You will learn how animals become ill and begin to heal. You will learn how small symptoms can be clues to internal imbalance. These books will help you treat minor problems, like diarrhea or vomiting; how to administer medications; how feeding, decreasing toxins can improve health.
Healthy Animal Journal: What you can do to have your dog and cat live a longer and healthier Life by Christina Chambreau
Healthy Dog Journal ebook by Christina Chambreau – A must have for every pet parent.
Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Richard Pitcairn and Susan Hubble Pitcairn has been the bible for holistic care since the 1980s. This needs to be in every household as it covers diet (though I disagree with their current edition’s emphasis on high grain diets), vaccine problems, holistic and homeopathic paradigms, lots of practical suggestions for living successfully with your dog and cat companions, and a large section treating specific ailments. Because he is the leader in veterinary homeopathy, Dr. Pitcairn gives homeopathic guidelines for each ailment (and supplements, herbs and topical treatments) as well as wonderful discussions about health through the paradigm of homeopathy.
ORDER: DR. PITCAIRN’S COMPLETE GUIDE TO NATURAL HEALTH FOR DOGS & CATS, 3RD EDITION
The Natural Cat: The Comprehensive Guide to Optimum Care by Anitra Frazier
Anitra was also one of the early writers on how to improve the health of our feline friends. I have lectured with her many times and feel she has probably been a cat for many previous incarnations as she even sounds like a cat. Her book has so many great chapters. One “miracle” treatment is her High Calcium Chicken broth. This is a must have guide to nursing care (giving medicines, force feeding, cleaning ears and more) and treatments for a wide variety of ailments. This is the best book to give friends who are still feeding dry food to their cats as she shares seeing health improvements with diet changes during her many years as a New York City cat groomer.
Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs While focused on homeopathy, Don Hamilton teaches how your animal becomes ill and responds to treatments – Cure, Palliation and Suppression (especially chapters 2 and 3). His vaccination chapter shows how many epidemic diseases of people were almost eradicated before vaccines were developed. This is a must read.
The Nature of Animal Healing by Dr. Martin Goldstein is also full of information about how the body becomes ill and heals (especially chapter six – the healing crisis). Through many case examples and stories of his own healing (and healing crises), you will learn the basic care needed for health and be exposed to many different modalities, especially the BNA (bio nutritional analysis) he and his brother pioneered in animals to discover blood changes much earlier than regular testing and the IAT (immuno-augmentative therapy). Dr. Goldstein is, or was, Oprah’s veterinarian and in a behind the scenes series I saw her feeding her Cocker fresh food!
ORDER: NATURE OF ANIMAL HEALING
Scared Poopless by Chicklet, the dog, typed by Jan Rasmussen, is such a fun and informative book, covering all the major issues – diet, vaccine problems, house training, surgeries, play and much more. Jan is passionate about not over vaccinating and using the many different therapies to improve health.
The Royal Treatment – a natural approach to wildly healthy pets by Barbara Royal is an entertaining as well as informative book as Dr. Royal has worked in many zoos, so brings the perspective of natural wildness and very funny stories. In addition to a great coverage of the best nutrition, she covers how to get the most out of your veterinary visits (ask questions – something I promote a lot), understanding the Chinese constitution of your pet, gluing up a tarantula, how to think like a wild cat and much more. She also is or was Oprah’s veterinarian.
The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care by Celeste Yarnall, Ph.D, the author of Natural Cat Care (I helped edit the vaccine and homeopathy sections of this one) and Natural Dog Care, and Jean Hofve, DVM, a holistic veterinarian with extensive training in homeopathy and nutrition. A big part of the book is how important feeding raw is for preventing illness, with all the details you need. One of the few overview books to cover crystal, color, magnetic and sound therapies; applied Kinesiology as well as the more common holistic modalities. As a Tonkinese breeder, Dr. Yarnall has gorgeous cat photographs.
Holistic Animal Handbook: A Guidebook to Nutrition, Health and Communication by Kate Solisti, a wonderful intuitive committed to health for all. Covers nutrition, Bach Flower therapy, behavior and emotional issues and working with veterinarians.
Your Cat – simple new secrets to a longer, stronger life by Elizabeth Hodgkins shows how a conventional veterinarian realized her cat’s diabetes was a result of being fed dry kibble. Her book has a lot of scientific knowledge that you can use to defend your holistic choices and will give you some tips to improve health.
Whole Health for Happy Dogs: A Natural Health Handbook for Dogs and Their Owners is by New York city veterinarian Jill Elliot, DVM and Kim Bloomer, covering the basics in holistic health care.
Natural Healing for Dogs and Cats by Dr. Diane Stein covers the basics, especially flower essences.
The following three books were written for the veterinary professional and are full of references and great information ranging from nutrition and supplements to different modalities.
Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine, Principles and Practice edited by Allen Schoen and Susan Wynn.
Integrating Complementary Medicine into Veterinary Practice edited by Robert Goldstein
Manual of Natural Veterinary Medicine: Science and Tradition edited by Susan Wynn and Steve Marsden
ORDER: K9 STRUCTURE AND TERMINOLOGY