Nutrition – feeding the best
Ideal nutrition is the keystone to health for people and animals. There is no one best way for us to eat or for us to feed our animals. Link to my articles? Each of us has to discover what diets we thrive on (vegetarian, vegan, Sally Fallon traditional, etc) and we need to experiment what is best for our pets. We can all agree that a diet of processed foods is not the best for any living being, so let go of your brainwashing by the commercial pet food companies and begin to feed your pets fresh food. If possible, integrate their meals into your meals for maximum variety and quality. It can cost less than many of the processed foods, if you do the research to find local farms, hunters or butchers. By tracking the early warning signs link? you can discover which foods are best for your pets. There are many books on diet, and more coming out yearly. The first few are the newest, then there are a number of great books, many with opinions that may not be my own, but can offer the guidance that may be best for you.
Taking one of my classes (in person or a webinarlink) will help you decide which books you want. Browse in your independent bookstore or Amazon’s summaries.
First to read, if you have a cat (or guinea pig) read
Pottinger’s Cats – a study in nutrition by Francis Pottinger, who studied thousands of cats over a 10 year period, documenting that only those fed raw meat, raw milk and cod liver oil could be healthy and it took 3 generation to regain health. He even found that the ground where the raw fed cats lived grew wonderful weeds after the cats were removed, whereas the area housing the cooked meat or milk had scrawny weeds.
The following books give you wonderful guidance on how to feed your dogs and cats (and a bit on other species). These first three are essential and new.
PaleoDog by Dr. Jean Hofve and Celeste Yarnall is the newest raw food book. They have decades of knowledge and experience. I agree with most of their writing. They also cover vaccinations and a few healing modalities. They have recipes.
Dr. Becker’s Real Food for Healthy dogs and cats by Beth Taylor and Karen Becker gives practical guidelines for feeding a fresh food diet (mostly with raw meats).
ORDER: DR. BECKER’S REAL FOOD FOR HEALTHY DOGS AND CATS 4TH EDITION – SIMPLE HOMEMADE FOOD
Unlocking the canine ancestral diet is the newest book by Steve Brown, who does extensive scientific research, so there is a lot of detailed information. He gives examples of dogs who have become much healthier even with one fresh meal a week. He has many charts comparing the nutrients in commercial foods, frozen raw diets, paleo diets and his diet. His practical feeding guidelines are for total raw feeding or merely a few meals a week.
ORDER: UNLOCKING THE CANINE ANCESTRAL DIET – HEALTHIER DOG FOOD THE ABC WAY
Fresh Food and Ancient Wisdom by Dr. Ihor Basko, a forerunner in holistic veterinary medicine since the early 1970s, will give you ways to individualize the foods you feed your pets according to the Chinese system of Food Therapy. If an animal is chilly and seeks heat, she may thrive on “warming” foods – certain types of meats, vegetables and even cooking the food.
See Spot Live Longer by Beth Taylor and Steve Brown is several years old and still full of great information. Natural Pet Products
ORDER: SEE SPOT LIVE LONGER
Canine Nutrigenomics – The New Science of Feeding Your Dog for Optimum Health, by W. Jean Dodds, DVM & Diana Laverdure
ORDER: CANINE NUTRIGENOMICS – THE NEW SCIENCE OF FEEDING YOUR DOG FOR OPTIMUM HEALTH
The Ultimate Diet: Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy R. Schultze, a leader in speaking about raw foods is a great book.
Is Your Cat Too Fat? by Bronwen Meredith
The Barf Diet – Raw Feeding for Dogs and Cats Using Evolutionary Principles by Dr. Ian Billinghurst (BARF = “Biologically Active Raw Food” or “Bones and Raw Food”)
ORDER: THE BARF DIET
Give Your Dog a Bone by Dr. Ian Billinghurst
ORDER: GIVE YOUR DOG A BONE
Grow Your Pups with Bones by Dr. Ian Billinghurst
ORDER: GROW YOUR PUPS WITH BONES
The Truth About Pet Foods by Randy Wysong is full of wisdom about what we and our pets should be eating – not processed!
Rationale for Animal Nutrition by Randy Wysong makes you see why commercial food does not make sense.
The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care by Celeste Yarnall, Ph.D and Dr. Hofve
The Holistic Animal Handbook: A Guide to Nutrition, Health and Communication,
by Kate Solisti-Mattelon
Eating with conscience by brilliant Michael Fox – about raising foods for people and pets
Not fit for a dog by Michael Fox, Elizabeth Hodgkins, Marion Smart – what’s the pet food industry about.
Super Nutrition for Animals! by Nina Anderson, Howard Peiper and Alicia McWatters
Home prepared dog and Cat diets by Patricia Schenck
Family Friendly Farming: A Multi-Generational Home-Based Business Testament – Joel Salatin – How to find the best ingredients – sustainable farming.