Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats (4th Edition)

Helpful, fantastic book that has positively improved the life our animals
I’ll start by saying this: *read* the book – see what he has to say and the evidence he cites for his recommendations (don’t just skim one page and make a kneejerk judgement), then decide for yourself. In our experience, this book has been nothing short of life-changing for our pets. It is informative, provides information around *why* he suggests what he suggests, and our animals have done a complete 180 in a positive direction since implementing many of his suggestions, INCLUDING the dietary restrictions. They have more energy, get sick so much less often, and bounce back more quickly when they do.Regarding some of the concerns I’ve seen in other reviews, Dr. Pitcairn very clearly offers *both* plant-based and meat-inclusive diet recipes for people uncomfortable weaning their pets off meat. That said, he clearly goes into the reasons he advocates certain diets for pets, not the least of which being the literal junk and poison in meat-based pet food. Would you rather your dog eat fresh, protein- and vitamin-filled plants, or feces/collar shards/and euthanasia leftover in the animals ground up for unregulated pet food? Our dog has eaten a plant-based diet since the day we discovered she had severe allergies to many different meats and has been healthy and happy as we’ve ever seen her since we made the change (over the course of years now). Many dogs are allergic to chicken, which we only found out after she continued to break out in terrible rashes. The rashes have completely disappeared since we put her on a plant-based diet and she’s been thriving for years. We get glowing compliments from our (traditional, non-homeopathic) vet about the state of her health, coat, and energy level. Now – you have to do it carefully, of course! As you do for your own diet. But a plant-based diet, especially for dogs, can be done and if done the right way, is very healthy. For anyone curious about trying this, we rotate her diet between a huge variety of plants, including beans, lentils, tofu, fresh fruits and vegetables of all sorts, and things like hemp seeds, nutritional yeast (which animals LOVE and is so good for them), peanut butter for treats, etc. A sample day is oatmeal, pinto beans, blueberries, and nutritional yeast for breakfast; sweet potato and cucumber for snack with an occasional peanut butter kong; and Wild Earth kibble (fantastic new brand, check out the ingredients for yourself) for dinner. Please read what he has to say and the evidence he cites before discarding it. I don’t know about you, but we’re not trained in animal nutrition so instead of relying on trending MSN articles and Uncle Bob’s Opinions, we prefer to get information from a trained vet who’s chosen to research this as his life’s work (most vets have zero training on nutrition, so we can’t rely on the overwhelming majority of vets for this).In terms of the treatments in the back of the book, they’ve already helped us cure our cat’s respiratory infection within 36 hours after trying a barrage of medication from the vet that didn’t work and made him lethargic.Give the book a chance, read what he has to say, then decide for yourself.

EXCELLENT: BOTH DOGS ARE THRIVING. 3 WEEKS IN AND SHALL DO UPDATE LATER
Update June 6th: All is well. Q: Has anyone here had success in cooking up larger batches of the Lentil Stew in a slow cooker or rice cooker?We’ve been round the veterinarian, Big Pharma and diet block to many times here. Raw diet meat, and then to the dreaded renal kibble by Virbac recommendation. The last being further destruction of my dog’s immune system. Homeopathic vet believes our sweet guy was being “starved” and when he had bouts of repeated ear infections, that was the final straw. The meat source is somewhat questionable here, even though they claim this to be organic/non compromised when we were making raw…. he kept getting worse.Future updates to follow. This is stating 3 weeks into Pitcairn’s recipe, using the Lentil Stew.First off: He has energy again. He initiates rough housing with the younger 1 1/2 year old. Before he had that look on his face of here comes this puppy again… Please do something to stop him!Secondly: The recommendations in this book for using nutritional or brewers yeast (we use extra nutritional yeast) have finally made a dent in younger dog being a flea magnet. Before we had done one round with a toxic spot on, and two more rounds with a less toxic spot on, and it was not getting rid of them.Note: We use diatomaceous earth in these floppy eared dogs to protect them from ear mites. This makes it impossible for them to take up lodging, until the immune system is repaired. It also helps us avoid the toxic mite ear killing remedies sold by pharma, which made the older dog very ill. That incident was quite scary.It’s all about building up their immune system. Now we are not vegan, but since the meat sources here are questionable and the renal numbers on older (6 yr old) dog’s blood work up was borderline and suggestive of something renal to come… We figured lets begin here. I have also ordered edition 3 (yet to arrive) so we may vary our approach later (more recipes) should numbers stay calm and dog continues to build in stamina/health.I am impressed.I must admit due to health issues (what was potentially early stage renal? doubtful) and wanting to take a load off of my dogs kidney’s, I have taken an added measure of doing all ingredients organic. That does take extra effort and slight extra funds (worth it). Effort: Also takes extra effort waking at 2 – 4 in the morning with an ill dog, who is terrified and begging me to do something as he pukes… No pukes yet, and we have been off the renal kibble for 3 weeks. I’d rather put my effort forward cooking and sourcing organic, than to be up at 2 am with the other terror.For those whom have similar concerns, I will check back here in a couple more months, after hopefully all goes well and we do some blood workup on the older dog. We had already lost one from renal at the age of two. She was my healthiest… We do not trust the meat supply, over vaccination, or the Pharma /vet bedmate connection. Everything has it’s place, vet care, vaccination wise, moderation is due for an industry that will not moderate themselves but overdoses our pets. When something is due, there is no need to overdo it. Less is more and we have now invested in our dog’s health and actually been lead to the Pitcairn regimen by our Homeopathic Vet.I like that they use the vegedog. I do not have to scramble putting together my own powder, as i have heard is used in edition 3.Alert, mischievous, feisty and full of mental energy… wow… it has been a while since I saw that in this beautiful family member of ours.Tips and personal use feedback regarding dosing/recipes: I tried to double the recipe, but it didn’t cook up the same. I have two 60 pound dogs. Thus, I prepare ahead of time, and freeze in glass containers.I use organic red lentils sold right here on amazon. I do not add the vegedog until I warm up each portion. Vegedog said that was the best route of preparation, the specific amount daily, added to the food after warmed, rather than mixed into the recipe.That is the one thing that I didn’t quite get/felt confused with: The amount in the recipe if made as is, is much less than the amount that vegedog recommends daily. Yet the recipe says it can be added in that smaller amount to a recipe or daily amount added to each serving. As a point of reference: My 60 & 50 pound dog eat 2 cups of the lentil stew recipe daily. If the older one asks for more, I give him 1/4 cup more. PS He has had weight issues since the fattening renal kibble and has lost 2 pounds since being on this recipe at that amount. The younger 1 1/2 year old, has been a steady 50 pounds, and gained 1 pound since being on this amount. We are still adjusting the final serving amount. The amount of daily serving for each dog of vegedog that I put in their food is as per their ideal weight: 50 for 2 year old and 55 for 6 year old.

Excelente libro, por ahora solo en ingles, para poder elaborar una dieta vegana, etica y equilibrada, para gates y perres. Asi como terapias naturales para sanarles.

As a wellness and herbal practitioner, I research all my formulations. The one’s I do for pets, such as a vegetarian canine nutritional supplement, requires I ensure all ingredients are well-suited for dog’s wellness and to support any health claims I make. This book helps me do that. As well, it is a ‘within arms reach’ resource for many pet questions and wellness issue, such as herbal remedies, emergency health care, homeopathic therapies, special situations and common health complaints. A great book in my opinion. I use it in tandem with other resources to formulate and discuss with customers their queries in regards to their pets (and conveniently for me, as well, since I am well surrounded by many animal family members) and be confident that the material in this book is verified, well-researched, and well documented.

Excellent, well worth reading. Very interesting book. I would recommend it for all dog owners.