Books | Health & Healing

There is a tonne of resources mentioned on every page in the Healing Gallery. Below are some of my favourites I have used consistently throughout the years.

Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, PHD and Susan Hubble Pitcairn

Four Paws, Five Directions, A Guide to Chinese Medicine for Cats and Dogs by Cheryl Schwarz, DVM

Fresh Food & Ancient Wisdom, Preparing Healthy & Balanced Meals for Your Dogs by Ihor Basko DVM, CA

The Nature of Animal Healing, The Definitive Holistic Medicine Guide to Caring for Your Dog and Cat by Dr. Martin Goldstein, DVM

Love Your Pet Let Nature Be Thy Vet by Dr. Ruza Bogdanovich ND, PhD
Written in the early 2000’s, amazing information about how to honour nature, the planet and raise animals in accordance to the laws of the planet.

Dr. Khalsa’s Natural Dog, 2nd Edition by Deva Khalsa, VMD
Dr. Khalsa has been practising naturally for years. We reached out to her when Sienna developed her paw issues and skin issues in 2012/2013. This is when I learned about NAET therapy. Dr. Khalsa has a lot great videos to watch on line educating pet parents how damaging some of the mainstream protocols are. Her book is a great investment.

The Ultimate Pet Healthcare Guide, Breakthrough Nutrition and Integrative Care for Cats and Dogs by Gary Richter, MS, DVM Video by Gary Richter – what every canine owner should know: https://nutrathrivedogs.com/index_m_190306A.php?n=

Les valeurs requises de l’alimentation de l’HOMME et de ses ANIMAUX DOMESTIQUES by Eric Vanden Eynde DVM
This is by my lovely homeopathic vet in Belgium. He explains how everything is connected referencing all species and their diet needs connected to the planet’s seasons etc.

Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog by Wendy Volhard and Kerry Brown, DVM

Canine Nutrigenomics, and The Canine Thyroid Epidemic by W. Jean Dodds, DVM and Diana R. Laverdure

Ruined by Excess Perfected by Lack, The Paradox of Pet Nutrition by Richard S Patton, PhD
Dogs Naturally actually triggered the re-printing of this book. I thought it was very interesting as I was looking to see what was said about diet for canines. And of course, “it is a bit of everything” from nature. Definitely worth reading to challenge belief systems.

The Naturally Healthy Dog, Real Dogs Don’t Eat Kibble! By Sandra Bailey
Sandra’s book is an easy, concise, and very informative read about the pet food industry, what is happening to canines due to current pet care protocols and why it is so important to feed your dog naturally with real food.  She also provides information about the canine body and stresses the importance of journaling.

See Spot Live Longer, How to Help Your Dog Live A Longer and Healthier Life! by Steve Brown and Beth Taylor

Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet, Healthier Dog Food the ABC Way by Steve Brown
Steve Brown is the founder of Steve’s Real Foods.  What I am not in agreement with is the mixing of animal proteins, and the addition of medicine in the food, and fruit with the meat.

Animal Self-Medication, How Animals Heal Themselves and Help Your Dog Heal Itself by Caroline Ingraham
This is a must have in every pet parent’s possession. The wealth of information about how animals heal themselves through self-selection takes us back to nature and respecting the animal. We have travelled so far away from what the planet provides, this brings us back to what we all should really know.

The Animal Healer: A Unique Insight into the Healing, Care and Well-being of Animals by Elizabeth Whiter

You Can Heal Your Pet by Elizabeth Whiter and Rohini Sathish
https://www.healinganimalsfoundation.org

Healing Dogs Their Way, The Real Solutions Your Dog Deserves by Marijke van de Water

Coconut Therapy for Pets by Bruce Fife, ND
This title does not do this book justice. There is a wealth of fabulous information in here. In our house, we are huge users of coconut oil, using it to cook with and for medicinal purposes for the animals and humans.

The Holistic Animal Handbook, A Guide to Nutrition, Health and Communication by Kate Solisti-Mattelon and Patrice Mattelon

Books & Websites | Leadership & Behaviour

This canine’s behaviour above, is most likely a result of lack of leadership. The “leader” is trying to get to his / her pack.

There are so many books and resources out there on behaviour, but by far, these are the three people I believe know canines, respect canines, and speak canine via leadership not dominance: Jan Fennell, Cesar Milan, and Turid Rugaas.

Jan Fennell

The Dog Listener and The Puppy Listener by Jan Fennell http://janfennellthedoglistener.com

Jan Fennell’s e-books are also excellent to listen to, over and over again.  They may be found here: http://janfennellthedoglistener.com/products/index/Books

Jan began investigating how dogs communicated around the same time Monty Roberts was studying horses.  When one of Jan’s dogs jumped through her sliding glass door, and the dog’s life was ended, something told her that this was not the dog’s “fault”.

She later learned through observing pack behaviour, that her dog, in hindsight, was trying to protect the pack from a “dog perspective”.  At the time she did not understand, but made it her life’s work to do so.  She has created four pillars which if one implements and respects, any dog will have a sound, happy, calm, joyful life.

Cesar Milan

Cesar’s Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems and Be the Pack Leader: Use Cesar’s Way to Transform Your Dog…and Your Life by Cesar Milan

Pack leadership is essential to understand when one is honoured to live with a canine or two.  It is NOT about dominance, it is about ENERGY and signaling the canine in canine-language that they are safe under your leadership. I find people often misunderstand the difference.

Cesar is all about “follow me, I got your back”.  He is about signaling to the canine that they are safe in the human world, that they do not need to manage their humans, but instead be part of the pack, because their human “has their back” at all times.

Without the correct information passed to the canine, in canine language, they are “in their world” then forced to take on a role which they are not equipped to manage, as someone MUST do the job.  This then can lead to STRESS and a whole host of behavioral and physical problems.  It is not something to take lightly. Are you, your canine’s leader from their perspective? A question every pet owner needs to ask, and then implement if the answer is, no.

Turid Rugaas

Turid comes from the perspective of the canine. It is all about how the dog sees the world and giving them the information, they need in order to function within our “human experience”.

On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas
I love this book, for its simplicity and photos.  Turid is very clear in her teachings.

Also, by Turid, Barking, The Sound of Language, My Dog Pulls.  What Do I Do? and Calming Signals What Your Dog Tells You are all great investments.