Books on Animals: Dogs
Health and Nutrition
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The Genetics of the Dog
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This is a book for people with a particular interest in dog genetics, either as breeders, or because they are more generally interested genetic issues relating to dogs. It's quite technical and expensive and is very thorough - not a book for most pet owners! There are nineteen articles which examine different aspects of canine genetics, such as origins of dogs, the impact of domestication, and genetic issues relating to disease and behaviour. The book is as up to date as is possible in a fast changing field, since it came out in 2001. It's a key text for students of canine genetics.
Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals
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This is a well researched book which covers both raw feeding and homecooked meals for dogs. There is a lot of information on canine nutrition, including the needs of younger and older dogs, and those with medical problems such as kidney disease, heart problems, and digestive system problems. There´s help with preparing meals, and advice on how to give dogs balanced diets.
There are benefits to feeding dogs home-prepared food that you can see in the short term, like better skin, and healthier teeth and gums, and home prepared diets can also help dogs to live longer. Just improvising with leftovers and a few butchers´ scraps isn´t really enough. Owners need information on nutrition and food preparation to be able to prepare nutritionally sound diets that suit their particular dog.
This is probably the best guide around if you are just buying one book on home-prepared food.
Canine Cuisine: How to cook tasty meals and treats that your dog will enjoy
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This is a very useful book if you want to cook meals for your dog. It is easy to understand, fun to read, and well researched. It´s practical, there is advice on using leftovers, which is sensible, since most owners don´t want them to go to waste. There are a lot of recipes, and they are quite easy, and don´t need complicated lists of ingredients. There are biscuit recipes, main meal and kibble replacement suggestions, and ideas for healthy treats and titbits. There´s also help on how much to feed dogs, and what to feed them if they have put on a bit too much weight. There´s also information on what owners should avoid allowing dogs to eat. This book is very good value for the ideas and information it gives you.
Canine and Feline Nutrition: A Resource for Companion Animal Professionals
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This is what it says, a resource for professionals. It gives more detail than the average pet owner needs, but is very useful if you have a kennel, or are a professional working with dogs. It is up to date, and covers diets for dogs with various medical conditions, as well as diets to keep dogs healthy. It´s a book you can use for reference if you are a vet or trainer, to be able to advise clients, and their questions with confidence, because the team which wrote the book has a great deal of accumulated specialist knowledge. The book is pricey, and expensive for the average dog owner, but is a good investment if you work with dogs.
The Dog Owners' Veterinary Handbook
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This is a very easy to understand book, geared to pet owners who have a sick dog. It deals with all aspects of canine health, from pups to older dogs. The great benefit of this book is that it is easy to read, though it´s not quite as thorough as ´The Dog Owner´s Home Veterinary Handbook´ by Debra M. Eldredge and others, which is also on this page. This book is more reassuring though, and less likely to make you imagine your dog has all sorts of ailments that he may not have. It´s especially helpful if used together with a vet, and can help you to communicate much better with your vet.
Anatomy of the Dog: In Straightforward Terms
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This is a useful book for people who like drawing dogs, as well as for canine health professionals. It´s a very accessible guide, rather than a deeply technical work, and has nice, clear illustrations.
Kerstin Mielke works as a physiotherapist for dogs, so is well able to explain how a dog´s body works, and different aspects of canine anatomy. The stress is on how dogs move, though this is a comprehensive guide, also covering inner organs, skin and coat, the nervous system and the senses.
The Gundog Veterinary Bible [Illustrated] (Spiral-bound)
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The Gundog Veterinary Bible a very useful manual for anyone who likes an active life with their dog, not just gundog owners. There is help on what to do in emergencies, such as when a dog has eaten something poisonous, or broken a leg. There is also advice on preventing problems, which is well worth reading, so that you do not have to use the advice for emergencies. The author is the vet columnist of Shooting Times, Harvey Carruthers MRCVS.
The book is very accessible, clearly written, with good illustrations. It is a handy size to take on journeys, and is also spiral bound, so it stays open on a car seat, which means that you can follow instructions and check on the dog at the same time. Very highly recommended.
Natural Nutrition for Dogs & Cats: The Ultimate Diet
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This book is a very useful reference manual for people who want to give their cats and dogs home-prepared food. There is a lot of practical help, with information on nutrition, as well as menu plans, and a troubleshooting guide for dealing with health problems.
It's an especially useful book for people whose pets have allergies, or have otherwise reacted to commercial foods. This is especially true in Europe, since we usually get precious little information on what goes into commercial pet food, compared to people in the US, and that can be a problem for people whose pets have food intolerances.
Work Wonders: Feed Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones
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A few decades ago, dogs were fed scraps. Gradually, canned food and biscuits, and then kibble crept into their diets, and we were told that this was healthier for them. A few years back I visited a friend in Spain, and watched her dog munching chicken's necks. His teeth were in excellent shape for an 11-year-old. A while later I shopped in a hardware store where a sales rep was complaining that pet owners just cared about whether dog poo was easy to pick up, not its nutritional content. So that was what the company focused on. The local stockmen carried scraps to their guard dogs every day. The kibble 'burned up the dogs' they said.
Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food
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Owners who would rather not worry about what goes into pet food should not read this book!
Ann Martin could be described as an obsessive, though it's easy to understand why, given her account of her dealings with the pet food industry after she experienced problems with commercial dog food. At the very least, this book points to the need for pet owners to ask questions of pet food companies, such as what additives they use, and why, and to tell them about problems we have when we use their products.
Owners often say they switch brands because one brand upsets their dog's stomachs. It's worth telling the companies about this in case they think we don't buy their food because it hasn't enough pretty colours!
This book also points to a need to campaign for better consumer information on cans, so we can make informed decisions on our pets' behalf. This is a consumer issue. Most of us haven't time to make tasty dog meals, so we have to use what the pet food companies supply. Some owners might argue that Ann Martin is not 'scientific' enough. But even if you discount seventy five percent of what she says, it still leaves some awkward questions.
Those readers who assume that the British market is better regulated, so British pets are always offered safe food, could maybe reflect on BSE and the debate on the human food industry!
The Dog: Its Behavior, Nutrition and Health
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Linda Case is a nutrition specialist, and an academic, as well as a trainer and dog behaviourist. This is an excellent reference book, both for animal care students and professionals and for ordinary dog owners. It is solid and well-researched, while being accessible to non-specialists. Owners with more than one dog, or who plan a lifetime of dog ownership, will find this book well worth investing in, both for the material on dog behaviour, and for the information on nutrition. There is also help with understanding canine physiology and preventing and dealing with health problems.
This book is perhaps more suited to people aiming for a career with dogs, because you do need some commitment to get through the more technical sections, though the background understanding of canine physiology which she provides is useful for ordinary pet owners in understanding their dogs' health needs.
Dog Owners Home Veterinary Handbook
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This is an excellent dog-owner's veterinary guide though it is geared to a US market. It's easy to use, and has clear explanations, rather than trying to blind you with science. It's no substitute for a vet, but can help you make better use of your vet's advice, and help with emergencies, while you wait for a vet. It provides as much information as the average dog owner is likely to need. No vet book designed for non-vets to use is perfect. Kennel owners or dog breeders may need a more comprehensive work, but this is probably the best vet book of those which are easily understood by non-specialists.
Dog First Aid: A Field Guide: Emergency Care for the Hunting, Working, and Outdoor Dog (Field Guide)
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This is an excellent short guide to first aid for your dog, which is very useful for anyone taking a dog hunting, camping or on long walks in the middle of nowhere. It is clearly written, with helpful illustrations, so is easy to use in an emergency.
It's well worth taking this book with you if you go on holiday with your dog.
Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs: Small Doses for Small Animals
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This is an easy to follow guide to homeopathic care from Don Hamilton, who is a vet who specialises in homeopathic care. He explains homeopathy and the processes of disease, as well as providing remedies for a number of common afflictions, such as flea trouble, gum disease, digestive and respiratory problems. He also provides help for people whose pets have behavioural problems.
There is enough in this book to interest those who already have a knowledge of the subject, as well as people who know little about homeopathic remedies for pets. Don Hamilton's book deals with homeopathic care of cats as well as dogs, and this helps give a broader understanding of homeopathy, though this book is a bit more expensive than George Macleod's book.
Dogs: Homeopathic Remedies
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A very popular, comprehensive guide to homeopathic remedies for dogs. George Macleod is a vet who has built up a vast amount of expertise, treating different animals with these remedies, often being successful when conventional medicines did not work. It's a guide that is easy to read, and you don't have to be a 'natural dogs care nut' to find it useful - homeopathic remedies can be used alongside conventional remedies, in consultation with your vet.
As vets are starting to take homeopathic treatments more seriously, you may find that your vet has read the book, or wants to borrow it from you!
Dr Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats
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This is a very popular and accessible guide to holistic cat and dog care. There's a lot of help with both diet and health care. Some of the recommendations on nutrition are controversial, but there are many good ideas for improving your pet's diet. All aspects of care are dealt with, including exercise, grooming, and tackling emergiencies. Much of what Dr Pitcairn says about commercial pet foods and vaccinations is not new, but the detail he gives for alternative approaches is very helpful, especially for owners of pets prone to allergies.
The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog,
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This is a revised edition of a thorough and fairly comprehensive guide to holistic health care for dogs. It's more demanding than Richard Pitcairn's book, which is perhaps easier for most people to start off with, unless they have special veterinary knowledge. Topics covered include diet, vaccinations, homeopathic remedies, allergies, and understanding lab tests. Canine diet is a highly contentious area, and not everyone agrees with Volhard's recommendations, but she does explain the rationale behind what she recommends, and it is up to readers to decide. Any pet owner with an interest in holistic medicine is likely to find this an invaluable resource.
Control of Canine Genetic Diseases
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A very useful book for anyone who wants to breed from their dog and cares about producing healthy pups. It is geared to the US market, but the practical advice given is helpful for UK breeders as well. Padgett provides a clear explanation of how diseases can be inherited, and how to analyse pedigrees, without overwhelming you in theory.
Veterinary advice on Hip Dysplasia in Dogs
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Hip dysplasia is sadly a common condition that most dog lovers have at least heard of, if not lived with. This book is aimed at pet owners who may be either living with a dog who is already suffering from the symptoms of hip dysplasia or researching breeds that are particularly prone to this condition.
Each stage of hip dysplasia is clearly explained, with clearly drawn diagrams and x-rays. More complicated medical terms are spelt out for the reader within the context of the sentences where they appear, and you are guided through from the understanding of how a healthy hip should work; how hip dysplasia affects the joints; possible causes and contributing factors; diagnosis and treatments; and finally the author looks forward to prevention and control of the disease in future generations.
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Dogs
- Dogs: Health and nutrition
Latest book reviews
Latest news and research
- Impact of facial conformation on canine health: corneal ulceration
- Prevalence of disorders recorded in dogs attending primary-care veterinary practices in England
- Disease control through fertility control: secondary benefits of animal birth control in Indian street dogs.
- Quantifying sources of environmental contamination with Toxocara spp eggs.
- Clostridium difficile in faeces from healthy dogs and dogs with diarrhea
- Impact of canine overweight and obesity on health-related quality of life
- Effect of a diet enriched with green-lipped mussel on pain behavior and functioning in dogs with clinical osteoarthritis
- Short, unstructured session with a dog reduces anxiety levels in students, and improves their mood
- Research suggests canine companionship helps calm children undergoing cancer treatment
- Dingoes in the dock
Care and behaviour of dogs
- Acknowledgments and further reading
- Aggression
- Appetite Loss
- Attention Seeking
- Barking
- Basic training
- Behavioural problems
- Behavioural problems in dogs
- Being sensible with traffic
- Bitches In Season
- Biting
- Canine Social Cognition, part 1: Dogs are special
- Canine Social Cognition, part 2: Differences between dogs
- Chasing Cars, Bikes, Joggers, Cats etc.
- Choosing a dog
- Coming when called
- Designing and using a dog garden
- Destructiveness
- Do you want your pet dog to have puppies?
- Dogs and diet
- Dogs don’t bite humans
- Dogs: Bringing up your puppy
- Dogs: Helping dogs with sound phobias, and fear of fireworks
- Fighting
- Finding a good training class
- Greeting guests politely
- Jealousy
- Jumping Up
- Learning that some animals are prey, others are not
- Mounting
- Multi-dog households: Enjoying life with more than one dog
- Phobias
- Poo Eating
- Possessiveness
- Recall
- Respecting other dogs in the household
- Respecting passers-by, human and canine
- Separation Anxiety
- Stealing
- There are acceptable and unacceptable places to perform (housetraining)
- Toilet Training
- Travelling safely in cars
- Using Flexileads safely
- Vet Phobias
- Walking nicely on the lead
- Walking On The Lead
- Wolves, Dogs and Humans
Dogs on stamps
