Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets Review

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(More customer reviews)A DANGEROUS error appears, several times, in "Home Prepared Dog & Cat Diets (Second Edition)." The error is alarming enough to cast doubt on the book's entire contents and credibility. I have a copy of the book in front of me as I'm writing this review, so I'm not mistaken.
In Chapter One, on page 8, under the subtitle, "Assessing a Homemade Diet Recipe," author Patricia Schenck discusses what a homemade diet recipe should include. After mentioning carbohydrates, proteins, fat, calcium and calcium/phosphorus supplements; Schenck claims, "Calcium carbonate (baking soda) or bone meal (source of calcium and phosphorus) should also be present."
Calcium carbonate IS NOT baking soda. Yet Schenck claims it is, on page 8 and throughout the book.
Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is often used as a dietary calcium supplement.
Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). Baking soda IS NOT useful as a calcium supplement. It's often used as a leavening agent in baking.
Calcium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate are chemically different and will affect a dog's body differently when ingested.
Many of the recipes for dog and cat diets in "Home-Prepared Dog & Cat Diets (Second Edition)" use baking soda as an ingredient (For example, dog diet recipes on pages 416, 417, 424, and 425; and cat diets on pages 473, 498, 499 and 504). Each time "baking soda" appears in the ingredient list it's defined in parentheses as, "calcium carbonate." Schenck did not just make a one-time flub in Chapter One. The author mistakenly defines baking soda as calcium carbonate throughout the book.
Schenck includes baking soda in dog and cat diet recipes specifically formulated for animals with renal disease, each time indicating the baking soda is, "calcium carbonate."
According to the Merck Veterinary Manual online, animals with acute kidney disease may indeed be treated by restricting their dietary phosphate intake and feeding them sodium bicarbonate (baking soda); to counter high levels of blood acidity. This might explain why Schenck includes baking soda in her recipes for renal disease. However, it doesn't explain why she refers to it as calcium carbonate. Nor does it explain why she claimed, in Chapter One, that either baking soda or bone meal should be present in every homemade diet recipe. She probably meant either calcium carbonate or bone meal should be present in every homemade diet recipe, yet she said "baking soda" and that's a serious error.
I started researching canine health and nutrition in 2002. I've fed my vibrantly healthy, 11-year-old dog homemade meals for almost eight years. I've blogged about it for two years to show other dog owners how healthy a home-fed dog can be and how easy it is to be a Doggie Chef. I'm not a doctor of veterinary medicine, so I rely on books like Schenck's for advice and guidance.
Perhaps the error in this book was an editor's mistake. Even so, the author should have caught it when proof reading the book. I realize even the most qualified people can make big mistakes sometimes, and I'm sorry for Schenck if that's what happened. I appreciate Schenck's good intentions to write a book to help pet owners prepare nutritious homemade meals. Yet something should be done to get the word out to the public about this error. Perhaps the author can explain/correct it on her website and that website could be linked to this book's Amazon listing. Well-intentioned pet owners may read part or all of this book, completely trust the author's expertise as a doctor of veterinary medicine, and inadvertently create homemade diet recipes that could harm their pet's health.
Such a dangerous error (calling baking soda calcium carbonate and suggesting baking soda should be added to homemade diet recipes for healthy dogs) leads me to question all the information contained in "Home-Prepared Dog & Cat Diets (Second Edition)."

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Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets, Second Edition provides an introduction to nutrition of the healthy dog and cat and an extensive discussion of medical disorders that can be managed in part through diet. Presenting easy-to-follow recipes that can be prepared at home, this new edition of Donald Strombeck's classic handbook has been completely rewritten by new author Patricia A. Schenck to reflect the latest nutritional recommendations based on current research. New chapter topics include feeding the puppy and kitten; feeding the pregnant or lactating dog or cat; feeding the senior pet; feeding the performance dog; and the role of diet in pets with cancer.
Diets are now listed together in a cookbook style for ease of use, and recipes are adjustable for any size dog or cat, allowing exact nutritional values to be calculated. Nutrient content for protein, fat, carbohydrate, and fiber have been provided for every diet, along with the nutrient density. A companion website features downloadable spreadsheets with complete nutritional breakdowns for each recipe.
Useful for both veterinarians and pet owners alike, Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets, Second Edition is a unique handbook written by an expert in the field providing an introduction to the nutritional management of dogs and cats with easy-to-use recipes for home-prepared diets.
Clarification: Calcium Carbonate
We've had some questions from readers regarding the use of the term "calcium carbonate," which is listed as an ingredient in a number of the diets found in this book, and therefore wanted to clarify what is meant by this ingredient. Baking soda comes in two forms: sodium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate. The sodium bicarbonate version is widely available as "baking soda" and is commonly used in baking, but none of the recipes in this book use it as an ingredient. The calcium carbonate version of baking soda is sometimes sold as "baking soda substitute" and sometimes referred to as simply "baking soda."
To avoid confusing sodium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate, any time the calcium carbonate type of baking soda has been used in a diet in this book, the ingredient includes the specific term "calcium carbonate." There are several manufacturers of calcium carbonate baking soda; for example, Amazon carries the Ener-G Foods product baking soda substitute. Calcium carbonate can also be sold for garden use, which is non-food-grade, so to avoid the use of the garden product in foods, the term "baking soda" was used in this book instead to indicate that readers should be sure to select a food-appropriate ingredient.

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Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog (Howell Reference Books) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is another one of those books that I recommend to everyone interested in holistic care for their canine companions. It's somewhat more technical and scientific in its approach than the equally superb books by Pitcairn and Levy, but that shouldn't put anyone off. Volhard begins with several excellent chapters on canine nutrition which include a very detailed section on supplements. For those determined to feed a commercial food, she provides info on how to read labels, which ingredients to look for and what to avoid. Next she addresses the common problems of allergies and toxins in our dogs' environment, foods, and water, as well as drug and vaccine reactions. Instead of providing the reader with possible alternatives to vaccinating (such as homeopathic nosodes), she recommends a modified vaccine schedule using killed vaccines only for diseases endemic in the area in question and doing titer tests instead of routinely giving annual booster shots. While this is certainly superior to the traditional veterinary practice of needlessly subjecting dogs to potentially very harmful annual combo vaccines, I much prefer Dr. Pitcairn's vaccination schedule for those uncomfortable with using nosodes.
Next, Volhard explains the basics of the canine digestive tract and thyroid and adrenal gland function. This is followed by a chapter on laboratory tests and how to figure out if your dogs' lab results are within normal parameters.After this very technical chapter, Volhard dives into the rather controversial subject of kinesiology which is basically a form of biofeedback. If (like me) you're the skeptical type, this will sound like a bit of hocus pocus to you. While I keep an open mind, I have yet to be convinced that with this method one of my dogs can tell me -- through the transfer of energy -- if she has a bacterial infection or needs extra liver in her diet.
Like virtually everyone interested in a holistic approach to dog rearing, Volhard recommends feeding a natural, homeprepared diet. Unlike many other homeprepared diets, the one she recommends has been clinically tested over a 12-year period, so you can rest assured that it is perfectly balanced. Volhard tells you exactly what and how much to feed as well as how to supplement (there are exact charts for dogs of different sizes). The drawback of this diet is that it must be followed to the letter. There is no room for experimentation here. Another problem is that, like Pitcairn's diet, the Volhard diet contains too many grains. Dogs are carnivores, and while there's nothing wrong with small amounts of whole grains in the diet (unless of course a dog is allergic to all grains), several cups a day are simply too much. Less grains and more pulped vegetables and raw meaty bones would be healthier and more biologically appropriate.
There are several short, very basic chapters on herbal medicine, homeopathy, and other alternative therapies (if you're interested in these subjects, you'll definitely want to read more elsewhere). Finally there is a simple but useful reference guide to certain diseases and possible remedies, profiles of all the amino acids in dogs, and a brief resource guide.

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A complete revision of a ground-breaking reference.
Designed to provide updated information found in the original book, as well as lots of new topics, and a new organization—this second edition is more user-friendly than ever!
Readers will get the latest on:Healthful diets for dogs of every age and activity levelHow to modify your dog's diet to best meet seasonal needsNatural ways to keep your dog healthy throughout all stages of lifeHow to care for a dog in poor healthThe vaccine controversy—the pros, the cons and how to sort them out * Homeopathic remediesAlternative therapies, such as acupuncture, acupressure, aromatherapy, chiropractics and use of medicinal herbs

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