Woo hoo! It's the start of a new month!:O) My book pick for the month is "Dr. Kidd's Guide to Herbal Dog Care" by Randy Kidd, DVM, PhD. As you can tell I'm definitely interested in looking into alternatives means of taking care of my dogs and making sure that they're as healthy as they can be. I was interested in this book, but wasn't entirely sure whether the subject matter was going to be really dry and just kind of a listing of different herbs and what they're good for. I am very happy to report that this book is fantastic! The Dr. Kidd does a fabulous job of bringing his enthusiasm for the subject out in his book. I found myself getting excited to see what little kernels of wisdom I was going to pick up next. He mentioned herbs that could help in ways that I hadn't even thought about!The first section of the book is an introduction to herbs for health care in dogs and the author's holistic approach to solving problems. He defines various terms that he uses throughout the book so that you're prepared ahead of time and can soak up what he's saying. He also gives a little background on how he got started into his holistic practice and got hooked on herbs. I just really enjoy the way that he writes everything!
The next section of the book takes up the majority of the content. Dr. Kidd goes through the various organs and systems of the body, listing the various herbs that are helpful, why they're helpful, and how to administer them. He also talks about using various herbs to prevent problems and not just wait until something goes wrong. That was definitely my favorite part and I will be slowly starting my guys on different herbs as time progresses.
The final section of the book is basically a listing of the individual herbs that the author talks about with their active ingredients, what they're used for, any side effects, and any general comments that he has.
I do have to say that the part of the book that sticks with me the most is his idea for an Herb of the Month club. It's not really an actual club, but basically you pick one herb a month and do all the research you can on it so that you become really well versed in all aspects of that herb and what it can be used for and with. It's a really neat idea and one that I also plan on trying out!
5 comments:
Hey Linds'
A while ago you mentioned that a Dane breeder from somewhere in Virginia told you about natural flea (tick???) repellant and you wanted to try it out. Do you remember what it was?
I do and I've used it and like it for keeping the ticks off the dogs! http://www.liquidfence.com/liquid-net-for-pets-bottle.html It's got kind of a strong scent that takes some getting used to, but I like it so far.
Hey Miss Lindsay, it's funny you should "feature" this book because I was just going to start doing some research on herbs for calming influence on dogs. You know Miss Vegas' story - heck, you were there! So, even though I found a website with an herbal collar, I thought I'd research it and make my own so I could more affordably "refresh" the herbs as often as necessary. So, that said, if you pick up any tidbits of useful information or want to say, loan me the book after you're done, I'd LOVE It. :)
You’re timing is impeccable Lindsay! I just started taking Diesel to an integrative vet (a vet who practices Eastern & Western medicine) this past Monday. We were in a pretty nasty rear-end car accident on Thursday and Diesel was diagnosed by my regular vet as having some neck trauma. The holistic vet performed acupuncture and prescribed some herbs. Since then I’ve been doing a lot of reading about herbs on the internet. It would be nice to have a good herbal resource all in one place....I think I’ll order the book!.
A while back I ordered a bloat kit from Nature’s Farmacy and I remembered that they also sold herbs. Since Longview is not exactly a holistic friendly town, I either have to go to Portland or order the herbs I need online. I was surprised by the number of homeopathic supplies Nature’s Farmacy carried. I’m sure that there are plenty of other places to get herbs from, but I trust this place. They also carry several “commonly used” herb kits.
http://www.naturesfarmacy.com/store/details.php?prodId=112&category=26
Very cool!! Thanks Elizabeth! And OMG, I hope that you and Diesel are okay!!
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