Thank goodness for Dr. Pitcairn

During commercials last night I perused my book by Dr. Pitcairn, Complete Guide to Natural Health in Dogs & Cats. My copy is actually from 1982, so I'll order the new and updated one later today. This book has been very helpful over the years, and I saw that I was basically already treating Sassy's ear with the right oils. His are a little different from what my essential oils book said, but this morning her ear is less red and inflamed. The area she was chewing on yesterday looks better too. Woohoo for having the right reference books on the shelf!

I decided since she is showing improvement that instead of rushing to the vet this morning that I would do the thing I've always dreaded doing and start making homemade dogfood for her. So much that I've read over the years concerning any health issue in pets seems to stem from feeding commercial pet food. I feed her very good commercial petfood, one of Nutro's, but in the end I wonder if it's the best for her.

I've been online this morning checking William Cusick's website for some basic information. Sassy is part Labrador Retriever and part Chinese Shar Pei. The foods that are good for labs are not necessarily good for Shar Peis and vice versa. This makes finding foods that will nourish her a little more difficult, but it can be done. As for Sassy, she already enjoys Scooter's liver day since she gets the liver water when it's cooled down, so I think she'll be in hog heaven getting basically human food. From something I read in Dr. Pitcairn's book years ago when I cooked for April and Ripper, most of his recipe's are things you and your pet could actually share. Now I will say that gently cooked chicken hearts are not on my personal menu, but fish and greens I'd gladly share.

I will say this, and this is true in whatever you pursue in life. I have knitters who say they could never do what I do, whether it's knitting cables or calculating yardage amounts or using a Barbara Walker pattern for a knitted sock. I always tell them that they can do it. It just takes practice. The more you do a thing, the better you will be at it. I feel this way about petcare too. In the early days, I would rush them in for any little thing. Now, I have the tools at my disposal to do some research and see if they really do need to go. I am able to build upon past experiences, do research, review the data and make a decision. Results - today I will be able to buy organic veggies, fresh wheatgerm oil and hormone-free, free range chicken parts for homemade dogfood. I personally can do things to improve Sassy's health, and my vet is an integral part of that. I will confess that I'm not looking forward to cooking for the dog since I can't always prepare meals for me and Keith. Towards that end I'll look for some alternatives for her too. Maybe I can prep food and freeze it? Maybe we'll all be eating the same dinner?

Another thank goodness is that my vet uses holistic treatments as well as regular medicine, and she may have some good alternatives for diet. Daphne cooks homemade food for both her dogs, and doctors Pat & Sasher haved helped her tweak ingredients over the years. I'm grateful to have so many resources available to me.

Have a great day, and think of me, slaving over a hot stove. (Although that beats mopping any day!)