Which Element is Your Pet?

Last week, I introduced the concept of TCVM constitutional types (see here). Now it’s time to have some fun and see how this concept might apply to your pet. As I talk about Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood, I will mention a breed of dog that best exemplifies each element. It is the stereotypical […]

The Five Elements and Your Pet

Holistic veterinarians sometimes speak of the constitution of an animal. This word can refer to the physical character of her body as to strength and health. Another way to think about the constitution of an animal is that it refers to the aggregate of the individual’s physical and psychological characteristics. This is the meaning of […]

Damning Report on Pet Foods

A sustainable foods-oriented, consumer advocacy organization, The Cornucopia Institute, recently released a scathing report on commercial pet foods. Of course, most of what they found will not be shocking to the readers of this blog. It is interesting to have such a group back up many of my concerns and come up with a few […]

Carrageenan: A Nasty Pet Food Toxin

Carrageenan is an ingredient of canned pet diets used to thicken, stabilize, and emulsify the food. It is used in many canned pet foods basically to improve the appearance and texture. There is absolutely no nutritional value to this ingredient. Carrageenan is actually a group of compounds extracted from various species of red seaweed. As […]

Vaccine Warning for Small Dogs (and Some Big Ones Too)

Vaccine research from the November 15th Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association confirms what I wrote about here. Small dogs are more likely to suffer adverse reactions to vaccines than larger dogs.  The current study gives more specifics. It turns out dogs who weigh less than 10 lbs are 7 times more likely to […]