Natural Dog food, holistic health and what it means for your dog.

In laymans terms - holistic means the whole body. Holistic nutrition in dog food is about providing your dog with food which is going to benefit the whole body. It is not simply about Omega 3 fatty acids being good for your dog's coat or glucosomane having a wonderfull effect on your dog's joints. Holistic dog food is about the quality of the ingredients, their combination and how they complement each other in relation your dogs overall health and wellbeing.

The four basic principles of  a holistic approach to health.

1. View your pet as a whole. Your pet should be looked upon as a complex interaction of mind, body and character (spirit) functioning in the environment. The environment can greatly influence all 3 of the other aspects.

2. Identify and treat the cause. Symptoms are an expression of the body’s attempt to heal, thus at all times we should seek to find the underlying cause rather than simply suppress the symptoms.

3. The Holistic Practitioner is a teacher. The holistic practitioner should be educating, motivating and empowering the pet owner to take responsibility for the pet’s health by adopting healthy lifestyles, feeding good diets and providing a good social environment.

4. Prevention is better than cure. This is best accomplished through dietary and lifestyle habits that support health and prevent disease.

The 4 basic principles outlined above are a rudimentary introduction to holistic approaches to health. Health is considered to be normal but if injured or diseased then the body acts to repair the damage. This injury or disease manifests itself as symptoms and can be equated to that of ripples in a pool that spread outward after a stone has been thrown in.          The symptoms are the energy of disturbance spreading across the body.

It is this disturbance of the vital energy radiating outwards/inwards which gives rise to the concept of holism, more commonly referred to as holistic. No one part of the body can be affected without affecting the whole.

The meaning of disease "failure of health" is another way of saying health is normal and that the symptoms indicate a more serious and general problem. The symptoms can also indicate the degree or level to which health has failed.

Early Warning Signs that Your Dogs health is not right!

Dogs immune system is particularly vulnerable to nutritional imbalances and tends to show signs much earlier than say heart or joint problems in dogs.

The following signs are the easiest to see and recognise in dogs.

*Itchy Skin * Eczema * Hot Spots * Hair Loss * Excessive Hair Loss/ Shedding * Waxy Ears
*Runny Eyes * Tooth Tarter * Bad Breath * Chewing Feet * Anal Gland Problems
*Digestive Upsets * Body Odour * Eating Grass
* Hyperactive* Loss of Energy

These signs are indicating that waste or toxic matter has been accumulating in the dogs body and that the immune system is attempting to get rid of them. It is not uncommon for a range of these signs or ripples to be seen at one time.

All of the above information is from Land of Holistic Pets. Please refer to www.landofholisticpets.co.uk for a more comprehensive guide to holistic pet care.

Pick of the Litter is delighted to be an exclusive stockist of Land of Holistic Pets in Munster. For further information or to try a sample email info@mobilepetshop.ie