The Holistic, Natural Dog Diet and Pet Health

Holistic comes from the word ‘holism’ meaning that whole entities have an existence other than the mere sum of their parts. Webster’s dictionary goes on to say that holistic involves the principle of holism in a system of therapeutics mainly nutritional.

At Land of Holistic Pets we fully endorse this interpretation in that dog food nutrition is the life force of the body. Holistic practitioners have always seen improvements in dogs health when proper nutrition is used. This is not a new concept, in fact the principles of natural health and diet are a revival of ancient ones but only becoming recognised in mainstream U.K.

The homeopathic practitioner for example only recognizes one disease, disturbance of the vital force. They see the body as being like still water in a pond and disease being a ripple on the surface when a stone is thrown in. The symptoms and their severity are indicators of the level of disturbance to the vital force.



So we may ask why dog nutrition is so important. The answer lies simply in experience and observation. It was not by accident that Hippocrates, the founding father of medicine coined the phrase “we are what we eat”. It is as obvious as swallowing cyanide – our body stops working altogether. This is a rather extreme example but none-the-less important in that poisons come in varying degrees and effect.

In terms of holistic pet nutrition we may well raise the question of what is a good dog diet?

At Land of Holistic Pets we believe that a good dog diet is one that when fed in the correct proportions, it helps the body and mind function in a normal healthy way.

In the USA the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) insists that products are labelled ‘complete and balance’. Complete meaning no other form of food is required and balanced means it contains all the required vitamins and minerals to sustain life without reference to quality or digestibility.

At Land of Holistic Pets we have a slightly different but very important interpretation of balance. We believe that it is something which is achieved when the body works in harmony and that which is consumed is utilized in the best possible way to achieve health dogs, full of vitality. This is what we call metabolic balance where every organ in body functions at the optimum level for the benefit of each other and ultimately the whole body – This is Holistic Nutrition.

Herbs and Homeopathy are a focused form of intervention that counter and correct individual imbalances. Diet will achieve the same result but be slower acting. This is why prevention is much better than cure.