Leah Knipp kindly lent her knowledge to provide this area which will hopefully grow. You can contact her at: Konzagl96@hotmail.com

Please click on the links under the book titles to purchase them.

Here are the two books I've found most helpful:

Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM and Susan Hubble Pitcairn

The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog by Wendy Volhard and Kerry Brown, DVM

Most of what I have needed to know about vitamins, minerals, supplements, lab tests and a few other asundry things are contained in those two books.

The Volhard book will have a revision coming out this fall sometime. Another great human book on supplements is Prescription for Nutritional Healing, A-Z Guide to Supplements" by James F. Balch, MD and Phyllis A. Balch, CNC. I've quoted from that book a few times on the L when people have questions about vitamins, flax seed oil or certain herbs.

Volhard also does some healthy dog seminars in a few locations throughout the year - the current schedule is listed on the following web site:   http://www.phdproducts.com/volhard_seminar_schedule_for_199.htm

Pitcairn conducts Professional Courses in Veterinary Homeopathy throughout the year, but they're for veterinarians only - he is the one primarily responsible for the new "enlightenment" of some vets that holistic medicine can have it's merits.

As for herbs and homeopathy - I have a few good books on both of them. A general reference book on herbs is "The Complete Illustrated Holistic Herbal" by David Hoffman; a nice booklet on herbal use for animals is "Herbal Remedies for Dogs and Cats" by Mary Wulff-Tilford and Gregory L. Tilford.

There will be a new book coming out in November that will be a must have for people interested in using herbs with their pets - All You Ever Wanted to Know About Herbs for Pets by Gregory L. Tilford and Mary Wulff-Tilford. .

Homeopathy is a complex subject and one that people should not jump into lightly - it's often misused and as a result, people think it's ineffective. Not so, as I've seen positive results in my own animals through using it. If you're truly interested in learning/using homeopathy, it is best to get a materia medica and repertory. On-line v ersions of a few of these are listed on the following site:http://www.homeoint.org/books/

A couple general introductory books on homeopathy for humans and animals :

The Consumer's Guide to Homeopathy by Dana Ullman, M.P.H.

Dogs: Homoeopathic Remedies by George Macleod

I'm not well informed on kinesiology, acupuncture or chiropractic medicine. At the moment, I'm working on improving my knowledge and use of essential oils for my pets, but don't feel well enough informed to do an article on them. There is a site, though, where people can find out more about aromatherapy for their pets: http://www.aromaleigh.com. I use the Tick Spray she sells and have found it just as effective and less toxic than some chemical means. If you do talk with her, you might mention I sent you there - she just started a customer referral program this summer. I've been using her products for two years now and would send people to her whether or not she had the program, though. She's very conscientious of safety concerns, always sends lots of informative information with the products and works on continuing education for herself to enhance her product line.

Whether to continue annual vaccinations every year is something that is starting to be discussed more frequently these days also. I believe there's an article on it at the altvetmed site: http://www.altvetmed.com

For finding a holistic vet, that site is just a starting point. I prefer personal referrals from people who have good experiences with the homeopathic or holistic vets myself.