Question:
When I got my German Shepherd dog at age 2 she was in extremely poor healthwith a host of chronic symptoms: severely emaciated and weak: chronicdiarrhea; massive wax discharge from her ears which were continuallyirritated and inflamed; ongoing eye and nasal discharge and skin eruptions.When she developed miosotis of the jaw bones the vet suggested that I puther to sleep. Instead, I turned to holistic health. A growing number of vetsstate that processed pet food is the main cause of illness and prematuredeath in the modern dog and cat. In December 1995, the British Journal ofSmall Animal Practice published a paper contending that processed pet foodsupresses the immune system and leads to liver, kidney, heart and otherdiseases. This research, initially conducted by Dr Tom Lonsdale, wasresearched further by the Australian Veterinary Association and proven to becorrect. When I changed Shasta's diet to RAW meat, RAW eggs, RAWvegetables, flaxoil, and kelp, within weeks she completely recovered herhealth. Seven years later she remains the perfect picture of health andvitality. You can learn more about holistic animal health and optimumnutrition at this nonprofit, educational site:http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/1158/animals.htm

Holistic veterinary: testimonials of amazing cures Read the testimonials ofamazing animal health improvements and cures of cancer and other chronicdisease with natural, alternative health care and optimum nutrition. Thisnonprofit educational web site is dedicated to help promote holistic healthfor humans and their animals with alternative, holistic and preventativemedicine. http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/1158/mailbag_animals.htm

Answer: I support your contention that processed dog food is inferior to a wellprepared, properly balanced, pesticide and hormone free diet for dogs andcats. From my own experience, a homemade diet is cost effective and enhancesthe animal's being and long term health.

I suppose a quality processed food is preferable to a poorly balancedhomemade diet.

An excellent reference on natural diet and health approaches for dogs:

"Natural Health for Dogs & Cats," by Richard Pitcairn, DVM, Ph.D. and SusanPitcairn.

Also: my web site, http://lowellg.simplenet.com/lowell.htm

And of course the web site you referred to:http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/1158/animals.htm