Carlotta Cooper - Canine Cuisine: 101 Natural Dog Food & Treat Recipes to Make Your Dog Healthy and Happy

A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the Vice President of Sunshine here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.

Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.

We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bears memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.

Douglas and Sherri Brown

PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.

Want to help animals and the world? Here are a dozen easy suggestions you and your family can implement today:

• Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.
• Support local and no-kill animal shelters.
• Plant a tree to honor someone you love.
• Be a developer put up some birdhouses.
• Buy live, potted Christmas trees and replant them.
• Make sure you spend time with your animals each day.
• Save natural resources by recycling and buying recycled products.
• Drink tap water, or filter your own water at home.
• Whenever possible, limit your use of or do not use pesticides.
• If you eat seafood, make sustainable choices.
• Support your local farmers market.
• Get outside. Visit a park, volunteer, walk your dog, or ride your bike.

Five years ago, Atlantic Publishing signed the Green Press Initiative. These guidelines promote environmentally friendly practices, such as using recycled stock and vegetable-based inks, avoiding waste, choosing energy-efficient resources, and promoting a no-pulping policy. We now use 100-percent recycled stock on all our books. The results: in one year, switching to post-consumer recycled stock saved 24 mature trees, 5,000 gallons of water, the equivalent of the total energy used for one home in a year, and the equivalent of the greenhouse gases from one car driven for a year.

Disclaimer

The recipes in this book were collected and are presented to be safe and nutritious for healthy dogs to enjoy. However, you know your dog better than anyone. Only you can know what kinds of food allergies, sensitivities, or medical conditions your dog might have. Please be careful when trying out new foods on your pet. Offer new foods gradually and ensure your pet is able to tolerate them. Please note that neither the publisher nor the author of these recipes can be held responsible for the dietary needs of your dogs. Be sure to consult with your veterinarian if you are unsure. If symptoms are serious, see a vet. Also, monitor your pet for signs of sickness, fatigue, weakness, malnourishment, or obesity. You alone are responsible for using any of the information presented in this book, and any use will be at your own risk.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all my dogs who have had to eat my cooking over the years. Thank you for never complaining. I love you all.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank all of the wonderful owners and breeders who took the time to answer the questionnaire for this book. I would like to especially acknowledge my friend Mari Anderson who has been interested in what to feed dogs and in holistic animal care for a long time and who has taught me a lot. I would also like to thank Magnolia Farm for helping me with some research. Thanks to everyone who helped with the questionnaire and the case studies.

Thanks also to the Greeneville Greene County Public Library and their very kind library staff in Greeneville, Tennessee, for their help with materials.

Thanks to my friend Donna for letting me discuss canine nutrition with her. And, finally, thanks to my terrific dogs, Billie, Blue, Pearl, Brett, and Peyton, for being my taste testers for this book. They let me know which recipes they liked and which ones to toss out. We had a lot of fun.