Head to Tail Wellness: Western Veterinary Medicine Meets Eastern Wisdom Book

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Yin and Yang of Pet Care 17

The Power of Chi: Case Studies from My Practice 21

Chi Is All Around You ... but What Is It? 25

Maximizing Chi Flow 34

Feng Shui 35

Chapter 2 Evaluating Pet Wellness through Purposeful Petting 38

A Checklist as a Starting Point 39

Noticing Energy and Change 40

The Wellness Checklist 40

Acting on Signs of Imbalance 46

The Art of Balance 48

Key Points to Remember 49

Chapter 3 The Five Temperaments 50

An Integrated Way of Looking at Wellness 52

Which Is the Dominant Element? 53

Determining Your Pet's Dominant Element 53

Invoking the Elements 56

Temperaments Can Mix and Match 64

Noticing and Harmonizing the Cycles 66

Chapter 4 You and Your Pet Affect Each Other's Energy 70

Ronnie 71

A Powerful Connection to Your Pet 74

No Quick Fixes 75

Ways to Support Mutual Chi 76

Chapter 5 Identifying and Eliminating Negative Energy (Sha) from Your Home 82

Matties Problems with Sha 83

Initial Skepticism about the Existence of Sha 89

Initial Confusion about How to Correct Sha 90

Sha Is Real! 90

Ways to Recognize Sha in Your Environment 91

Chapter 6 Food: The Root of All Health 96

What Is the Difference between Whole and Processed Foods? 97

Would You Eat the Way You Ask Your Pet to Eat? 99

Food and the Five Elements 101

The Compromise: Feeding Whole Foods Several Days a Week 105

Beyond the Pet Food Aisle 107

The Base Diet for Dogs 107

The Base Diet for Cats 119

Some Final Thoughts 127

Chapter 7 Wholeness and Early Intervention 128

Bergeron 130

Cadbury 134

Samantha 138

Beyond Late Diagnosis and Early Euthanasia 140

Chapter 8 Your Fire Pet 142

Characteristics of a Fire Pet 145

You Probably Have a Fire-Temperament Dog If... 147

You Probably Have a Fire-Temperament Cat If... 147

Wanda 147

More Traits of Fire Pets 150

Chapter 9 Your Earth Pet 152

Characteristics of an Earth Pet 154

You Probably Have an Earth-Temperament Dog If... 155

You Probably Have an Earth-Temperament Cat If... 155

Spoony 156

Carlton 157

More Traits of Earth Pets 159

Chapter 10 Your Metal Pet 161

Characteristics of a Metal Pet 162

You Probably Have a Metal-Temperament Dog If... 163

You Probably Have a Metal-Temperament Cat If... 164

Twinkie 164

Kuma 166

More Traits of Metal Pets 168

Chapter 11 Your Water Pet 170

Characteristics of a Water Pet 171

You Probably Have Water-Temperament Dog If... 172

You Probably Have a Water-Temperament Cat If... 173

Honeypie 173

Jeremy 175

More Traits of Water Pets 177

Chapter 12 Your Wood Pet 179

Characteristics of a Wood Pet 180

You Probably Have a Wood-Temperament Dog If... 181

You Probably Have a Wood-Temperament Cat If... 182

Fancy 182

Dante 183

More Traits of Wood Pets 184

Chapter 13 Managing Common Life Transitions 186

Polly 187

Mickey and Minnie 190

Selma and the New Puppy 193

Animals Face Big Transitions of Their Own 195

Change Happens 196

The Journey Together 197

Chapter 14 Frequently Asked Questions 199

Epilogue 215

Appendix: Alternative Veterinary Practitioners 217

Websites of Interest 218

Index 242