Description
Price: $24.99 - $14.96
(as of Mar 03, 2025 05:52:57 UTC – Details)
In National Geographic’s comprehensive and easy-to-use illustrated pet reference, a renowned veterinarian offers expert advice on common health, behavior, and training for cats, dogs, and other domestic pets.
Combining first aid, medical reference, and tips and tricks of the trade, here is your go-to-guide for at-home animal care, focusing on dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, and more! Building on more than two decades of veterinary experience, Dr. Gary Weitzman covers topics including upset stomachs, house training, physical ailments and behavior tips. The president and CEO of the San Diego Humane Society and former co-host of the weekly NPR show The Animal House, “Dr. Gary” brings a wealth of experience to essential veterinary questions, revealing basic first-aid techniques, when a trip to the vet is necessary, dietary recommendations, simple training techniques, necessary supplies, essential behavior cues, and much more.
From the Publisher
Ask Dr. Gary!
How Often Should I Clean My Pet’s Cage?
Whether you have a hamster, rat, mouse, rabbit, guinea pig, or other small pet, a clean habitat is important for overall health. Spot-clean the cage, and wash the food and water containers daily. Do a complete cage cleaning at least once or twice a week. First, remove your pet and confine him to a safe place. Then, dump all the old bedding, wash the cage with dish soap and water or a pet-safe disinfectant, dry thoroughly, and replenish the bedding.
Love is a Wet Nose
Whether it’s your sleepy cat or tail-wagging dog greeting you every day, nuzzling means love. Loving back is making your pet’s life the best it can be. For this, turn to renowned veterinarian Dr. Gary, and his expert advice on health, behavior, and training for your pet—including rabbits, birds, and more! Combining first aid, medical reference, and tips and tricks of the trade, here is your go-to guide for at-home animal care.
Consider these criteria when searching for your one-of-a-kind pet:
1. Activity Level: You must balance the pet’s needs and your own. 2. Organization: Some pets are messier than others. Who will be responsible for cleaning up after the dog? 3. Time management: How much time are you at home? 4. Space: How big is your house? 5. Family dynamics: Do you have other pets? Have you considered how they will react to a new pet in the house? 6. Commitment: Are you in it for the long haul? A pet is a lifelong commitment.
Human Happiness
The human–animal relationship is one of the cornerstones of a just and compassionate society. Beginning in childhood and continuing throughout life, the bonds we form with our companion animals can provide the basis of respect and regard for all living things.
—Gus W. Thornton, former president of MSPCA-Angell and the World Society for the Protection of Animals
Homemade Diet Do’s and Don’ts
If you want to cook for your pet, use fresh ingredients, and store them properly. Follow these simple rules:
Do follow a complete-and-balanced recipe approved by a board-certified veterinary behaviorist Don’t make major changes to recipes without consulting a vet. Do feed whole, unprocessed foods. Don’t feed too many carbohydrates. The bulk of your pet’s food should be meat. Do ensure your pet gets the essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients he needs. Don’t feed your pet a vegetarian diet. Dogs are omnivores, and cats are carnivores. I applaud you for choosing a human vegetarian diet, but dogs and cats
are simply not designed to be vegetarians.Don’t give up. Cooking for your pet takes effort, but if you do it right, your pet will certainly benefit.
Preventive Veterinary Care
Your veterinarian is your partner in your pet’s health care, even when your pet is not sick. Let me change that: especially when your pet is not sick. Visiting your vet for preventive care is just as important as going when your pet is ill or injured. In fact, staying on top of your pet’s health when he’s well can help spot diseases early, so they can be treated fast. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure doesn’t apply only to humans. If you’re a first-time pet owner, if you haven’t owned a pet in a while, or if you have recently moved, you’ll have to select a veterinarian for your pet. Asking friends, family, and neighbors for referrals is great. If that’s not an option, turn to the internet for help.
Five Tips For An Effective Lost Pet Poster
The Missing Pet Partnership (MPP) recommends a highly effective method for creating lost pet signs. According to the theory, you have only five seconds and five words to get the attention of walkers or drivers passing your sign. Use these tips from the MPP to grab people’s attention so they can help you find your missing pet:
1. Make signs huge.
2. Choose fluorescent poster board.
3. Post signs at major intersections near where your pet was lost.
4. Keep wording brief, using huge capital letters: HELP FIND LOST DOG! BEAGLE! RED COLLAR!
5. Tape a smaller flyer with a photo and your phone number to the center of the poster, with the large capital lettering above and below it.
Publisher : National Geographic; Illustrated edition (April 2, 2019)
Language : English
Paperback : 400 pages
ISBN-10 : 1426219652
ISBN-13 : 978-1426219658
Item Weight : 2.8 pounds
Dimensions : 7.7 x 1.07 x 9.75 inches
Sarah Young –
Fantastic book!!!
This is written by one of the smartest people I know. He is not only a vet but he also runs the San Diego Humane Society. I have met him several times as a volunteer and he is so personable and approachable to everyone that volunteers. His book is great as is the one that he wrote about cats and another that he wrote about dogs.
Kat –
Great book!
Good shipping. Great book! Bigger than I thought!!
paul martin –
not read it all yet
so far it is a great book
W. Simpsen –
Nice resource for when I have questions about my dog
This book has lots of information about cats, but I’ve been using it for my dog. It’s a good reference for when I have questions about what’s going on with him, but don’t want to bother the vet if I can find the answers myself.There are six parts that follow the introduction. The first is about how pets contribute to human happiness and the process of adopting and getting ready for your new pet. Part 2 covers Everyday Pet Health and Nutrition. while the third part talks about training. Parts 4 and 5 have information on emergencies and health issues that can be commonly found in pets. The final section is about aging pets and some of the problems they might have. There are also three helpful appendices that touch on animal welfare and drugs.I haven’t picked up this book and read it from start to finish. I’ve been mainly looking int he contents or the index to find what I need and reading about that section. The information is fairly concise and easy to understand. The are lots of great pictures throughout the text too. The book is rather heavy as it’s made with thick, high quality paper. That makes it durable and it will be a handy form of reference material for me for years to come.
X. Fossor –
Nice Reference. Good Subject Coverage.
This is primarily a book for dog and cat owners (though there is some info for birds). As such, my comments are dog/cat owner-focused.At $16.37 (Amazon price at the time of this review) there’s no reason for a pet owner of the single variety (meaning, a dog or cat, etc., but not both) to “complain.” Yes, single-type pet owners may only be getting “half a book,” but the price is good. (To be fair, it’s better than “half a book” because there are sections that apply to both.)Nice format; as it’s not a pocket handbook or medical text, it’s laid out in a manner that’s both informative and a pleasure to read/skim through. I strongly recommend using Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature so you can peruse the table of contents, the index, and places in-between.I don’t always find myself in agreement with the author (based on my pet experience (and experiences with/at the vet), but what he writes is interesting and engaging. At a minimum, it’s excellent food for thought.Though I may have found myself disagreeing in spots, one chapter I thoroughly enjoyed (if one can use that word here) was the chapter on end-of-life care and decisions. Thoughtfully written and well-presented, I felt it was one of the sections that best recommends the book.Are there other good/great books out there? Sure. But this is equally nice and worth your strong consideration.5 stars.
Maxwell Edison –
Good info, good price
I’ve gotten used to using the web for medical info on our dogs. That usually works with a quick search, but I’m old enough where I appreciate having a bound book with the same info. For the price, it’s a good buy. We don’t have cats or any other animals beside dogs, but there’s a lot of dog-specific info here.I like to read through the book here and there, dipping in and learning about issues we aren’t even having with the dogs yet. I guess I like knowing what problems are out there and therefore what to look for in the future. You can’t really do that as well on the net, at least I can’t. For that reason alone, I enjoy having an actual printed book around, especially this one.
Casper & Boo –
old info/not up-to-date, not accurate or indepth
Not a horrible guide book by no means, it is just not very informative outside of your basic info. to me this book is more of a short ‘intro’ into almost all subject matters type of book and most section do not go in depth enough or offer real help to really help much. For example the feeding section first part is “how much to feed” it never really tells you what that how much is, only that ‘if you want to calculate how much food, go for energy level measured in kilocalories per day’ but it doesn’t show you how, you have to remember that hey i think 20 pages earlier in label reading section there was a side box that showed the calculation to use for calculating kilocalories (and you are better off going online to figure that math out). this book also does a big no-no in this feeding section (and repeated in other sections as well) to me, it keeps telling you there’s an easier way to figure out calories, ‘read the food label’ for the scientist of those commercial pet foods have already done the math for approx amount you should feed your pet….hmmm hello there is a reason we have so many obese dogs and cats nowadays, it isn’t always because of their owners, its the amount pet food comps say to feed your pets!! for example your average neutered laying around house cats should get about 20 cals per lb, so my 9lb cats should get no more than 180 cals, yet her pet food bag told me to feed 1/2cp per day, its a high calorie food and that 1/2 cup equals 272 calories per day, needless to say she got fat for i didn’t know better back then and listen to innocent misinformation/advice given by vet/etc like given in this book.. They also discourage raw feeding (most vets do so normal to read that in book), don’t mention in dry kibble food section that its not ideal for cats (you will read feeding wet is best in a side box later) and other things like that.there are parts in book on topics i read that just doesn’t seem like good advice/etc., like when he speaks of “carbohydrates being an important nutrient for pets” hmm noooo it is not an important ingredient for cats at all.. With that mentioned, i checked out the diabetic section, which turned out to only be a page worth of info in total (for such a growing complex disease, that is not much info/help at all), this was the last section i read in this book before deciding i was done with it…ANY book written by a vet or expert in the year 2019 that sits there and still basically promotes a high-fiber diet & weight loss for a diabetic pet without even mentioning a ‘high protein low carb diet’ at all (the actual diet promoted by knowledgable vets for years now) isn’t worthy of being read/listened to period because at this point i am more knowledgable than this vet is! those of us that have a diabetic cat, know full well a high protein low carb wet food diet under 10% is how you care for a daibetic cat, high-fiber should only be used if a cat/dog cannot handle a high protein diet!seems i got grumpy so i will stop here. IF you are a new pet owner for first time, this is a decent ‘intro’ guide into different topics if you are looking for something to hold in your hand to read but, please still use the internet to confirm what you read and to get different views on the subject/s you are interested in.. In the end, everything in this book can be learned about more indepth and be much more informative and actually up-to-date if you just do a search online..**on very first page of book it has important note: it claims book is for educational purposes, you should disquss advice/guidance in book with a vet.** yes, you should or at least the internet..