Wendy's Story
I gave up my career at the Wall Street
Journal in the 1970’s and literally went to the dogs. My beloved
Landseer Newfoundland, Heidi, at the age of five, was diagnosed with
severe liver and kidney disease and given a mere six months to
live. Naturally, I was devastated.
Some time earlier I had come across a
book written by the famous herbalist Juliette de Bairacli Levy,
called “The Complete Herbal Book for the Dog”. According to Levy,
feeding a dog an improper diet could cause untold damage. To get a dog
well again, Levy advocated a 2-week fast, followed by her diet. “What,” I
thought, “did I have to lose?”
I put Heidi on a fast with water and
herbal teas, which flushed out her system. Every day she didn’t eat her
regular kibble diet, she got better. Following Levy’s diet, I slowly
introduced oats, buckwheat, honey, fresh meat, vegetables and herbs. Heidi never looked back and went on to live to the ripe old age of 12 ½.
When fellow dog lovers saw what I was
doing, they wanted to do the same thing for their dogs. I would hold
“cooking classes” to teach them how to do it and show them where to buy
ingredients.
With the help of my veterinarian, I
began a protocol of periodic blood tests to see if the diet was balanced
for the dogs. For over twelve years, I took blood from as many dogs as I
could, from different areas of the country, different breeds, and
different ages. I had to tweak the formula to make sure the recipe was
balanced. Satisfied, I finally published the recipe in 1984 under the
title “Back to Basics.”
During these years I became a breeder of
Landseer Newfoundlands and by feeding my diet was able to eliminate
from my breeding program hip and elbow dysplasia. My Newfs lived up to
14 years, while the national average was 7 years. I participated in
performance events, working and showing my dogs until they were at least
10 and only then were they retired under protest. They wanted to keep
working!
I also had other dogs, all of whom lived
to ripe old ages – a rescue Springer Spaniel, a rescue German Shepherd,
a Yorkshire Terrier, a Briard, Labrador Retrievers and Standard
Wirehaired Dachshunds. All were trained and were shown in performance
events. I was able to observe their dietary needs under stressful and
high-energy output conditions over the course of many years.
More importantly, I was helping many
dogs become well again. I began to lecture and give seminars throughout
North America and Europe on the subjects of canine health and nutrition.
In the early 1990’s my work came to the
attention of Howell Book House, a division of Wiley Publishing, and I
was asked to write a book. I accepted the invitation and, together with
Kerry Brown, DVM, wrote “The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog,”
published in 1995. The book was such a success that I was asked to write
a second edition, which was published in 2000 under the same title.
In 1999, I formulated a dehydrated
formula of my recipe. I teamed up with a dog food company to market my
Natural Diet Foundation AM and Natural Diet Foundation PM. The product
promotes good digestion, not only in healthy dogs, but also in dogs with
delicate digestive systems, or chronically ill dogs. Most recently I
developed NDF2, an all in one dehydrated food that offers owners an even
simpler way to feed their dogs.
My dream has always been to be
independent. So, here I am, at long last doing what I always wanted to
do. I am proud to announce the launch of my own company, Volhard Dog
Nutrition with the hope that I can help more dogs live long and healthy
lives.
Often copied, but never successfully, my
natural dog foods are without doubt the most clinically tested dog
foods on the market. They began the natural, raw food wave that is now
sweeping the country. No company can match VDN foods tested over that
many generations of dogs.
I believe the foundation for a healthy
and happy dog rests on sound, complete nutrition. If you believe the
same, try a Volhard Dog Nutrition product - you will notice the
difference. I bet my own dogs’ lives on it every day.
