 Feeding dogs as they should be fed, 2005-08-13
Over the past few years we have 'cleaned up our act', we recycle everything, buy ecologically sound products, buy organic etc. When we first read a bit about natural feeding, it appealed because of it being very natural and it seemed to make sense, as our spaniel puppy was not at all keen on his very expensive puppy food. When we asked our dog trainer, she was all in favour of natural diets so we started to read more and changed him over to the diet after reading this book. He now loves his food and our very healthy puppy is now even more healthy. In response to the earlier review about the dog not being a carnivore, I quote from this book "The fact that your dog is a carnivore, a vegetarian, a scavenger, a hunter and an opportunist means that your dog is an omnivore". the book waxes lyrical at all times about raw meaty bones, but also about fruit, veg, offal, legumes, pulses, meat etc. The book is a bit repetitive and I would recommend further reading around the subject for greater practical clarity (try Tom Lonsdale's 'Raw Meaty Bones'. Overall a good read, a good reference for the natural feeder. Lastly, we love our dog and hope to do the best we can for him and we believe this approach to his care is part of that care. Be warned though, the sound of your dog crunching those chicken bones on the kitchen floor is strange to start with, but his enjoyment will convince you!
 The BEST thing i ever did for my dogs!, 2006-04-29
The Best thing i ever did for my dogs was buy this book!
Quite simply they have never been healthier or looked better!
I am so pleased i bought the book, and so are my dogs!
Another happy reader, 2007-01-31
I'll endorse the positive reviews. I was lent the book by the Animal Welfare Society (Australia), where we got our puppy and have followed its advice with great results for our dog, now nearly four years old.
As others have said, the writing in the book can be a little repetitive, but that's because the author is a subject expert rather than an expert writer.
I have to comment on the very negative review by "A Reader". First, it's clear they haven't read the book because they make a number of statements that don't reflect the books content. It appears they've simply decided to review it negatively for their own reasons. Statements like "not supported by scientists" and assertions about pet food companies' expenditure on research are just assertions. If you want to persuade us of your point of view, please identify yourself and support your assertions with data, references, URLs etc.
My positive review of the book is based on my own reading and experience with my dog, who's been on this diet since he was three months old. It came professionally recommended to me and vets I've spoken to agree with its content.
It's a simple fact that many vet practices get a lot of income from sales of premium commercial pet food and they have a commercial in selling them. I'm not bashing any vets for wanting to make a living (all the ones I know work extremely hard and deserve all they get). And I'm not qualified to judge the nutritional merit of these products. But I can compare their cost and convenience with the diet advocated by this book - which comes out way ahead of them. And Dr Billinghurst's logic is irrefutable - dogs have been thriving and evolving for millennia without commercial dog food.
The way forward for dogs, 2006-04-05
Looking through the other reviews, particularly the negative ones leads me to think that not everyone reads this book properly. This was my "bible" when I first started raw feeding 8 years ago - I now have an eight year old lab who is fit, slim, has great teeth, doesn't smell and a six year old collie who has never had commercial dog food in her life - for my dogs, it's the best thing I ever did. Although the diet is based on raw meaty bones, this book also tells you to include other foods in the dog's diet - after all, they are omnivores. And yes, the book is repetitive in places, and perhaps sometimes very anti-commercial pet food makers and some vets, but this is a man speaking with the courage of his convictions - and he convinced me. But rather than just read this book, I also read Lonsdale and Schultz - between them all, they give sound advice and all the information you need to improve your dog's diet and his health.
 Not advised by scientists!, 2005-06-15
The diets suggested in this book has NO scientific background. NONE of the claims are substantiated by unbiased scientific study. A dog is NOT a carnivore and cannot live on meat and bones alone - they are omnivores. GOOD commercial dog-food companies put millions of pounds into researching the nutritional needs of dogs, and provide everything a dog needs for different life stages - for example, more vitamins are needed for some older dogs (how can you give them this with just bones/meat?). Feeding young dogs meaty-bone diets is VERY dangerous - you are risking irreversible joint and bone disease, things which are easily avoided with a proper diet. This is particularly true of large breed dogs. I am writing this because I have not only researched and studied dog food (as nutrition is my favourite area of veterinary medicine), but because I do not want dogs coming into my surgery with diseases/problems caused by the diets suggested in this book. Do your dog a favour, feed it properly. Do you really know what nutrients, carbohydrate, protein, fibre etc your dogs needs and what you are providing it? Because decent dog food companies do, and that's what they supply.
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