Customer Reviews

Canine Nutrition: Choosing the Best Food for Your Breed

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

Since the author's focus is on home prepared diets, I didn't expect to be guided through the processed food choices. While the book does not give recipes for home cooking, it is interesting to note the authors descriptions of variances in foods between breeds. The point of one generic diet being optimal for any dog ( as processed food companies would have us believe ) is shattered here. I tried to come up with recipes for my dog that included foods the author suggests and eliminated the items that would theoretically offend. What I discovered is that my dog is an individual and does not follow the mold in this book. But after reading this material, I found a dog dietician on the net and this became my dog's saving grace. I doubt I would ever have considered this without reading this book.

After reading this book I personally spoke with the author to get more detail. This purpose of this book is to make public the scientific results of the food trials and research in question. It is not a how-to book that spoon feeds you information and preconceived notions. Dr. Cusick is addressing the causes of allergies and incompatiblities in the different ingredients that are given to each dog. The whole point is that there is NO one commercial food for all dogs. The information in this book is the result of many years of research and testing on all breeds. The topic of nutrition is so big that one book can not cover it all. Good nutrition is not simple. I was largely ignorant about commercially prepared foods before reading this book. I didn't know that corn and dried beet pulp are two of the worst allergens that are routinely put into prepackaged foods. There is only one commercial food that I know of that doesn't contain corn and that one brand only comes in one flavor so it is not best for all dogs. The author is trying to get the point across that each dog needs a specific meat (such as beef or venison) and while some may be allergic to certain foods, others may not be. The whole point is that not only do English breeds eat differently that Asian breeds or Wolfdogs, but even within a breed, the diet must be specialized. While I am a proponent of feeding organic pure foods across the board, preferably home made diets, that is not the subject of this book. Once one understands that commercial foods are not only junk food but they are also not customized, then one will stop looking for someone to write a book reviewing dog food brands. That is like looking for some to write a book on fast food restaurants and to say which is the healthiest. None of them are!!! That is an uninformed expectation. One needs to use this book as a reference, go to your local free-range meat butcher (usually at a health food store) and buy the ingredients listed for your breed. This is a book for those who know how to cook and who know how to use forums to learn the basics of cooking for a dog, including safe food handling procedure. Dr. Cusick is not trying to bias his work by giving plugs to the dog food industry. He is trying to say you have to custom prepare food for each dog. It is up to the reader to have the intuition to proceed further in their research.

I thought this book would give list of what foods to feed your dog. I also thought that food brands would be listed and what was best for your dog would be covered. Neither were. There is a small section at the begining on vitamins, meats, etc and then about 10 sentences per dog breed for the remainder of the book. Too little information for my taste. This book did not tell me anything about what to feed my dog.

Incredibly helpful book!
This book is an excellent guideline to feed by breed!
All breeds have different nutritional requirements based on body type, occupation, and origin. This book shows what types of grains, meats and vegetation are best for each breed in addition to going over general nutritional information re: vitamins & minerals, protiens, carbohydrates, fatty acids, how & when to supplement, etc.
As an animal behaviorist and canine/feline clinical nutritionist I found this book to be an excellent tool and valuable part of my canine library.

No way does he establish credibility.. while I think yes, there are probably small differences in feeding different breeds, feeding dogs of different breeds is not much different than feeding people of different nationalities! Dogs are still ALL dogs after all.
The lists of supplements are daunting: where would a person find all that stuff???
Just not worth the money and I would not take the chance on feeding my dog anything he says... I don't see what makes him an authority on this subject.

If you compare his claims against the actual sources of his "research", you will find that much of it is completely taken out of context in order to support the point he is trying to make.

Lots of hype and no real facts. Outdated research.