Customer Reviews

Give Your Dog a Bone: The Practical Commonsense Way to Feed Dogs for a Long Healthy Life

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Dr Billinghurst's book indeed suffers from a pretty bad presentation and the Dr's tendency to be a little redundant, but let's face it : the information inside the book will hit like a freight train, anyone who has been feeding kibble for years thinking it was the right thing to do.

I was one of those, I am a University Professor and like to think of myself as rather smart, besides I have been competing and breeding rottweilers at the highest levels since 1995 and feel I know lots of things about dogs... and yet this book really pointed at how stupid and naive I had been, feeding my dogs industrial kibble and not seeing for what they were, the warning signs that my dogs needed something else.

I didn't hesitate for long after reading that book, I made the switch to Dr Billinghurst's BARF Diet and my dogs have never been so great !

There are probably better books in order to have details on feeding ammounts, precise meal suggestions, etc. But Dr Billinghurst's book is a great starting point because it will really change your outlook on dog feeding.

Yes, it is terribly written. It is also confusing - often contradicting information is presented. BUT this is the book that got tens of thousands of people taking a very hard look at how they have been feeding their dogs, and coming to the conclusion that a commercial diet is by far from the best choice, and in fact raw, natural foods are the best choice for dog nutrition.

For those curious about getting started in changing their dogs' diets, I would recommend Kymythy Schultze's "Ultimate Nutrition" and Carina MacDonald's "Raw Dog Food" before recommending Billinghurst's "GYDAB".

But I would buy this little book too, as it's surely the "Grand Daddy of them all."

After reading many websites on the BARf diet, I was rather disappointed in this book. Our dog trainer recommended it so I purchased it(rather expensive). The author repeats over and over what could have been said in a few chapters. Commercial dog food is bad and bones are good pretty much sums it up. It would have been nice to have an index to look up specifics, like the actual diet.If you do a search on the BARf diet on the web you'll get precise, comprehensive information for no cost!

I found a boon with Dr. Billinghurst's book "Give Your Dog a Bone." I've been an advocate of home made meals for some years now. I knew dogs needed the calcium from bones. I thought it was enough to provide ground bone in their meals. I never anticipated that pets might derive satisfaction from doing what God intended them to. Rip, tear and crunch. My dog, up to that point, had been happily living on pooch meat patties I bought from the market. In this book, Dr. Billinghurst condemned these. He said they robbed a dog of satisfaction.

Made sense to me. My dog is a rescue. She has issues. She needed some satisfaction.

It was so funny giving her her first chicken wing. She had NO idea what to do with it. This really surprised me! She knew she wanted it. She whined and danced around the bone. She licked it and whined some more. My Persian, on the other hand, took to it like Jabba the Hutt.

In the past, she'd had taken only two or three minutes to wolf down her food. Sometimes she'd barf it right back up. Too much, too fast. But with the wings, she takes anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes to eat. She really enjoys her food. Often she makes little noises like a nursing puppy.

To top it off, she had an emotional break through as a result. As an abused dog, Honey had a lot of issues. Some manifested as her over eating. Some manifested as destructive behavior. After putting her on raw meaty bones (complimented with Orbee Tough toys during the day), these behaviors ended. Also, while she remains a very high energy pooch, she is no longer manic.

The sad ending to this story is that, I just discovered Dr. Billinghurst has sold out. I liked his book so much I went looking for more. Sadly, his third book advocates exactly what he condemns in his first book. Prefab doggie meat patties. I guess he smelled the profit factor.

While it's true that a dog can live a happy life on these patties, don't deny your dog the satisfaction of a raw meaty bone.

Also, I have an issue with Brewer's Yeast. If you won't give your pet by-products of a meat plant, why give them by-products of a brewery? Brewer's yeast is bitter and can cause gas. The alternative is often cheaper as well. Because the focus is health. Not making profit off of trash. "Nutritional yeast" is grown specifically for its nutrient qualities. It has a mild cheddar taste that both my dog and my cats love. You can sprinkle it on food or mix it with a little water and flax seed oil to make a yummy and nutritious sauce. As a side note, it goes great on popcorn.

All the info you need to feed your dog the way they are meant to eat is in here. Squeamish Americans may have trouble with this Australian vet's no-nonsense philosophy, but he's right and it works. He is a bit repetitive and production costs were kept to a minimum, but it serves his purpose well - to re-educate people. Great basic nutritonal primer. No matter which chapter you turn to, you will be regaled with his basic tenet - dogs need FRESH, RAW food (mostly raw, meaty bones) EVERY DAY to be healthy their whole lives.

I read this book nearly 5 years ago after getting a puppy. It is fantastic. I have been feeding the raw diet to my dog ever since. She is brimming with health, never smells, has a shiney beautiful coat.

I bought this book about 8 years ago, when my Boxer wasn't doing well on any commercial diet (I tried a few premium brand foods). He also had lots of other ailments and I was one of my vet's best clients.
After starting him on Dr. Billinghurst's ORIGINAL diet of raw meaty bones along with vegetables, I haven't needed a vet, except for rabies shots when I wanted to take him with me to Germany, and when he needed stitches in his ear after a fight. I was so happy that he was so healthy!
Of course, unfortunately there is no guarantee that your dog will not get ill when fed an exclusively raw diet.
My beautiful boy was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma at the age of 8 years and 9 months. The cell-types were of a kind that couldn't be cured with chemotherapy. We did enjoy another 3 months of playfull and quality time together, until I had to take the final decision.
My other dog (now 5 years old) has been fed a raw diet since he came to us at age 13 weeks, and has only been to the vet to be chipped and to have his puppy-shots and/or rabies shots. He has never been ill during these past 5 years.
Since Dr. Billinghurst's book I read a lot of other books on this topic, but I did find his book helpful for the starter on the path to B.A.R.F., that I was then. I re-read it a couple of times throughout the years.
The only thing that surprised me and I think is a pity, is the price...

Good information but very repetitive. The book should include a sample schedule or meal plan for feeding your dog but it doesn't. The author just provides some very broad feeding guidelines. Other than that, the very idea of feeding your dogs the way nature designed them to eat makes perfectly good sense to me. I first experimented with my own dog by giving him a raw chicken wing and my dog devoured it with relish!!! No hesitation there, as there was when I gave him cooked chicken. And indeed, my dog's breath really is sweet after all!!! It's raw from now on for my dog.

I was introduced to this diet by a relative. I have been personally involved in the rescue of abused dogs for years. I am a rather no-nonsense type of person. I have no interest, normally, in alternative medicine, meditation, accupucture or any other sort of "alternative lifestyle" trends. HOWEVER, this is a book of significance for any who really care about those animals, who by no choice of their own, depend upon human beings for their existance.
Basicly, I see a dog as a dog, not a little, slightly retarded person. If a dog can be saved, save it and give a good life. If a dog can't be saved, give it as much comfort and love as possible in its remaining time. I have found this diet to turn around animals faster and to a more robust state of health than I have often believed possible for my animals. Yes, the book is not going to win any awards for literature, but I read this book for informaion, not to play at being petty editor or a know it all. I consider this to be now a valuable addition to my library. Sure you can get a lot of information off the internet about BARF, but this book is important and the author should be supported by purchasing his extrodinary effort. I know what I know, and I know this information is significant. And, by the by, dogs really are ominvores.

Okay... first off, I feed my dogs & my cat raw. Pretty much the 'Barf' style of feeding. But, I have found this book to be VERY disappointing as I was hoping for some actual facts supported by 'evidence' that I could back my feeding practices up with. Instead, he says a lot of stuff that, while true, he doesn't bother to provide the sources to his 'facts'. So he makes it easy for someone who is skeptical to just dismiss the whole raw feeding thing altogether. This book is very repetitive, each chapter is basically some new info with a bunch of the old info rehashed over again (with no supporting evidence, of course... just 'take my word for it'). If you are looking for 'proof' that raw feeding is the right way to go, I'd recommend reading Tom Lonsdale's books instead (Raw Meaty Bones, Work Wonders). If you're the type of person that isn't looking for proof, but rather 'how to', then this book is probably Okay for that. Another issue that I have is the cheesy cartoons throughout the entire book. It takes a lot away from the author's professionalism & credibility. The 'Work Wonders' book from Lonsdale has the same sort of silly artwork, ????
Oh, & another concern... Billinghurst has his own line of special 'supplements' which are ridiculously overpriced, & has a website 'Barfworld' that you have to pay an annual membership fee to be involved with it. NOT cool.....