What is safe to feed your dog

The first American Vet to write a best selling book was Richard Pitcairn, DMV, Ph.D., whose holistic diets inspired a bounty of books and magazines. Pitcairn's diets are based on raw or cooked meat, raw bones, raw or pasteurized dairy products and cooked grains, with small amounts of nuts, seeds, vegetables, herbs, fruits and supplements like brewer's yeast, bone meal, powdered kelp, vegetable oil, fish oil and vitamin D capsules. His book Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats was last revised in 1995 and will guide any pet owner who wishes to go the holistic way.

In 1993, the Australian veterinarian, Ian Billinghurst published a book called Give Your Dog a Bone and the BARF diet was born. Variously translated as Bones And Raw Food, Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, Billinhurst Australian Real Food, and the tongue in cheek Born Again Raw Feeders, this diet is based on feeding raw meaty bones, animal offal, raw vegetables and supplements. To quote Billinghurst "A biologically appropriate diet for a dog is one that consists of raw whole foods similar to those eaten by the dogs' wild ancestors" One of the more entertaining sites introducing a BARF diet comes from Australian Tracy Bassett who has the reader visualize the freshly killed prey animal and then goes through the dogs' meal from it. There is also a pictorial site (www.auntjeni.com/barf.htm) as a raw feeding practitioner prepares dinner for her dogs.

There are, as well, both "Pre-mixes" and commercial frozen products which espouse the natural and/or organic preferences in food. Pre-mixes offer the convenience of a (usually) dehydrated mix of grains, vegetables and vitamins to which the dog owner adds fresh meat for a meal. Many contain at least some organic ingredients and a few can be fed without the addition of meat, although their makers encourage the customers to add meat and other ingredients if they wish. (see Whole Dog Journal, 2004) Frozen raw products are found on the web as well as in several commercial big box pet stores and conform to a number of diets including BARF. The convenience of both the frozen and dehydrated products is offset by their relatively high cost.