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Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals

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***The first guide to both raw feeding and healthy homecooked meals for dogs.

In the whirlwind of information about local, organic, and whole foods, it’s easy to forget that our canine companions can also benefit from—and deserve—a more natural and nurturing diet. Preparing Fido’s food at home may seem daunting, but it’s really not, says Lew Olson in Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs. Olson discusses canine nutritional needs and explains the research on how home-prepared foods, particularly raw foods, can meet pets’ needs better than commercial, processed dog food. Step-by-step instructions and recipes make preparation easy. The book includes charts with the recipes, instructions on keeping diets simple and balanced, guidelines on preparation, suggestions for finding ingredients, and how much to feed a dog by body weight. There are recipes for healthy adult dogs as well as guidelines for puppies, senior dogs, and dogs with health conditions including pancreatitis, renal problems, gastric issues, allergies, heart disease, liver disease, and cancer. Pet owners seeking to give their dogs a better coat, better skin, and healthier teeth and gums, as well as longer lives and more stable temperaments, are sure to welcome this book.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

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Lew Olson

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5 stars
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43 (36%)
3 stars
21 (17%)
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7 (5%)
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Patti .
93 reviews
June 30, 2010
Lew Olson is someone I listen to when it comes to my dogs. Subscribe to her B-Naturals monthly newsletter - you'll learn so much.
84 reviews
July 31, 2010
I have decided to make the switch to a raw diet for my dogs in order to see if it will help my kelpie/corgi's allergy and stomach issues. This book was an eye-opener about commercial dog foods and gave me a MUCH better understanding of what dogs SHOULD be eating based on their actual digestive system. The sample diets based on the dog's weight was super-helpful and the main chapters were easy to understand and helped me feel comfortable in making the transition for my dogs. Highly recommend!
Profile Image for Renee.
162 reviews23 followers
February 26, 2011
This is a must read for any pet owner - even one that chooses to stick with feeding commercial foods.

It strikes me as so strange that we are aware of how processed foods are detrimental to our own health - and, yet, pet food industry would convince us that dogs not only thrive, but NEED to eat processed foods. This book really blows that out of the water. And, well, we should know better. How can so much of the population of pet owner's be so blind?

I currently feed my dogs a homecooked diet, aided by the wonderful products made by The Honest Kitchen. The book is an invaluable resource, as I struggle to clear up the many health issues for my current foster dog. I hope to see a marked improvement by increasing supplements and continuing a raw diet for him.

Lew is completely nonjudgmental to the masses of dog owners. She realizes that much of our knowledge (lack of), is directly related to big money pet food industries. Through out the entire book, she encourages us to take charge of our dogs nutrition, and makes it simple to do.

The only reason this isn't a five-star read is because it gets a little confusing on supplements and clear direction on preparing the cooked meals in bulk. However, I think trial and error will remedy this.
Profile Image for Anne.
4 reviews
July 20, 2012
We are planning to get a pup in a few weeks time and I am keen to fed it as well as I can. When I was growing up our dogs at home were fed mostly raw meat and biscuit with the occasional veggie. A raw natural diet for our dog seems to be the natural choice to me but I wanted to be sure of what I was doing so I bought a couple of books on the subject. This book is written by a dog breeder and American Kennel Club judge who has a PhD in natural health and who specialises in canine digestion. I found it very informative and I am feeling confident about feeding our pup a raw, healthy, nutritious diet when she arrives.
I have now started to read the other book that I bought “Raw Dog Food” by dog owner Carina Macdonald.
Profile Image for Ron Lansverk.
29 reviews3 followers
September 25, 2014
My daughter and her partner, involved in Pit Bull rescue, decided, after a ton of research, to switch their dogs to raw...as dogs are meant eat.

It didn't take me long to decide to switch my working dog sheltie to raw...slowly introducing it to her with her original diet. At the end of a week she was eating totally raw.

Had I gotten to the part in this informative book Ivwould have realized it probably could, and should have, taken up to a month!

Oops. She lives it! Complete change in spirit, energy, and her BM's do not smell!
Profile Image for Allison.
36 reviews1 follower
February 12, 2015
A pretty easy and straight forward book to read and understand. The sample diets give you a great idea of what is needed, when and why. The information is clear, a little bit repetitive but not annoyingly so. And does try to use actual scientific data to explain the benefits of raw feeding. The information on supplements is pretty good and useful. Although I did find the author spruiking her brand of supplements a trifle annoying. Especially as none of these are available in Australia, at least to my knowledge.
Profile Image for Jennie.
416 reviews20 followers
July 5, 2012
I will probably never feed my dog raw or exclusively meals that I have prepared, but I thought this was an interesting book and I will use the recipes (there are two) that are a mix of kibble and "real" food.
Profile Image for Laura.
6 reviews
July 23, 2012
Great easy read and the chapter's break down the dog's nutritional needs and explains how raw foods and home-prepared foods can meet your pet's needs better than the processed, commercial pet foods that people purchase in stores... pretty informative and can use the book as a reference.
Profile Image for Amy.
369 reviews3 followers
September 3, 2012
Enjoyed this book. Good information and accessible, makes the idea of getting away from kibble seem very do-able.
Profile Image for Vanessa.
3,218 reviews27 followers
April 18, 2017
One of the best books I have purchased for making homemade meals for my Westie and my Cavapoo.
They love them and always licks their bowls clean x
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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