Understanding canine nutrition books-suggestions?


  • just got a kindle for christmas and I have been really interested in understanding nutrition for dogs, particularly a breakdown of protein ratios, necessary carbs etc…I swear some members have recommended books before but searching the archives I cant seem to find any! please chime in with good reads on canine nutrition, thanks!!


  • Some of the most enduring are by Richard Pitcairn, Donald Strombeck, Ian Billinghurst, Tom Lonsdale and the Volhards.


  • Thanks Debra, understanding what a dog needs and how it supports function has always been so intersting to me. I always love when topics come up here about feeding raw or home cooked or the reason behind dry dog food choices. Reading up on it is something I'm excited to learn about!

  • First Basenji's

    I've read and like the Pitcairn. I also liked Monica Segal's K9 Kitchen. The Canine Ancestral Diet and Lew Olson's Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs were also helpful. Also picked up a copy of Small Animal Clinical Nutrition as personal reference, though they're not too keen on raw or even home-cooked. It's good to have a variety of sources to draw from, to be read with a critical eye towards the author's sources, their agenda, whether or not they have something to sell.


  • Thanks curlytails, I'm going to get a few, I certainly like the idea of reading three separate books, each with an angle..one with a raw stance, a home cooked stance and one against those and for dry…although as a whole I just want to learn more about the physiological effects of nutrients and proper amounts...all angles fascinate me.


  • I'll probably read them all…the books by the Pitcairn's as well as Monica Segal, and Ian Billinghurst are first on my list...starting on one book tonight!

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