Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet: Healthier Dog Food the ABC Way

I have 2 JRT's. One of them, from the time I brought her home at 12 weeks old, was itching so much, that he skin was constantly really pink. She itched so much she kept ME awake at night. We went to the Vet, checked her for everything, ruled out even more, but the only solution they could come up with was giving her steroids every spring & fall (when it was at it's worst). I didn't like the idea of having her put on steroids at such a young age & keeping her on them lifetime! Especially when it only reduced some of the itching, didn't get rid of it. So I decided to do some research of my own & bought this book. AWESOME BOOK WITH GREAT INFORMATION IN IT!! I live in a very small town (pop. 750) in a very rural area, so getting the ingredients to make them "home-made" dog food was out of the question. So I tried one of the dry dog foods that was recommended in this book. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! It took a few weeks, but since that time she has been "itch free"! That was 7 years ago. I bought Evo dry dog food & took care of the food as recommended in this book. (Keeping it in the freezer, not buying bulk amounts & pouring them into another bin, to keep all the critters out of it & not letting the things like DHA break-down in it) I even found out there is a type of mold that dry dog food can get that the dogs can't detect, but can make them sick! There is SO MUCH GREAT INFORMATION in this book, that it's worth it's weight in GOLD! My dogs also have beautiful shiny coats now, they don't shed as badly as they used to every year. A lot of folks think that these kinds of dog food are too expensive, but there are no fillers in it, so the dogs require a lot less of it than grocery store dog food! My 12 lb. JRT only requires 1/4 cup a day & they are very active dogs! So by feeding less, the food lasts longer & the price balances out. Another unexpected benefit from feeding GOOD FOOD to my dogs is, they don't require as much to eat, so there is less "Doggy-Doo" to clean up in the yard! This book explains everything from how to store, how long it can be safely left out of the freezer, etc. Some of the book gets pretty technical, but it's not someting that we need to really understand unless we are scientists! It even has recipes for making your own dog food, how to read the labels on dog food bags (the first ingredient listed is what the dog food contains the most of!! Did you know that "Chicken By Products" which is one of the main ingredients in dog food, is actually the crap they sweep up off the floor where the chickens are processed?? NASTY!

I purchased this book because I was concerned about the Ca:P ratios (and absolute amounts) in the RAW diets that I have seen (and was using) relative to the research that I had undertaken. In conducting my research, I came across one of Steve's papers which validated my concerns, and helped me make immediate changes in my regimen.I believe that RAW feeding is a lifestyle choice that may not suit the majority of dog owners. Until this year, my 36th year as an adult dog owner, I've not had to consider the nutrition of my dogs so much. However, being presented with an allergic dog (a rescue, who for a moment when looking at her feet thought that I would run for the hills)I started down the path of nutrition changes to help this girl (and avoid prolonged vet care). We went from grain-free to RAW two months ago. The difference in her energy is remarkable. Her feet are clear. She is off daily allergy meds.Regardless, even for commercial dog food feeders, this book has excellent information on how to easily enhance/supplement that feeding program. Further, with so much information and misinformation on RAW regimens (by experts and so-called experts), if the average layperson is not informed about nutritional imperatives (and biological imperatives can never be out-argued in the long term), then it is difficult to evaluate the efficacy of such regimens. I believe that this book, better than any other information that I have seen, satisfies my needs for such understanding to make informed decisions. For my use, it was the perfect blend of technical, practical and most importantly, practicable,knowledge.I'm unclear as to why some have levied the criticism of 'fussy' and 'impossible'. Based on other diet profiles that I have read, the recipes contained in this book are the EASIEST to acquire and put together than most that I have read. Steve's conversational tone and clearly 'walking the reader through' how the nutritional analysis is done to balance the important underlying ratios provides a roadmap for understanding the technicalities while making this information both accessible and understandable.Moreover, because Steve is an expert in his field of dog nutrition, I trust the validity of this information over and above many of the anecdotal books out there that are popular, but have untested or unreported nutritional profiles.If you want to confidently answer the question: How do you know that your homemade recipe is balanced, this book will give you that confidence.And while it is tempting to make what I consider a specious argument that 'we don't go through such an analysis for ourselves for what we eat, why would we do it for a dog?', dogs do not have the ability to articulate health concerns in the early stages, and our observations about nutritional deficiencies may come too late. Further, epidemiological studies offer abundant proof that our choices are not that great!My preference is to not risk my dogs' health due to my own ignorance or arrogance, and to be able to honestly answer the question of "how do I know?". I am very, very happy with this purchase, and with it learned for the first time that I could order a "Kindle Edition" without owning a Kindle.

I respect and admire the incredible work of research the author did but for me was totally overwhelming, to much content tables, numbers and details. Ended up more confused than I was about what to feed my new pup.

A useful addition to my nutrition library. Very chart heavy. Which can make it hard work. This seems to be aimed at providing a dog with one good nutritious meal a week if they are dry fed the rest of the time. This might be more helpful for some dog owners who don't have the resources to prepare home cooked food for every day.

I really like this book. The author explains what nutrition dogs need. The recipes are healthy and easy to prepare.I highly recommend it! 👍🏻❤️

Very informative book.

Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet: Healthier Dog Food the ABC Way. A well writen informative read for anyone interested in improving their dogs diet and health.