The science behind the dry versus raw debate

From the vet health professional to canine professional to the avid canine enthusiast, Feeding Dogs is a fascinating, at times shocking and utterly essential portrayal of canine nutrition today. With a clear and tangible passion for the subject but with an entertaining, highly readable style, Dr Conor Brady forensically translates the available research on a great variety of topics, detailing for us not only what dogs should eat but what they are currently being fed. Crucially, modern diet strategies are linked to many of the diseases that plague our pets today, including obesity, cancer, pancreatitis and bloat. As the scientific and corporate tricks reveal themselves, the fantasy of a 'complete' diet falls away, replaced with the knowledge that formulating a balanced dog diet by ourselves is not only uncomplicated but utterly essential to their health and longevity.

With more than 500 pages and 1200 references, Feeding Dogs is the most thorough examination of the canine nutrition debate to date. Over four large sections, it provides:

• Section 1: An examination of what the dog consumes when left to his own devices and the biological and physiological machinery that facilitates that process.
• Section 2: A thorough presentation of the major issues with ultra-processed kibble including the effects of excessive carbohydrates, insufficient protein, erratic nutrient contents and hazardous microbiology on the health of the dog. All these chapters will be a first for most vets. Also, for the first time, the scientific evidence in support of raw feeding is collated including head-to-head studies that examine both dry and raw-fed dog populations and the effects of poor nutrition on behaviour.
• Section 3: A staggering reveal of the problems in the veterinary sector, from the gross lack of adequate nutritional training and regulation of the pet food sector to the pseudoscience that is currently being fed to us by the industry.
• Section 4: An expansive description of what might constitute the ideal canine diet might look like. From a fascinating dissection of what balance means to a thorough exploration of what ingredient and why, Dr Conor Brady presents new insights that will keep both amateur and raw-pro gripped to the end (and what an end!).

Each chapter comes with a complete bibliography and handy take-home points.