Flipping through it upon receipt, I was surprised to read that "ethoxyquin is safe as well as effective...has a very wide range of safety...[and] more so than any other antioxidant, has anticancer properties." Checking the author's bio, I found out that he "is widely published and has received numerous awards, including the Ralston Purina Award for research excellence in small animal diseases..." "Terrific," I thought, "an apologist for the pet food industry." NOT what I was looking for...

Reading further, however, I discovered Dr. Strombeck laying out his expose of commercial pet foods in a dry, clinical style that was actually a refreshing change from the strident and at times self-righteous indictments of the whole foods and holistic alternatives literature. Here is a lot of the same information expressed in a way that not only you can understand, but that your very straight-laced conventional veterinarian might actually consider.

The book is full of recipes that seem easy to prepare with one exception: unless you have a large animal, or are prepared to cook in larger batches, you will be trying to figure out how to measure 1/5 of a vitamin tablet or 1/10 of a teaspoon of salt (at least the recipes don't call for ethoxyquin). And, returning to that dry, clinical style, keep a dictionary handy unless you already know that "borborygmus" is basically those gurgling sounds in the gut.

I found the book very helpful in understanding why my dog's GI tract problems, which are probably food allergy related, are both so hard to diagnose and so hard to treat. It lays out a program that requires both patience and perseverance, but little in the way of medications or other invasive procedures. I'd give it at least 4 stars (5 if I wasn't a basically hard grader).


Superb summary of Dog and Cat Nutritional Requirements   October 25, 1999
 73 out of 73 found this review helpful

Whatever diet you choose to feed your dog or cat, this book will guide you in understanding the nutritional requirements for each. It is an outstanding treastise that contains many charts which do the intricate calculations in the NRC or Waltham Center Requirements so that you don't have to do them yourself. Additionally, there are well thought out cooked diets for cats and dogs enabling the breeder or pet owner to easily cook for their own dog(s) or cat(s). There is no other book that I know of on the market today that contains the wealth of information in this one; whether you are feeding a cooked, raw or commercial diet to your dog or cat, this information will be of value.