Thursday, December 10, 2020

Big Kibble by Shawn Buckley and Dr. Oscar Chavez

We love dogs and they love us humans. Sometimes dogs feel like one of the family. So how should they be fed and taken care of? The authors explore the big business of pet food, a 30+ billion dollar industry.

The first part of the book is about dogs and their relationship to humans. I was surprised to find about the increase in dog friendly coffee shops, for example, as the importance of pets is more widely recognized. That is followed by an exploration of the history of commercial dog food, the contents, and the corporate practices. Lastly, the authors identify what dogs really need to eat for optimum health, human grade food, and include some of their own recipes.

There is disturbing information included in this book, such as what the FDA really regulates and what “Made in the USA” really means (sourcing from China). The stories of dogs suffering and dying from toxic ingredients are heart breaking. The influence of corporations on veterinarians and vet schools is disturbing. And some of the descriptions of “meat” sourcing, I have to admit I skipped reading. It is for those with strong stomachs.

The authors did not write this book to make money. All royalties go to rescue organizations. They did not write this book to sell their own dog food products. They offer food recipes in the book and others readers can download for free at their JustFoodForDogs website.

If you love your dog, this book is worth reading.

You can read an excerpt here and watch the book trailer here.


My rating: 4/5 stars.

Entrepreneur and founder Shawn Buckley and veterinarian and professor in clinical pet nutrition Dr. Oscar Chavez are the owners of Just Food for Dogs, a pioneer and disrupter in the dog food industry, and the leading of brand dog food made with USDA approved whole foods, fit for human consumption. Photos by Rudy Poe.

St. Martin's Press, 256 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)

1 comment:

Debbie P said...

This sounds like an exciting book.