Peter Maniate
New member
This review first appeared in the July, 2005 issue of Dogs in Canada magazine:
The Best Diet For a Newfoundland
by William D. Cusick
2005
Nothing is more controversial when talking about Newfs than what to feed them. Every breeder has a different idea of
how they should be fed and consensus is unlikely in the foreseeable future. The range is from raw natural diets to
conventional kibble and from beef based to fish based regimens and everything in between.
Now a landmark event has occurred - a book has just been published entitled The Best Diet For a Newfoundland. While
there have been diets published for Newfs as part of a general text on the breed, to my knowledge this is the first such
publication solely devoted to the feeding of the breed. The author is William D. Cusick who first came to my attention
with his previous writings in which he claims that each breed of dog should be fed according to the diet that they would
have eaten at the time and place of their origin. He has since developed diets for 152 breeds.
When I got my copy I was horrified by the illustration on the front cover. It did not look like any Newfoundland that I have
ever seen and made me wonder if the author and the illustrator had ever seen a Newfoundland dog. However,
remembering the old adage about not judging a book by its cover I continued on.
What I found was a completely theoretical work with all but chapters two and eleven seemingly a general text with the
breed name inserted from time to time. In chapter two the author concludes that “Nutrients in the Newfoundland’s native
environment consisted primarily of cold water white fish such as cod, halibut and herring. Any exposure to meat would
have been from caribou (which has an amino acid profile similar to that of horse meat) and bear (which has an amino acid
profile similar to that of pork).” From this he goes on to develop recipes that blend poultry, pork and fish. The fish chosen
is interesting - canned chunk lite tuna which has been found to be mercury contaminated and not safe to be eaten
regularly. The most theoretical part is the definition of a geriatric or older Newf - dogs over 14 years and bitches over
15 years - I wish!
Since I operate
on the knowledge that "in theory a bumble bee can’t fly", I can’t recommend this purely theoretical offering. If anyone does
dare to try the recipes, I would appreciate feedback.
The book can be ordered from Mr. Cusick’s website http://home.att.net/~wdcusick/Newfoundland.html
- Peter Maniate
[ 07-25-2007, 07:08 PM: Message edited by: Peter Maniate ]
The Best Diet For a Newfoundland
by William D. Cusick
2005
Nothing is more controversial when talking about Newfs than what to feed them. Every breeder has a different idea of
how they should be fed and consensus is unlikely in the foreseeable future. The range is from raw natural diets to
conventional kibble and from beef based to fish based regimens and everything in between.
Now a landmark event has occurred - a book has just been published entitled The Best Diet For a Newfoundland. While
there have been diets published for Newfs as part of a general text on the breed, to my knowledge this is the first such
publication solely devoted to the feeding of the breed. The author is William D. Cusick who first came to my attention
with his previous writings in which he claims that each breed of dog should be fed according to the diet that they would
have eaten at the time and place of their origin. He has since developed diets for 152 breeds.
When I got my copy I was horrified by the illustration on the front cover. It did not look like any Newfoundland that I have
ever seen and made me wonder if the author and the illustrator had ever seen a Newfoundland dog. However,
remembering the old adage about not judging a book by its cover I continued on.
What I found was a completely theoretical work with all but chapters two and eleven seemingly a general text with the
breed name inserted from time to time. In chapter two the author concludes that “Nutrients in the Newfoundland’s native
environment consisted primarily of cold water white fish such as cod, halibut and herring. Any exposure to meat would
have been from caribou (which has an amino acid profile similar to that of horse meat) and bear (which has an amino acid
profile similar to that of pork).” From this he goes on to develop recipes that blend poultry, pork and fish. The fish chosen
is interesting - canned chunk lite tuna which has been found to be mercury contaminated and not safe to be eaten
regularly. The most theoretical part is the definition of a geriatric or older Newf - dogs over 14 years and bitches over
15 years - I wish!
Since I operate
on the knowledge that "in theory a bumble bee can’t fly", I can’t recommend this purely theoretical offering. If anyone does
dare to try the recipes, I would appreciate feedback.
The book can be ordered from Mr. Cusick’s website http://home.att.net/~wdcusick/Newfoundland.html
- Peter Maniate
[ 07-25-2007, 07:08 PM: Message edited by: Peter Maniate ]
