Quotes Edward Mellanby
Description:

‘Two things need to be considered in regard to dog feeding – (a) how much is needed, and (b) what is the right sort. Over-feeding and wrong feeding are the two main causes of trouble. It is surprising how prejudiced many people become against the use of meat – the dog’s one and only really natural food. This is what Professor Mellanby, one of the greatest living experts on this subject, says:-

 

In the case of puppies, the addition of meat to diets devoid of this substance reacts favourably on their health. It is the first great substance to be picked out of a food mixture, and it is evident that its special position of favour is justified by the important part it plays in nutrition. The addition of 10 grammes of meat a day to the standard diet will often transform a puppy, off its food and losing weight, into a vigorous animal, eating its full ration and putting on weight. So striking is this effect that in most of the later experiments where it has been necessary to make each puppy of a series eat its diet quantitatively, meat has formed an element of the food.

 

There are, of course, instances where for good reasons (for instance, in regard to delicately nurtured Toydogs [sic]) meat is not desirable; but these are the exception. The normal sturdy, healthy terrier or any other bigger dog most certainly would thrive well on an all meat diet, but that is too expensive and, indeed, is not necessary. Modern domestication has made some little difference to domestic dogs in this respect, that they will to a large extent share food with mankind. So there are many excellent artificial foods, such as meat dog cakes, which provide a substantial proportion of meat food; but apart from these, which are cooked, there is no doubt that a proportion of raw lean meat is good for all dogs. Much depends, of course, upon the living conditions – whether out of doors or in the house. Kind and quantity of food both need to be considered. Variety is good – not too much of any one sort, and particularly not too much of the wrong sort – i.e. rice, potatoes, white bread, and other starchy things that may be trusted to set up skin trouble as soon as anything. Green food – raw stuff like chopped cabbage, which a dog will swallow at once if it is covered with gravy – is most healthful for dogs kept in confinement.

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Some months ago Professor Mellanby published the results of some extremely interesting experiments made by him in puppy rearing. He was conducting these experiments with a view to discovering the causes which led to the development of rickets (rachitis), and this is what he reported:- It was found that on a diet of oatmeal, rice, and milk puppies ultimately developed rickets if the milk was limited. A large number of experiments were made in which a diet of milk, oatmeal, and rice was used as the standard, and in all cases under laboratory conditions the animals developed rickets. The treatment which prevented the disease was an increase in milk consumption. When the oatmeal and rice were replaced by ordinary white bread, other conditions being the same, rickets also developed. The scientists found that the period during which dogs so fed became quite rickety was from four to six months; and except in puppies of big, fast-growing breeds, the bony changes and other symptoms were not as strongly developed as was desirable from an experimental point of view. The natural question which arose at this stage was, what was the factor associated with the large milk intake that prevented the development of rickets? The answer that suggested itself, as may well be imagined in consequence of the result obtained by the effect of cod-liver oil when given to young lions in the zoo, was that the fat of milk contained some special factor. It appeared, in other words, as if the explanation of rickets was to be found in the theory that a deficient fat intake was the main responsible factor. Acting on this theory, further experiments were made by adding and removing cream, when it was found that the fat in cream was sufficient to provide what was necessary to prevent a rickety condition. (As to that, it may be added that adult dogs should always have a percentage of fat in any meat that is given to them.)'