I have for several years now bemoaned my inability to find a summary of Juliette de Bairacli Levy’s Natural Rearing diet for dogs on the web. Born in 1912, Juliette is an herbalist and breeder of Afghan hounds. Her wonderful book, The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat (originally published in 1955), does not include recipes per se, but rather discusses various aspects of feeding and does include suggested amounts here and there. The main points of her Natural Rearing diet are: feeding raw meats and bones, fasting, feeding raw milk and flaked cereals, resting the kidneys by feeding meat only 4 or 5 days per week.
This is my interpretation of Juliette’s feeding recommendations. I hope it will be a useful reference and for those unfamiliar with Juliette’s work, perhaps it will spark interest in reading her pioneering book for yourself.
Per Average Size Adult Dog, 5 days per week:
Midday Meal: Flaked whole-grain wheat, rye, barley or oats – softened with raw milk, buttermilk or vegetable juice
Alternate Days: raw egg one day, small amount of corn (or sunflower) oil or tahina the next
Can add: whole wheat, rye or corn bread, whole wheat, rye or corn biscuits, uncooked wholemaize flour, mashed black olives, mashed cooked sweet potatoes, mashed cooked carrots
3 or 4 days per week: 2 tsp coconut, 2 tsp peanut or almond flour (Note: peanuts must be raw when ground, not roasted)
Night Meal: Raw, chunked meat and bones with a small amount of fat
1 tsp wheat germ flakes
1 tsp cod liver oil (Winter)
seaweed powder
1 Tablespoon minced green herb
Few Tablespoons bran or flaked oats (as a substitute for the roughage provided by skin and fur, normally consumed)
Can add: grated raw carrot
One day per week: meatless meals using raw milk, eggs, white cheese, cottage cheese, whole-grain flaked cereals, rice, cooked beans and/or lentils.
Day after meatless meals day: Fluids only
“Meals” of honey in water or very watery diluted raw milk
***
As a breeder of Afghan hounds, Juliette describes how she feeds her own dogs as follows:
Per Afghan:
Midday Meal: flaked cereal w/extra herbal bran and some raisins
2 tsp. dried coconut
1 tsp. tahina
raw milk
Night Meal: Raw meat and bones
minced salad greens
also possibly: minced sprouted grains, raw egg
You will note that she mentions feeding raisins to her dogs daily. Raisins now appear on many “foods toxic to dogs” lists although Juliette probably scoffs at this. I am not recommending feeding raisins to your dog but felt it was important to include them in my summary since Juliette specifically notes the information.
There is so much more to Juliette’s book than my summary interpretation posted here. It is very interesting reading and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in natural dog and cat care.