Breaking down the bowl: Rethinking canine nutrition with Lew Olson

TL;DR: Lew Olson’s Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs argues that canine nutrition isn’t complex—it just requires a few essential principles. First, dogs are carnivores. Their bodies are built for digesting animal protein, fat, and raw meaty bones—not plant material. Second, they have no nutritional need for carbohydrates, despite their prevalence in commercial pet foods. Third, dogs fed processed food often lack enzymes and probiotics, which are naturally provided by fresh, raw foods. A varied raw diet of muscle meat, organ meat, and bones delivers the nutrients dogs need for health and longevity.

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In our continuing series on the best resources for canine nutritional truth-telling, we’re spotlighting books that challenge the myths sold to dog owners for decades. This week, Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs by Lew Olson—a guide to ditching the processed fluff and feeding dogs the way nature intended.

Lew’s book opens with a confronting premise: “How much do we really know about the dietary needs of our greatest friends?” The question cuts through decades of glossy kibble packaging and vet-office pamphlets. Behind promises of ‘complete and balanced,’ Olson says, lies a pet food industry built on cheap carbohydrates, fibre, fillers, and low-quality protein—propped up by marketing and veterinary endorsement, not biology.

"What was lost in the rush to grow the industry and satisfy consumers was an awareness of what the dogs were actually eating,” Lew writes. "With such financial power and with the support of many veterinarians, the pet food industry has come to control not only what our pets eat, but a lot of what we think we know about their anatomy and their nutritional needs."

Before commercial dog food, Lew reminds us, dogs ate what nature or their humans provided: bones, raw meat, offal, eggs, table scraps. In the 1960s, pet food companies began enlisting veterinarians to label meat-based diets as incomplete, setting a tone for canine nutrition that still holds influence today.

Lew argues that this shift was deliberate: table scraps—long a dietary staple for dogs—were rebranded as dangerous. At the same time, the pet food industry led us to believe that slaughterhouse and grain mill waste products—common ingredients in pet food—are what dogs need to survive.

Pet food companies have thrived by presenting canine nutrition as too complex for the average person. Lew challenges this notion: "What it comes down to is just learning a few simple guidelines that govern dogs' bodies... Before you know it you'll be well on your way to helping your dog live a long and healthy life."

She exposes the conflict of interest between veterinarians and commercial pet food, referencing a Nexus Magazine article by Tom Lonsdale that reveals how a group of Australian vets rebelled against this system in the 1990s.

So what are the guidelines? First: dogs are carnivores. Their short digestive tracts, hinged jaws, and lack of salivary enzymes for starch digestion all point to one thing—animal protein, fat and raw meaty bones.

"Carnivores are built with the shortest and simplest digestive tracts of all mammals... Their jaws are not designed to pulverise grains and vegetables... while our dogs may no longer be hunting in packs and bringing down big game, their bodies are still the same and they still have the same nutritional needs."

Lew hammers home that dogs don’t need carbs—they’re not just unnecessary, they’re harmful. Bloating, flatulence, smelly stools and long-term health complications often trace back to diets high in starch and plant material.

And then there’s protein quality. Not all proteins are created equal: "Proteins are made up of groups of amino acids... Essential amino acids need to be present in the dog's meals in the right amounts for the diet to be truly 'balanced and complete’ … But you don't need to know the names of all of them, nor do you even need to know in what amounts your dog needs them. Why? Because they are all found, in the correct amounts, in the simple staple foods that should make up the basis of your dog's diet."

And these foods are? Animal protein (muscle and organ meats, fat, and raw meaty bones) contain all the essential amino acids. Plant proteins? Not so much. Add to that the fact that high-heat processing destroys amino acid availability, and the case for fresh food grows stronger.

Fat, too, is critical: "Your dog needs fats—and lots of them. Fat is essential for your dog's energy, skin, coat, heart, and kidney health."

Lew walks readers through each essential mineral (from calcium to zinc) and explains how most of them should be present in a healthy, varied diet rich in muscle meat, organ meat, fish, and raw meaty bones—without the need for supplementation.

But minerals aren’t the only nutritional elements missing from processed diets. Lew points out that "many dogs fed on a diet of processed foods miss two vital ingredients: probiotics, the friendly bacteria needed for good digestion, and digestive enzymes, which help break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates." She explains that these can be naturally replenished through raw food: "Feeding your dog some uncooked food ... should give your dog much of the digestive flora and fauna needed for strong, healthy digestion."

The second part of the book looks in detail at feeding dogs homemade diets. Lew approaches these different feeding regimes with no dogma or judgement, but she does note that raw feeding (i.e. muscle and organ meats and raw meaty bones) will "offer your dog the kind of nutrition that really serves his or her health and longevity. Though our anatomies are different, there is one essential principle of human nutrition that also holds true for our dogs: fresh, raw food is best."

Lew understands that not everyone will give up their old habits overnight. She tries to convince those who are married to kibble to at the very least switch up their dog's diet with the addition of fresh animal proteins and fats, with the eventual hope that once pet parents see the difference that fresh, whole foods make to their dog, they'll reduce the amount of dry dog food over time and eventually make the switch.

"Sometimes it just takes a bit of confidence. Before long, the change authenticates itself. When you see how much your dog enjoys the fresh food, not to mention the physical improvements in his or her coat, and attitude, you'll have all the motivation you need!".

Lew notes that, just like humans, different dogs are partial to different foods. "Some dogs may have preferences for some meats over others, so there will be a good deal of trial and error at first and a few times when your dog might turn his or her nose up.

“Don't rely on just one type of raw meaty bone, like chicken. Rotate between poultry, pork, beef, and other meats for variety.” She notes that she feeds her dogs chicken necks and backs for three nights, pork necks and tails for two nights, and beef or lamb ribs for the last two nights to ensure a good variety of bones each week. She supplements this with offal including tripe, kidney, beef heart and chicken hearts. Variety over time is crucial for a balanced diet.

While the book is deeply informative and refreshingly approachable, it does carry a commercial undercurrent that’s worth noting. At times, chapters feel like extended product placements for Lew’s line of Berte’s canine supplements. That said, these promotional elements don’t detract significantly from the book’s value as a practical and biology-based guide to canine nutrition in a sea of literature selling dog recipes designed to appeal to humans.

Lew’s approachability lends credence to her efforts to bring even the most sceptical dog owners to the understanding that canine nutrition doesn’t need to be complicated, and is in fact as simple are realising that dogs are carnivores best fed a raw diet of meat, bones and organ meat.