About BARF and Ian

Dr B and Maggie By defining something - or somebody - you are also limiting it. That is why I try not to be defined. However, if I am to be defined, and therefore limited, then I have to admit that by profession I am a Veterinary Surgeon. I am also a writer and a lecturer with my favorite topic is nutrition for pet dogs and cats. My most important piece of writing is the book "Give Your Dog a Bone." This book has changed the thinking of tens of thousands of people worldwide. More importantly, it has improved the health of the dogs that belong to these people. Many of my readers now look to me as THE authority on feeding pet carnivores their evolutionary diet. Some say that "Give Your Dog a Bone" has become their "Bible."

The fact that an evolutionary diet promotes health comes as no surprise. It should also be no surprise that a grain-based product such as commercial pet food is destructive to a dog's health. However, clever marketing, combined with very poor science, has resulted in these atrocious products being the major source of food sustaining most pets in developed countries. And yet, feeding our pets according to the dictates of evolution - which is sound science in every sense of the word - is currently regarded by the veterinary establishment as some sort of screwball notion. A fad, which they assume, will be short lived. I don't think so!

How did I arrive at the point where "Give Your Dog A Bone" could be written and I would become the "Guru" of raw feeding? Read on!

My high school years were spent at an Agricultural High School called Hurlstone on the western outskirts of Sydney. Here my love of plants, animals and all things natural was fostered through working with cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep, the market garden, the orchard, and more formal studies in agriculture and biology. There was never any question that my career would be both biological and medical.

I did not start out as a vet. In 1966, I graduated from Sydney University with a degree in Agricultural Science. I spent that year as a research Scientist at Orange Agricultural Research Station about 200 miles west of Sydney. I taught high school for the next four years during which time I obtained my Diploma in Education. Despite having a young family, the desire to become a vet burned strongly. It's a long story which I shall not go into here, but in 1976 I realized my dream and graduated with an honors degree in Veterinary Science from Sydney University.