Information for Volhard, Levy, McKay, Pitcairn and Schultze originally posted by Sasha to the rawdiet email list and is included here with her kind permission. 

Billinghurst's diet is based mainly on raw meaty bones (RMB).  The basic suggestion is for at least 50% of the diet to be RMB; the other 50% is made up of meat, fruit, vegetables, cereals, organ meat, etc, plus supplements.  One principle is that not every meal needs to be nutritionally complete - balance is achieved over time.  The book's suggestion on how to achieve this balance over a 2-3 week period is to feed 10 RMB meals, 4 vegetable meals, 1 starch meal, 1 grain & legume meal, 1 meat only meal, 2 milk meals and 1-2 organ meat meals.  Suggestions on what to put in each of those meals is also provided in the book.  I personally feed that the Billinghurst diet is the easiest one to follow because you don't have to worry about balancing each and every meal. 

See also Wendy Volhard's Natural Diet for a Healthy Dog for Sasha's comparison between the two diets.

This book has lots of good information on natural dog care in general but the diet section is small and the information given is not very specific.  Percentages and food suggestions are provided but you are pretty much on your own when preparing meals.  There are a few recipes provided for "special needs":  weight loss, allergies, restricted protein and puppies.   The percentages for the basic adult dog diet work out to be roughly 70% grains, 20% protein and 10% vegetables, supplemented with oil, vitamins & minerals, and enzymes.

Now, I have not actually read this book but I have looked through some parts and it includes types of food that would be best for each breed of dog with respect to its ancestry.  For example, my Tobi is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel which is a breed that originated in England.   Things considered a "native" food for a Cavalier might include potatoes, other starchy vegetables, and meats from wild fowl and mutton.

The diet section in this book is small and nothing compared to most other books that discuss diet in greater detail.   But the reason I included this here is because throughout the book, dietary recommendations are given (in addition to the many herbal remedies) for treating many different health problems.  There are recipes for basic maintenance, healthy broths for animals with urinary-tract problems, "multipurpose pet puree" for sick or recovering pets, veggie/fruit "cocktails" for pets on a fast, nourishing drinks for cats recovering from feline distemper (feline panleukopenia), healthy heart biscuits, "potato peeling broth" for recovering animals in need of a simple mineral-rich meal, kidney diets for dogs and cats, "cocktails" for pets with liver problems, weight loss diets, pancreatitis diet, diets for cat or dog moms-to-be, etc!

Levy's Natural Rearing diet includes a wide variety of nutritious foods, and has produced extraordinarily good results over many decades.  The bulk of her diet consists of raw meat and bones, but she also includes a daily whole grain meal.  Other recommended foods include eggs, root vegetables, greens, herbs, sprouted foods, some dairy (yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, buttermilk), fruit, nuts, seeds, raw honey, carob, seaweed, etc.  I highly recommend her "Complete Herbal Handbook For The Dog And Cat," but her diet can be difficult for the beginner to follow as she is at times a little vague.

Pat McKay's diet is similar to Schultze's in that it includes no grains or dairy, but it has the drawback that bones are given mainly for recreation and consequently a calcium supplement is necessary to balance out the phosphorous in the meat. McKay's diet is simple to follow though, and may be a good idea for someone not comfortable with feeding lots of raw meaty bones.

The diet information in this book is very basic and not detailed like Pitcairn's,  Billinghurst's, or other books.  Percentages are given for meats, grains and vegetables as well as suggestions on how to prepare home-cooked meals but no recipes or specifics are given.  For each meal, he recommends 25% organ meat, 25% muscle meat, 25% grains and 25% vegetables.  No bones.   However, the main reason for reading this book is the abundance of very detailed information on vitamins and minerals.

Pitcairn's diet basically consists of a variety of individually balanced (complete with supplements) recipes.  Like the Volhard diet, Pitcairn's diet is very high in grains and the calcium comes from bonemeal instead of raw meaty bones.  He also includes quite a bit of yeast which can be a problem for some dogs. Tthe best thing about Pitcairn's dietary recommendations are his fresh food kibble booster recipes. They are an excellent way for someone who's a little ambivalent about feeding raw to initially introduce fresh, raw foods; however, once the switch to all raw has been made, I think other diets provide more species appropriate nutrition.

Kymythy Schultze's "Ultimate Diet" is probably the most restrictive raw food diet of the bunch.  Following Schultze means feeding no grains, no dairy, and no raw honey.  Tthe suggested amount of pulped veggies for a 50 lb dog is only 3 tablespoons 4-5 times a week. The bulk of the diet consists of raw meaty bones, muscle and organ meats, and fish.  Eggs are also included and small amounts of fruit, nuts, and seeds are acceptable.  Her diet is probably closest to that consumed by wild canines in their natural environment, and it's a great diet for dogs with cancer or severe allergies; however, my personal opinion is that it's unnecessarily restrictive for young, healthy dogs. I also think that, although she doesn't suggest it, adding a B complex vitamin supplement (and perhaps a vitamin E supplement as well) would be a good idea. Her book does provide approximate amounts and a sample menu which can be helpful for someone just beginning to feed raw.

The Volhard diet has been clinically tested and requires you to adhere strictly to the diet's guidelines. This has advantages and disadvantages. Obviously it's an easy diet for a beginner to follow since you're told exactly what to feed, in what amounts, and which supplements to use.  In my opinion, the Volhard diet does, however, have a number of drawbacks. First of all, it's based on raw beef muscle meat (and liver) with (cooked) bonemeal for calcium, while Billinghurst's diet is based on raw meaty bones (RMBs) which I believe is a much more natural and healthy approach to feeding a biologically appropriate raw diet. It's also less expensive, since boneless muscle meat (especially if it's organic) costs much more than RMBs. Secondly, the Volhard diet is very high in grains. Now, I'm not completely anti-grain (I currently feed two small whole grain meals a week), but the Volhard diet calls for several cups a day, and I think that's too much. Finally, the Volhard diet leaves no room for experimentation. While you probably won't want to do much experimenting when you're beginning to feed raw, you may want to do so after a while in an effort to create the diet that's optimal for your dog(s). Remember that there is no one diet that is perfect for all dogs. Billinghurst's diet is simple to follow and does leave room for variety and experimentation. My advice is to read as much as you can about raw feeding, but if you can only get one book right now, I'd go with Billinghurst.