Quoted by John W. Patton, 'Laying Mashes Not Suitable for Dog Food', Veterinary Medicine 30 (12) (1935), pp. 556-558.
Description:

‘Application to various agricultural experimental stations, equipped for research in animal nutrition, has resulted uniformly in the reply that Federal funds supplied the stations for “Research into physiology and diseases of farm animals and for the publication and distribution of the reports of such research,” cannot be used for research into the nutritional requirements for the dog, for the reason that the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who has charge of the allotment of the funds, has ruled that the dog is not a “farm animal” within the meaning of the law. The Alabama station at Auburn, however, has found a way round this restriction on the use of public funds. It has published, recently, Leaflet No. 13 on “Dog Feeding Suggestions,” by D.W. Salmon, Research Professor of Animal Nutrition. While obviously the publication does not represent research, there is cost entailed in its publication and distribution. Whether or not it represents an unauthorized use of public funds is not a concern of this writer. What does interest him, is the waste of funds that might have been used for the much-needed purpose of research in basic nutrition, the misinformation that is distributed, the inevitable harm that must result, and the injustice to the dog, an animal deserving of food better adapted to his needs than poultry mash; for that is what the “Auburn Dog Ration” is.

In the opening paragraph of Leaflet No. 13 we find:

“In feeding dogs, one should keep in mind the following points: the ration should be palatable; it should contain enough protein, minerals and vitamins; it should be sufficiently concentrated to provide enough energy without overloading the digestive system, but at the same time it should have sufficient bulk to prevent constipation; and finally, it should be economical to feed.”

The foregoing are some of the cardinal principles of general feeding taught at Cornell when I was a student there, 20 years ago. They were sound then; they are not sound today, and had not Professor Salmon forgotten them as soon as he set them down, he might have devised a far better formula…

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[556-557]

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[557-558]

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[The proposed formula for the ‘Auburn Home-mixed Dog Ration’ betrays] a complete lack of uptodate [sic] information on the subject of digestion in the dog.’ (556-558)