Feeding a dog the BARF diet

[ballpythonluvr]

I am really considering switching my dog over to a raw diet. I posted not that long ago about my dog with her food allergies and her bowel problems. I talked to my vet about this and they said it would be fine to start my dog on a raw diet as long as it is a balanced and complete diet. My dog has been having way to many stomach and allergy issues while she has been eating commerical dog food. I was just wondering if anyone out there also feeds their dog the BARF diet?

[2kdime]

I fed my Bengals a raw diet supplemented with vitamins when I had them

I made it myself and it cost like 50 cents a day to feed them both, morning and night.

What a remarkable difference in made with them in even a short period of time

Go for it!

[purplemuffin]

When I have a dog of my own I plan to feed them at LEAST a mostly raw diet. Only time I see using dog food is when people are dog sitting him/her and stuff like that. With our family dog I try to supplement her dog food with healthy raw meats and other foods any time I'm cooking something that has ingredients that would be healthy for her. It's really cool to see how well they do even with a little something extra other than the dry dog food.

[llovelace]

You will see a world of difference when you start your dog on a raw diet! My dog kept having allergies, bowel problems & prone to getting stones, but once her on a raw diet she thrived.

[Miss Tuniwha]

YES!!! I am so glad to see so many people that feed raw!!!!

Yes.. a balanced raw meal is what they are MADE to eat!!! And you will be amazed the difference you see!!! Less poop (which will break down within a couple of days) less shedding, more sustained energy etc!!!

[JLC]

I totally get the idea of feeding dogs a balanced raw diet. But couldn't someone come up with a better acronym than BARF?

I'm not sure I want my dog to have more sustained energy.... But I would be interested in learning more about raw diet options. Are there any options out there that are comparable to the convenience and cost of high-grade commercial kibble?

[wolfy-hound]

Technically humans sould be eating only raw vegetables and fruits and meat too, but you'll only find rare people who do.

I tried the raw diet with my dogs. I didn't find it TOO pricy, but I also saw no difference in my dogs eating the rat diet vs a decent dog food. After a few MONTHS I found a raw chicken wing hidden under my pillow and ended the raw diet. And I was feeding them on the porch too. Sneaky buggers.

The other issue I had was the time to feed them(multiple dogs, making sure everyone had time to eat without food being stolen by others) and getting them to eat the veg vs the meat. The major issue was the mess, since all my dogs have hair(vs short coated ones) and would get various bits of raw diet stuck all over face and paws.

I've heard tons of great things about feeding raw diets, didn't see any benefits feeding it to mine and went to a quality dog food instead.

[Kara]

We feed our Danes 100% raw, and they are thriving...could not imagine feeding them anything else! In fact, my husband & I recently bought a second freezer so we could better store all their food. We now have one freezer just for raw meaty bones, and another for the 2-lb containers of specialty foods I get from http://www.mypetcarnivore.com I've been an advocate of raw-feeding for more than 10 years now, and really cannot stand the BS that most commercial dog food companies peddle to make a buck.

I love the variety you get when feeding raw. Rather than feeding the same kibble day in, day out, you can really mix things up & get a feel for what your dog favors. There are a lot of great resources out there for establishing the right model of feeding, and you're SUPER lucky to be located in PA. There's a great raw food supplier, Hare-Today.com, that is based out of PA. If you decide to seek out some specialty items shipping should be relatively cheap for you, especially with winter coming up. http://www.hare-today.com/

Call around & find a restaurant supplier, and you should be able to find a lot of items relatively cheap. We get chicken backs & necks for $.49/lb right now, and turkey necks for $.79/lb, from a local restaurant food wholesaler. They may be a good source for organ meats as well - liver, kidney, etc. Just remember that things like tongue & heart are considered a muscle meat & not organ meats when you do your RMB/muscle/organ breakdown. Also find a good source for green tripe, either frozen or canned. Bleached or white tripe strips out all the nutritional value...I could go on & on. I have a file full of raw resources & links...PM me if you'd like a copy.

Here's hoping your experience with raw has been every bit as awesome as ours has!

K~

[Highline Reptiles South]

what exactly are you feeding?

[Kara]

Only time I see using dog food is when people are dog sitting him/her and stuff like that.

You don't even need to switch back & forth...just bag up per-meal quantities of what your dog eats, and label it (i.e. puppy breakfast, lunch, dinner), and leave it with instructions to pull out of the freezer the night before & leave out to thaw. Granted, for the few days you need someone else to feed your dog you may not want to feed stinky things like tripe if the feeder is at all sensitive, but otherwise leaving pre-measured raw for a pet-sitter is really easy.