B.A.R.F. diet or RAW diet... any thoughts?
 

My aunt and I have been doing lots of research on this theory.. My boyfriend is really big into it.. but they both have Pit Bulls.. and I have a little ity bity yorkie... so my little guy isnt going to be eating t-bone steak bones even neck bones are too large,,,

So any way If any one knows about this diet, then they know that eating the bones is a big part of the nutrients that dogs need....

I've gradually switched my little boy over to boiled chicken or raw ground beef.. mixed with stage 2 baby food veggies.. (carrots, peas sweet potatoes) and baby food fruit for dessert (apple sauce, bannana, pears).


Im givng him plain yogurt once a day for the digestive enzymes... and if im eating raw fruit (watermelon, strawberry) i give him some of that as well...

Also I am leaving out Cornacopia dry food (for now till i make the gradual switch to Wellness)

Am I doing enough?? I dont want him to suffer from not getting all the appropriate vitamins and nutirents....

Of course my parents look down on this feeding choice they feel all the nutrients he needs are in the regular dog food, and i am going to hurt him by doing this... So.. Needless to say I am starting to doubt myself...

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.:confused:

I would recommend getting a book, there are lots out there, so you know what you are doing and do give a balance. I believe it is actually better for the dogs. Just don't feed anything with bones in the same meal as the dry dog food. They have different digestion times and it can cause problems.

I agree with the above poster...I would read all you can about a raw diet before starting your furbaby on it. I know that years ago that is all that dogs ate(out in the wild) but with domestic dogs I would be a little leary. I know there are members here that do feed raw but, I think they need other nutrients that are not in the foods that you are feeding.
I would suggest doing alot of reading on raw feeding. I do believe there is a book out there...just don't know what it's called.


Good Luck!

The book I have is "The BARF Diet" by Ian Billinghurst, but he has since written an updated one (can't remember the name), also "Grow Your Pups With Bones". But there are other authors also. Google BARF or Raw diet for dogs. Check Amazon.

I wouldn't feed my dogs raw meat but lots of folks do. I find that the tiny dogs don't do so well with raw meat, but some large breeds seem to tolerate itl

http://www.secondchanceranch.org/tra...eat/index.html

We use Nature's Variety for our boyz and they love it. You can check it out here: www.naturesvariety.com It's a raw diet but everything is already in there, including the bones and everything...they're just ground up. They also have dry food if you want to use any but once they're on a raw diet the dry food isn't necessary...I put it down if we'll be gone past one of their meal times but on a normal day their raw food keeps them full and they won't go to the dry food bowl.

I am in the process of switching my girls over to The Honest Kitchen, which is freeze-dried raw that you simply rehydrate with warm water. They appear to scarf it down at every meal. I am switching from home-cooking for their dinner because I want something a little more portable.

Here is there website where you can check them out, read all the ingredients and how/where it is prepared and request a free sample....
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/index.shtml

My girls get yogurt every morning for breakfast and fruit during the day. It sounds to me like you're doing everything right so far!!!

I think RAW is the best thing you can feed your dog (of any breed) as long as you do it right. I did a lot of researching and really felt it was the right thing to do. I barely go to the store and cook right for myself though so I knew I didn't have the time to figure out what all to feed Lacy, so I decided to go with Nature's Variety RAW medallions. I alternate feeding her the venison and rabbit. They are 95% meat, bones, and organs and 5% fruits and veggies. You just thaw the amount you need out the the refrigerator (the medallions are each 1oz each) and feed them to your dog. You can go to http://www.naturesvariety.com to read for about it. There is also a calculator where you can put in your baby's weight and activitiy level and it recommends the amount to feed (this can be a little trial and error as well). Lacy really likes her raw food and has done great on it. she has eaten it for almost a year now.

There's a group on yahoo groups that has a wealth of information on RAW diet. The people there are very helpful, and you will get answers to your questions. Do a search for it on yahoo groups. It's the RAW feeding group, I believe. Good luck!

If you go to www.chazhound.com in the health/diet forum there are alot of people who are doing both of those. I saw them just a few monthes ago if there not there you might need to look a few pages back.