BARF

 

Frozen kongs

Shiny coat

Eating a bone


What to feed your best friend?!

When I got Bodeus, I started him on dry food but then I began to find out about other foods, supposedly more natural commercial foods, frozen foods and BARF. Many of our club members fed their dogs raw food and their dogs were in great condition, so a friend helped me get started.

My working dogs get 1.5 - 3lbs of meaty bones per day (depending on how they looks and their work level) such as chicken or turkey necks or wings, lamb ribs, or whole rabbit. They also get beef, deer or buffalo chewing bones once or twice per week. Veggies are fed 3-4 days per week, about ½ a cup at a time with added yoghurt, an egg or organ meat, ground beef, and supplements.

The supplements I currently feed are B-Naturals Green Blend and Immune Blend, Salmon oil, Borage oil and Glucosamine with Chondroitin (B-Naturals Flexile Plus). I feed half the recommended amount of Immune Blend as it is a good mix of vitamins, enzymes and probiotic, and I feel that it has improved the condition of my dogs' skin and coats. I find that Salmon Oil seems to keep the skin more hydrated than a basic fish oil blend. Borage oil seems to lessen the itching that Bodeus gets at certain times of the year, particularly when he is changing coat.

I have fed satin balls and other various fattening foods to keep weight on dogs when they are doing a lot of work. Oatmeal, olive oil and peanut butter can all help to put on weight. I also fed Farmore Buffalo, Natures Variety Lamb and Green Tripe while I was in the US. I have found an excellent supplier in the UK, who package everything in 1lb bags and also deliver to my house (Landywoods Pet Foods). They have an extensive range of meats including whole chicken carcasses and wings, lamb breasts and also very convenient ground mixes with tripe and vegetables.

When my dogs are working and trialling, they getPeak Performance 2 in "shake" format (mixed with water). It is useful because many dogs don't seem to like to drink water when we are away from home, but they love the Peak Performance Shakes. It also seems to help them recover from rigorous activity.

One of Bodeus’ favourite treats is a frozen Kong filled with BARF goodies and yoghurt. Perfect for the hot Texas summers. See the link below for the recipe.

BARF takes a little more effort than choosing, buying and opening a bag of food, but it is great to know exactly what your dog is eating, to adjust individual ingredients to take into account specific health problems, and to see how happy they are, eating a whole rabbit or wrestling with beef ribs! If you are considering feeding BARF, start with a little research, see the links below for more information.

The main problem with BARF research that I have found, is the proliferation of websites on both sides of the fence, they use anecdotal evidence and hearsay to promote their side of the argument. They use emotive language and try to baffle you with long words and jargon to make them look like experts. This makes it very tough to make the right decision for your dog. Basically dogs 'can' die from choking on bones or toys, they 'can' die from bloat (which 'can' occur in both BARF and kibble fed dogs), humans and animals 'can' die of salmonella poisoning from eating contaminated food. Kibble is not an exception to this, we unfortunately hear quite often, of contaminated batches of pet food that have killed dogs and cats. All kinds of chemicals in our food and environment can give us and our pets cancer. At the end of the day, only you can decide what you are comfortable feeding. I chose BARF, I have been feeding it since 2001 and am happy with the results so far.

DFW BARF yahoo group:DFW BARF Group

Books to get you started:

Switching to Raw - Sue Johnson