take a look at this!

Raw Feeding Discussion

does any one feed there dog the BARF(bone and raw food)diet? This is new to me and iv been doing a bit of reading and this is what iv found.......
Reduced doggy odour.
Naturally cleans teeth - no need for toothbrushes, de-scaling jobs, helps prevent gum disease.
The time it takes for a dog to chew a raw meaty bones give their stomach time to get the acids moving.
Produces firmer stools with reduced quantity.
Can reduce vet bills (healthier dogs)
Economical to feed in comparison to commercial dog foods.
Mirrors what nature intended them to eat in the wild.
Puppies develop at a more appropriate rate and quick growth spurts are avoided. A GOOD breeder will want to stop fast growth in any pup.
The ripping and chewing involved in eating raw meaty bones develops the jaw, neck, and shoulder muscles of a dog.
Better weight control which helps to reduce the symptoms of arthritis and obesity.


What do animals on a BARF diet eat?
As varied a raw diet as possible, with lots of raw meaty bones, e.g. chicken wings, chicken necks, rabbit, oxtail, minced meats, lamb shanks, eggs and their shells, liver, heart, fish, yoghurt, veg (pulped), fruit, garlic, etc.



Can I feed puppies and kittens on BARF?
You most certainly can. They can be weaned onto a raw food diet - this is, after all, what they did for 300,000 years before 'puppy and kitten' diets came along! Of course, you won't want to feed that little puppy huge marrow bones! So use common sense in your feeding.



How do I start?
Some people start gradually while others do a straight swap. The former is advised. Most people start with minced meats and when the animal is used to this then add raw meaty bone eg. chicken wings and veg. then offal, eggs etc. It is usually not advisable to feed dried food and B.A.R.F at the same meal as they take differing times to digest.


im not so sure about this but it sounds good.Would love to hear fom any one who is BARF feeding.









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I feed a natural raw diet to all my dogs and they all love it and are all thriving on it! I also feed raw meat to my cats alongside their Orijen dry food.

i feed barf the dogs love it
coats are better, no horrid smells, teeth are cleaner, they are more happier now than when they were on dog food.
a good book to get is
give your dog a bone by dr lan billinghurst

vets dont like it though as they well know your dog will be healthier, so they try to talk people out of it,
like my vet tryed doing when we took merlin up for his 2nd jab but they came unstuck

__________________
Stryder the Utonagan


www.carolscaninecare.co.uk

http://www.nuadalseurope.co.uk/

Yeah my vet tried to talk me out of it too, glad I ignored him though it's the best thing I've ever done for them!

I have started raw feeding fairly recently, after spending over a year looking into it.

As I live in Northern Ireland, there are no companies like Landywoods etc who deliver here. I have been quite lucky to find a local butcher who will do me 'pet mince' for 45p a lb and give me recreational bones for free. I can also buy breast of lamb on the bone from him for £1 a lb, which is by far the cheapest way I have foudn to feed lamb. The mince sometimes has lamb in it too.

Other things I have fed/do feed are: pigs trotters, whole rabbits, (but I do like to take the fur, heads and feet off!) chicken wings, turkey drumsticks, oxtail, pork ribs, (on the rack, not singly since our 14 week old puppy gave us a heart attack swallowing a whole pork rib!!!) hearts, liver, kidneys, whole fish, tinned sardines/pilchards in oil or tomato sauce, beef mince, whole eggs including the shell, live yoghurt and a fruit and veg mix with a few nuts, seeds, herbs and some oil in it.

I am aiming to feed mince in the morning, with veg etc mixed in if they are having it that day, then a meaty bone meal in the evening. I work more the the 'prey model' where veg etc is concerned than the amounts suggested with BARF.

I'd like to feed things like venison, duck and other game, but it is hard to get cheaply.

I do much prefer feeding this way, the dogs enjoy it so much more, their teeth are cleaner, their coats better and their breath doesn't smell anymore, nor do they.