My labrador has occasional but persistent diarrhoea which effectively limits where I can take him, so have been looking around this forum for advice. There is plenty of advice about changing types of dry food (use JWB at present) or try a wet food which he has never had. Also try small amounts of probiotic Yoghourt which seems an interesting suggestion. I may try some of these ideas but it all seems a bit hiit and miss and even if I find something that is suitable then there is no guarantee that the formulation of it will not change as may have been the case with JWB. I was thinking of starting from the other direction and feeding him fresh food so I know exatly what he is getting and perhaps introduce some variations from time to time. It is obviously at lo more work than pouring out the dry food but I was wondering if any else does this and can offer practical advice. My dog care book tells me what foods are suitable to make a baalanced diet but not much about the preparation. Could I use the microwave? Can I prepare it in advance and keep in the fridge till required? How long can it safely be stored? What about when he goes to kennels? Any advice on this subject greatfully received. Thanks

You don't need to cook fresh food, it's much better given to them raw with all the nutrients infact. If you google BARF it will bring up loads of websites with information. Both my Labradors have been fed the BARF diet since they were born pretty much, and they rarely suffer with any problematic poop episodes! I buy in their meat and bones and freeze in two day portions, so it keeps fresh for them. I also blend their veggies and freeze them so each portion equals enough for one meal for both, and defrost on the day I'm feeding it. Mine get a mix of tripe, chicken (carcasses and wings), lamb (when I can get it), lamb and beef offal, tinned fish, blended veg and other sundry items such as raw eggs (with shell), low fat cottage cheese, appropriate left overs. It isn't that much more difficult to do than feeding a commercial food, the time consuming bit is freezing in portions, and blending the veggies. Other than that you just open the fridge door and plonk a bit in a bowl

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Thanks for pointing me to the BARF website. I like the no cook idea. Have i got it right than I just buy the meat stuff, just chop it up a bit, freeze in portions, then defrost as needed then mix with the veggies? Would it be OK to just chop the veg and keep in a box in the fridge until used. Not sure why it gets blended. Thanks for your experiences.

You can actually buy in ready prepared BARF meals, there's one or two people that post on here with links to their websites where you can do this.

Yes to buying your meat in and freezing it, you don't need to chop it up, as long as your dog can chew properly Some dogs that are unused to raw food might be tempted to bolt it down initially; I've always recommending either holding on to the end of whatever you're feeding them (chicken wings are a good starter) and encouraging them to chew, or bashing them up with a rolling pin to break the bones up just in case they do swallow it whole.

If you take a read of the BARF info it will tell you more about the ideal proportions of bone to meat, chicken carcasses and wings are brilliant, and if you can find a local supplier they can be very cheap. I buy in large boxes of human grade chicken, either the left over wing tips, or stripped carcasses, which are ideal, and it's only £2.50 per box (these are the large boxes butcher's supplies come in).

The idea behind blending veggies is to make it easy for the dog's digestive system, if you feed it in chunks you'll see it come out in chunks pretty much the other end. It mimics how wild dogs would strip the intestines of half digested vegetable matter in the wild. With my blended veggies I add a handful of nuts, almonds and brazils are good blended up, and also a drizzle of oil, usually olive oil. This is mixed in with a big bowl of blended veggies, I think portion up and freeze

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