[spoeke]

i was just wondering if any BARFers out there have ever considered or in fact changed their dogs diet back to a good quality dry food, and if yes what was the reason for it? what do you guys consider the negative factors (if any) of the raw diet?
i know the opinions of happy barfers but was just wondering if anyone out there thought differently (like my vet, dog trainer etc.) of the raw diet and if so for what reason?

thank you!

 

[pogo]

I feed raw not barf but same difference and no I haven't swapped to dry nor do I want to.

The only downside is space as you always have to find it for another bargain you've found

 

[terencesmum]

I feed prey model (like pogo) and have no desire to change back to anything else.

I wouldn't be too bothered about what other people think. Almost all "dog professionals" (for want of a better term) are against the diet I have chosen to feed. I have done my research and am happy with my choice and not prepared to listen to somebody tell me what to feed when they are sponsored by some kibble manufacturer. Not exactly unbiased, are they?

 

[8tansox]

I feed predominantly RMB diet, however, as Floyd has recently been diagnosed with Chronic kidney failure, until I know and learn more about feeding an appropriate raw diet, I've put Floyd only back onto tinned Renal food. Once I know a bit more about giving him a healthy raw diet, I'll put him back onto it.

I have to say though, he does like the tinned renal food and hasn't shown any interest in the other dogs' dinners. Not sure I'd put him on kibble though.

Other than that, there is no way I'd put my dogs back onto a processed diet and I've already learned so much about suitable raw renal diets, I think it'll be a matter of days before I change Floyd back to raw.

 

[GoldenShadow]

I would and have considered it for Rupert. Saying which I would never ever feed a dry food alone. It would be dry and wet meat (still using water with the dry to let it absorb out).

The only reason I would do it for Rupert is because he is an ill dog and it would be easier for me to manage exactly what he is eating. I would not do this for Milo who is a healthy dog.

 

[Shrap]

I use kibble and wet food sometimes, when I'm away from home or there are too many spiders in the shed and no-one to clear them for me to get more meat out the freezer. Oh yeah I feed prey model too, not BARF.

It's more expensive and even on the best quality stuff Dino starts to smell like dog, gets gunky eyes, stinking breath... Urgh. Disgusting stuff! I try not to use it for more than a week if I have to!

He also, understandably, hates kibble.

 

[Coffee]

I feed prey model (like pogo) and have no desire to change back to anything else.

I wouldn't be too bothered about what other people think. Almost all "dog professionals" (for want of a better term) are against the diet I have chosen to feed. I have done my research and am happy with my choice and not prepared to listen to somebody tell me what to feed when they are sponsored by some kibble manufacturer. Not exactly unbiased, are they?

^^^^^ This Pretty much word for word!

I wouldn't go back to kibble now if they were giving it away for nothing

 

[Muze]

I've only switched back to kibble (grain free - Orijen or Applaws, Barking Heads in an emergency) temporarily, ie. I'm unwell, she's staying with others or my freezer's on the fritz!

I also feed more prey modal than Barf but I've find Diz does better with slightly different ratios (a touch more bone).
She does well on it, she enjoys its, I enjoy sourcing it (I'm that sad) and learning about it.

The only downside is the minor inconvenience of needing a freezer, shopping around for reasonably priced meat, sorting, preparing where necessary and perhaps, for me, the anxiety that I'm getting it quite right

TBH, I rarely tell people she is raw fed, it's take too much energy to defend my choice.

 

[specialagentgibbs]

I had to change from raw to a very bland kibble because buddy was totally hyped up on raw. I still have my pangs of guilt but I have to be honest and say that he calmed down down writhing days of the change.


Still working on the right food for him

 

[Goblin]

Failure to source cheaply is one reason why people go back to kibble. Another is lack of space in freezer as has already been mentioned. It's a lot cheaper if you can buy in bulk. Several people have reverted as they feel their dog has become aggressive. Not normally, its not the myth of dog becoming bloodthirsty, only the fact dog counts the food as high value and growls when they feel it may be taken away.

A fair number of people have been convinced by vets that they are killing their dogs and do not have the conviction that they are doing the right thing.

Some people start raw and give it up as "their dogs aren't suited to raw feeding". Often this is a case of not doing enough research up front, overfeeding, going too fast with different proteins etc.

That's all I can think of, off hand. We'll certainly never change back to kibble.

 

[BeauNoir]

I am an ex raw feeder.

My greyhound Quinn has a lot of allergies and intolerances which were diagnosed after a lot of testing, years of trying wet, dry, prey model, barf, etc.

Basically, Quinn is intolerant to a lot of meats, he can only have chicken, turkey and fish. Because of this, he was not getting a correct balance of nutrients and I was having to give him so many supplements that he was getting an upset stomach from that too.

Putting Quinn back on kibble is the best thing I have ever done, he looks better than ever and is super happy.

There are a lot of people out there who try and make you feel bad for not feeding raw anymore or more usually they say you haven't tried hard enough, but if you know it is best for your dogs, and for some dogs it really truly is, then just ignore them.

 

[kate_7590]

I have thought sometimes how much easier it would be to swap back to kibble/ wet food
But its what is best for my dogs that is most important to me, which is why we will be staying on RAW unless there is a good reason, eg. health related, to change back to commercial

 

[Werehorse]

I went back to kibble because while working I was too busy and stressed to really be able to do raw feeding properly. If you can't do it properly your dog could be missing out on things it needs and that, to me, is less fair on the dog than admitting your limitations and choosing a high-quality kibble instead.

I might go back to it in future but I haven't seen the dramatic differences in coat etc that people talk about. Temperament wise I've found Oscar is calmer on kibble, he's also marginally more smelly on kibble but it's not a massive difference.

We also have a very small house and one tiny freezer squeezed into the 2nd bedroom upstairs, so it isn't practical for us.

I still give them raw bones to clean their teeth on and have started to brush them too which they don't mind.

 

[Phoolf]

If new research came out contrary to my beliefs that RAW is very good for dogs then I would change my mind and go for wet/kibble. If Kes suddenly became allergic to fresh meat I would also, but otherwise no, yes it's time consuming but the joy of her enjoying her food every single meal more than makes up for it.

 

[delca1]

My only worry about raw at the moment is what happens when I go away. I have a couple of people who I always used to 'dog swap' with for holidays but I don't know how they would cope with the storage of enough food for 10 days or so. I'm trying not to think about it yet!

 

[Lyceum]

I don't think I could feed kibble again. I fed raw once but got too obsessed with weights and supplements etc and just worried myself half to death. So went back to kibble, grain free, high meat kibble.

I was put right off kibble when Bailey threw up a fully formed kibble 8 hours after eating it. I realised just how hard they are for dogs to digest and decided there an then to not feed it again. Looked into wet full time but couldn't afford it, so went with raw again.

Went raw AM kibbe PM for a month or so until the bag was gone then went full raw.

If I was to change back I'd have to find a way feed wet full time ad I don't want to feed them kibble.

 

[Sarah1983]

I've changed back temporarily and most likely will do again. The kennels I use won't feed raw. Raw isn't really practical on a 2 day drive or while staying with other people in their house for several days.

I can't see myself willingly changing back to kibble long term though, I've seen too many benefits from switching to raw.

 

[Born2BWild]

In my opinion raw is the best diet possible for dogs, however, I had to change back to commercial...

Several factors influenced my dogs changing back to commercial, being;

1) Molly refused to eat the meats, she would only eat lamb bones and chicken wings/carcasses (we tried endlessly to get her to eat it, to the point she lost 2kg in weight!) She has always been a fussy eater but has really taken to Arden Grange - first time I've put down a food she has been really enthusiastic about eating and wolfed it down and is continuing to enjoy - she's looking better than ever bless her.
2) We have been made redundant.
3) We have lost our chest freezer.
4) Cleo has developed health issues and can only eat certain meats - because the raw diet isn't varied enough on the meats she's allowed, she has been put on a good quality wet as it is complete to make up for the lack of variation and its easy to digest compared to dry (she went in for a scan and after 16 hours starvation she had a belly full of kibble) - this is part of her problem that her stomach is emptying slowly and the kibble won't help!

If the above factors didn't exist, I would put my dogs back on raw straight away without any doubts.

 

[lozzibear]

I wouldn't change back to kibble.

I feed prey model raw, and I love feeding it... I do sometimes think how much easier kibble is, but I still wouldn't change. All the time and work I put into raw feeding is well worth it.

If I ever need to go away, the boys would get wainwrights trays instead of raw. But that would only be temporarily.

 

[Malmum]

I feed barf and prey model and wouldn't change ever! TBH I wouldn't know what dry to feed, how much and would find it all too complicated. Raw is very easy to feed once you get the hang of it.