BARF DIET

[Sprocket]

I am feeding my dogs on Skinners but am seriously thinking about changing to the BARF diet.

I have bought chicken wings and a mixture of Tripe,Raw chicken & Minced beef in 1Lb (454g) bags.

The problem is how much should I feed them each meal?

People suggest 1/2 lb meat + Veg.

How much Veg/Fruit should be added per meal?

What type of Veg/Fruit?

Should it be mixed E.g Apple/Carrot & Cabbage all ground up?

Do you add dog biscuit?

Both dogs are Spaniels -about 15Kg in weight.

Any sensible advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers Pete

[Damian1225]

You need to feed approximately 2-3% of your dogs body weight per day so if you give 2 meals then divide that in two and thats how much per meal, do not add any dog biscuit as this is digested at a different rate, veg i would say you need to add approx 1-2 table spoons of mixed puree'd veg per meal, you puree as dogs have a short digestive tract and if fed whole veg they would not digest it.

 

You also need to ensure a good amout of bones are fed or they wont get the calcium and phosphorous they need to keep healthy bones, anything like chicken/turkey necks or chicken carcass, lamb ribs, or neck or beef ribs are ideal try and avoid shins of beef etc or any weight carrying limbs, chicken wings are ideal, I feed a lot of whole chickens or chicken portions, try and keep the pieces you feed large so as to encourage chewing as small pieces will be hoovered up and cause problems, also NEVER feed cooked bones as they change density and can splinter and kill your dog, good supplements to add are garlic as it helps as a flea treatment, cod liver oil for eyes, teeth and coats, and whole rabbits without guts are also good, as are pigs heads and will keep a smaller dog active all day... Any more questioms about BARF feel free to ask on here or pm, I can talk dogs all day lol

 

 

ATB

Damian

[Sprocket]

You need to feed approximately 2-3% of your dogs body weight per day so if you give 2 meals then divide that in two and thats how much per meal, do not add any dog biscuit as this is digested at a different rate, veg i would say you need to add approx 1-2 table spoons of mixed puree'd veg per meal, you puree as dogs have a short digestive tract and if fed whole veg they would not digest it.

 

You also need to ensure a good amout of bones are fed or they wont get the calcium and phosphorous they need to keep healthy bones, anything like chicken/turkey necks or chicken carcass, lamb ribs, or neck or beef ribs are ideal try and avoid shins of beef etc or any weight carrying limbs, chicken wings are ideal, I feed a lot of whole chickens or chicken portions, try and keep the pieces you feed large so as to encourage chewing as small pieces will be hoovered up and cause problems, also NEVER feed cooked bones as they change density and can splinter and kill your dog, good supplements to add are garlic as it helps as a flea treatment, cod liver oil for eyes, teeth and coats, and whole rabbits without guts are also good, as are pigs heads and will keep a smaller dog active all day... Any more questioms about BARF feel free to ask on here or pm, I can talk dogs all day lol

 

 

ATB

Damian

Damian 1225

 

Thanks for your answer.

It has clarified many things for me.

I will start them on their diet and watch for any changes.

 

I have just taken on a 11Wk old pup -thats currently on a complete food.

At what age can I switch it to the BARF diet?

 

Cheers Pete :good:

[Damian1225]

I keep all my pups on complete till around 9 months as getting the balance right for a young dog is very difficult and can cause problems if not done right, what i do tend to do though is introduce the odd chicken wing as a treat and get them to sit/stay/paw/rollover etc that way you are prepping the dogs stomach ready for it an also getting something back in return as its a high value treat to a dog, when you switch you may notice some loose stools for a few days also but dont worry just make sure they have plenty of water available, then once they settle you will notice your picking up around 50% less poop as they absorb a lot more food..

[Damian1225]

Some examples of feed can be lamb ribs, beef heart (99p a pack from supermarkets) lamb neck, chicken wings, chicken legs, any bones morrisons do stew packs that cost pennies, all of these thigs can be found on special offer or reduced and if you go and speak with your local butcher he will give you all kinds for your dogs also for pennies, plus if your shooting you can feed crowned pigeon or whole gutted rabbits etc for free.

You will notice a big difference within a month, also once or twice a month dont feed the dog for a day, this allows them to fully absorb the contents of the stomach and is also more natural to how a dog would eat in the wild, they wont miss it for one day....

[kent]

Some people get all huffy and overcomplicate these things with poor science. Barf is simply Bones and raw food and tries to recreate the natural diet of dogs, who have been on a junk food diet of chicken feed and tinned food for only a few decades. I think the real key to it is variety and don't get hung up on one particular food type or too true to the principle, mine get spag bol leftovers and often a bag of chips but 90% of the diet is raw meat and bones and i include oily fish in the meat bit again heads,tails fins the lot. Its sort of peculiar at times like last night watching a hungry dog pull a raw beef steak out his bowl to get at the spagetti leftovers below. Remember in the real world after a hard days shooting that started off as just a quick morning flight its not always convienient to find a dog Raw meat and bones so they need to except other foods readilly.

 

As for feed amounts, forget measuring and persentages IMO. A dog that is working hard and getting a lot of exersize will need more, one that is laid up less. If they start to look a bit thick round the middle cut back for a few days likewise if they leave food for later, on the otherhand if they are over enthusiastic and start to skinny up give a bit more. Raw beef knuckle bones are great for keeping dogs regular and firm by the way and try and not aviod fur it seems to be something they need at times

 

I don't think its good to feed small pups this way, the parents would feed it as a regurgetated mush, so unless you fancy doing that also little teeth cant handle bones well. Intoduce slowly with other feed once they get thier proper teeth

[Sprocket]

Damian /Kent.

 

Thanks for the information - looks like I'm off to Morrisons for a stew pack and look about.

Won't let the missus know because she thinks I am allergic to supermarkets!

[coyotemaster]

Interesting bit of knowledge, here in the States everyone pretty much feeds a higher grade bag feed such as Iams. There is also a high incidence of hip displasia among larger breeds. Too much protein?? Not enough trace minerals??

The Barf diet would seem much more in the nature of the animals ancestral diet.

[PERCE]

It's worth getting a relationship with a local butcher. Mine gives me free lamb breasts (approx 8kgs a week) & sells me chicken wings & carcases at a cheap price. I might have to pay more for our own meats than supermarket shopping but it is always top quality.

 

It might be worth seeing if DAF deliver in your area http://www.daf-petfood.co.uk Their products are okay but similar can be sourced cheaper, look for local suppliers.

 

I feed RAW so only give pulped veggy /eggs once a week or so. I wouldn't worry about moving a pup over onto this style of feeding straight away, although I'd be looking to give it minced feed & supervising it closely with wings etc. I bought in an older Cocker & she struggled with wings for quite a while, I had to smash them with a hammer, she didn't struggle with lamb breast though. I've fed RAW for over 2 years now & my only regret is not buying a bigger freezer when I started.

Edited August 3, 2011 by PERCE

[screwie]

you will never look back once you move over to it we have moved back over to a complete feed now tho (chudleys, and very good it is too) only for ease of feeding our 7 dogs but they never looked better when they were completely on BARF, they still get fish, bones ect thrown in aswell everynow and again but we are looking to put them back onto it just need alot of freezer space.

[fergie]

this must also be quite time consuming

[kent]

Interesting bit of knowledge, here in the States everyone pretty much feeds a higher grade bag feed such as Iams. There is also a high incidence of hip displasia among larger breeds. Too much protein?? Not enough trace minerals??

The Barf diet would seem much more in the nature of the animals ancestral diet.

 

Bag feed is for human convieniance, Hip displacia is breeding

[kent]

this must also be quite time consuming

 

not realy, it depends on personal circumstance. If i am having a sesion gutting out Game etc. the bits get put to one side, i don't believe it leads to a hard mouth but it does make them keener. when i go to the butcher for our needs he sorts me a big sack of bits, i sort into individual bags and freeze. Filleting fish and heads and backbones off to kennel. If we shpped at the supermarket and didn't have the proximity or amount of game it would be harder as it would mean making contacts and collecting, though i believe you can buy on-line

[fergie]

I looked at this awhile ago but due to my two dogs age i decided to stick with the bag food but was look at this for my new gun dog when i get one how does it compare price wise? do you bag the food up in to individual meals is there anything you shouldn't feed? and how much veg do you feed a little every meal or once a week? should you feed a little liver, kidney?? or is it two rich?

[kent]

I looked at this awhile ago but due to my two dogs age i decided to stick with the bag food but was look at this for my new gun dog when i get one how does it compare price wise? do you bag the food up in to individual meals is there anything you shouldn't feed? and how much veg do you feed a little every meal or once a week? should you feed a little liver, kidney?? or is it two rich?

 

My GWP can no longer tollerate large amounts of liver,i think this stems from too much in one go one time. I dont feed much veg as i cant forse feed it (strangely grapes and blackberries are treated as a delicasy) some dogs will eat it others wont - like my kids! Cost? nothing up to very little though there is a finite amount of dogs you could achieve this with

[arwen3513]

hi Im a bit lazy when it comes to it and tend to feed dry kibble in the week and have BARF at weekends

not the best way to do it i know but they do enjoy a chicken wing and tripe.

 

by the way grapes are poisonous for dogs, as are raisons and currents. suppose like chocolate you now know its dangerous but everyones dogs as kids all had chocolate :look:

 

jan

[kent]

hi Im a bit lazy when it comes to it and tend to feed dry kibble in the week and have BARF at weekends

not the best way to do it i know but they do enjoy a chicken wing and tripe.

 

by the way grapes are poisonous for dogs, as are raisons and currents. suppose like chocolate you now know its dangerous but everyones dogs as kids all had chocolate :look:

 

jan

So is Garlic and many feed that, how many gundog guys recomend half a mars bar at mid point? All about quantity

[helenthomas]

I had to change back from raw to a complete for a couple of reasons - one being that one of my GWP's was found to be allergic to meat. :blink:

As someone said, price can really vary - if you're lucky enough to get loads of freebies from the butcher/field it is a very cheap way of feeding.

Honestly, the dogs look no different now bodywise - they are on a good quality salmon based complete food BUT their teeth are nowhere near as good. I took on an old Otterhound when I fed raw. Her teeth were black when she came to me, and it was amazing the difference the bones made. Helen.

[kermitpwee]

I had to change back from raw to a complete for a couple of reasons - one being that one of my GWP's was found to be allergic to meat. :blink:

As someone said, price can really vary - if you're lucky enough to get loads of freebies from the butcher/field it is a very cheap way of feeding.

Honestly, the dogs look no different now bodywise - they are on a good quality salmon based complete food BUT their teeth are nowhere near as good. I took on an old Otterhound when I fed raw. Her teeth were black when she came to me, and it was amazing the difference the bones made. Helen.

 

What's the salmon based food you have them on please?

[helenthomas]

What's the salmon based food you have them on please?

 

http://www.workinghprs.com/ The Salmon and Potato hypo allergenic. I was on Challenge previously which I can highly recommend, but just couldn't afford for 3 dogs. All of mine are doing very well on the HPR stuff now. H.

[Sprocket]

http://www.workinghprs.com/ The Salmon and Potato hypo allergenic. I was on Challenge previously which I can highly recommend, but just couldn't afford for 3 dogs. All of mine are doing very well on the HPR stuff now. H.

Even at £31 for 15kg seems expensive - have you tried Skinners?

[Cranfield]

I have fed my last 3 dogs on the BARF diet and my Otterhound looks superb on it.

All the foods mentioned are excellent (I don't feed liver), also for convenience try http://prizechoice.co.uk/ , the 2kg freeflow chicken and tripe are good value, as are the beef chunks.

Most Pets R Us type stores sell the complete range.

 

If you have a Butcher that actually prepares his meat, you will find it quite easy to pick up lamb bones, chicken carcasses and meat trimmings for free.

Also large quantities of chicken wings for a decent price and any of his "special offers", like breasts of lamb that have been in the freezer a while.