BARF

[JT]

I might be asking a stupid question but what is a BARF diet.

Thank you,
JT

[Lace and the Girls]

RE: BARF

Thanks for the quick response. I, too, think BARFing is worth it - my dogs are proof. In fact, they are conditioned to the sound of the food processor. Cats come running when they hear the can opener & my dogs come running when they hear the whirl of the food processor -- even when it's not for them...LOL.

[Carol]

RE: BARF

There's skin on the chicken necks that I buy and I give that to the danes that way. There's alot of fat in chicken skin so would help to put weight on your dog if you can find them that way. Funny about liking turkey better. Mine don't care. They eat anything. On the female due to whelp, I add kelp to the diet as it helps to produce milk. I also give whole milk daily at this time and I buy ground chicken with the bones ground in it so I give some of that daily. Eggs, are good. Anything that adds more protein to her diet at this time. I'm glad your white is doing better on BARF. I do believe my danes are healthier not being fed kibble otherwise I wouldn't be sweating over a hot food processor daily. <G>.

[Lace and the Girls]

RE: BARF

Hi, Carol. I have a couple BARF questions. I've been feeding all my dogs the BARF diet for the past 4+ months. Started them on chicken backs/necks with beef neckbones for treats and then moved on to turkey necks. Seems after they got a taste of turkey, no one wants to eat chicken (never thought I'd see a dane spit meat out on the ground - now that's picky). My Chihuahua (who was very overweight) is slimming down for the first time in his 9 years of life and looks great. Everyone is doing well but I've noticed my white dane has gotten thinner eating the same weight of turkey necks vs. chicken backs. Was wondering if lack of skin on the necks comes into play? Do they need any amount of skin on the meat as a fat supplement? As far as veggie meals are concerned, I mix it with cottage cheese (4% milkfat),canned mackrel and supplements.

Second question - I have a two year old sheltie who's due to whelp New Year's Eve (guess who's not going out this year? LOL). I've increased her food amount for the last 2 - 3 weeks but I was wondering if there is anything extra I can give her for better milk production for the puppies.

Thanks for your help. As an update for my white dane, since I've been feeding BARF, she hasn't had any skin infections or outbreaks and is doing fantastic. This from a dog who's skin was constantly itching and falling out due to bacterial infections every 2 - 3 months. It's a great relief not to go through the vicious cycle of breaking out, going to the vet, getting antibiotics and being told there's really nothing else they can do other than allergy testing and cortisone shots.

Lace

[jpy]

RE: BARF

Not "yuk" Carol<G> "barf"<G>!jpy

[Mary]

RE: BARF

LOL! Now that's pure.

[Carol]

RE: BARF

Well, alot of those articles are written by people that never fed BARF in their life and never will. There's well over 1,000 of us on the Well-Pet list and most of us feed BARF (but not all) and we haven't had a problem. If you are scared of it don't try it but don't believe alot of the scare stories. I've fed it about 2-1/2 yrs and have had no problems. I recently purchased a 3 yr old male that had been kibble fed all his life. I switched him over cold turkey and did have some problems getting him to digest the bones at first but worked thru it and he's now looking really good and doing well. In fact I just threw him a lamb's head for breakfast. I know yuk.

RE: BARF

I, like you guys, researched the BARF diet a lot to find out what I would do. What most people don't research is the studies against BARF, which when I did, I changed my mind. I didn't want to risk it.
Jen

[Carol]

RE: BARF

Give your Dog a Bone and Grow Your Pups with Bones by Dr. Ian Billinghurst.

[Kathy]

RE: BARF

I am adopting a dane soon, and have really been struggling over what to feed my new pup. I am interested in the idea of BARF, but when I search for it I find books about human eating disorders. (yuck) Could you possibly recomend some authors or book titles? Thanks.

[astridj]

RE: BARF

Yup, I remember when I first read the word I had to do a double-take also. "Bones and Raw Food" I believe. Carol is our resident authority on BARF. It's raw (!) chicken necks, backs etc, pureed vegetables etc. You can check it out on the web also ... just type "barf" into the search engine. Those that use it swear by it I guess. Think you have to be a little careful of irritating the stomach lining, intestines though. I've checked into it also, but with as many dogs as we have plus me working I don't think I have the time to prepare that much food...

[Carol]

RE: BARF

Bones And Raw Food. I feed no kibble. My dogs eat veggies, fruit, and human grade food. It mainly consists of chicken backs, necks, wings and all kinds of veggies and fruit put thru a food processor so the dog can digest it properly. There's many books on raw feeding available if you are interested.