B.A.R.F. Diet

Does anyone here use the Biologically Acceptable Raw Food Diet? We have been using it for years along with kibble that we vary from month to month. We also use mixed vegetables (buy it in large frozen bags at Costco) If you do i would like to compare notes as far as general health, teeth condition, coat condition ect.... Ruth

My guys are Fed 90% raw 10% kibble.. have done this for years an seems to be working well!

I don't have the freezer room to do traditional raw but do ring the changes with Natures Menu which comes in pouches and highly recommended by those who normally do raw but use this for holidays or stand by,they deliver to the door free and at a lesser cost than getting it from pet store.

I recently changed my lots kibble to Fish4dogs, it comes in white fish or salmon so alternate between the 2 so they dont get bored,they love it,RC which I have been feeding for years was getting so expensive and was going stale before they had finished the 2 bag minimum order,F4D will deliver only one bag free as well as having a great breeders club.

Mine are all 100% raw fed ... Prey Model Raw - A variety of raw meat and bones - no veggies....every once in awhile (~1-2 times a month) they will eat day old pancakes with fresh blueberries if there are any left and get a few de-shelled sunflower seeds ~ once a month - I mix them in salads and I caught my kids picking them out for the dogs thinking I haven't noticed :lol: In the last part of pregnancy I give the girls a mix with raspberry, dandelion, wild hawthorn, elder, dill and tonic spice which really helps for an easier whelping.

General Health - Wonderful...lots of energy, nice bright eyes, super clean teeth - they do get a bit of dingy after a fish meal but adding 1/2 turkey neck or 1/2 chicken wing help solves that, their coats are glistening ....not growing as long as I would like - it was suggested I add more fat on a email list I belong to ...so far so good. I do think its affecting their hormones a bit since they all decided to cycle every 5 months or it could be due to Luna bringing the other girls in - not sure which.

A rescue that just came in was on Royal Kanin (sp?) Dachshund 28 formula - very skinny, lots of build up on the teeth, sluggish, scared of everything, scaly skin, dingy and dull coat, brittle nails etc. When he first got here last week, I started him on raw the next day and is quickly turning around - the coat is getting a nice sheen to it, the teeth are cleaner - I do need to get them scraped to remove excess plaque, he is quickly gaining weight, his skin is turning pink again, the scales are healing, his nails are getting harder - still too long but working on getting the quick to recede, he is calmer, eager to play and settling in quite nicely.

Just curious what email list you are on. I am trying to find a new wholesaler for my chicken, turkey and tripe. Anyone know of one in the Louisville Kentucky area? And i am looking for anyone in our area to get together with and buy in large quantities around 300-400 pounds. Ruth

I don't post much but rather soak in all the information given...many times asked and answered before I think of it :lol: Unfortunately none are co-ops but you may be able to talk a few people into it if they live nearby or there may be specific co-op lists for your area? ....

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalRawDog/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawbreeder/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/RawPup/?yguid=419599509

its interesting reading about the benefits of raw :: mine are doing ok I think on Pro plan which is there staple diet but they get chicken mince /necks etc as well :: also the odd bone and bunny! We dont have the choices in dog food like you do there :: pro plan is quite expensive but out of the ones available I like it the best : I am not keen on Eukanuba :: Royal canin seemed quite good (won a heap of it at a show ) but they only have the 3 kg bags in the dachshund formula here. What scares me about raw is the preparation and making sure it is balanced.

I haven't tried the raw diet, it kind of scares me and my
bunch isn't well mannered enough. I would have to feed them
all one at a time in a seperate space. I bookmarked this after
someone posted it on facebook and was going to research it.
http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/dog/all
I think if I was going to try raw, I would probably have to go
with buying bulk. Seems more logical to this ex farm girl.

Finding the right balance scared me as well so I did a lot of research to ease my fears ....... AAFCO/Merk nutritional guidelines:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/htm/bc/tmgn46.htm

Here's a detailed article from Merk going over deficiencies:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/182902.htm&word=canine%2cnutrition%2cdeficiency

Here is a crude outline of vitamins, what they do, deficiencies, some places where can find it:
http://www.gooddogk9training.com/dog-nutrition.cfm

You can look up nutrients in raw meats - just choose the cut and select food group, on next page choose raw or type of cooking method, on the next choose amount then you finally come to the nutrition data - unfortunately bone is not included:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

From there you can do your own meat selections for whats available in your area...based upon my own research and time of year my crew gets chicken, beef, green tripe, sardines, pork, lamb, moose, caribou, rabbit, quail, and/or turkey. I choose the meatiest parts and supplement with chicken wing or turkey neck if there is no bone or its a large leg or neck bone. Also its a good idea to feed like with like: chicken thigh with chicken heart and an egg or flank steak, oxtail, beef heart....the only things you have to be careful of (besides not feeding a variety) is egg and liver but those can be limited to once a week or every other week. Also, offal (heart, kidneys etc) needs to be limited to 3 times a week. It really is quite easy after you get the hang of it ok not as easy as scooping it out of a bag

My crew was possessive over their feedings until they realized it was coming everyday oh and the ones that tried to start something - they missed a meal and was separated form the rest...they learned real quick. Now I can just toss it outside in their run with no problems.


Yes, we do have a lot of kibble choices - maybe too many. To make it more confusing there are different formula's for each part of the region here so if you live here and your crew does great on Orijen, they may not do so great if you move to say, Minnesota. I tried many different dog foods finding some did good while others didn't then I questioned what did dogs eat before kibble came around? It makes sense for me to do raw since we do a lot of sustenance hunting and fishing anyway with a lot of farms around so its cheaper for me in the long run, all my dogs do very well on it, our vet appointments are now reserved for check ups instead of problem visits, less poo, no poo smell to attract the flies etc.

Ok I am off my soap box now - I know you have all heard it before but I swear if you try it for at least 2 months, you won't ever want to go back to kibble