BARF

[skycat 6,173]

Both links very interesting indeed.

 

But both links only mention the feeding of leg or other large bones, though someone in the wolves link mentioned that they didn't feed wolves on rib bones as they passed bloody stools when fed rib bones.

 

I normally feed my dogs chicken carcases, but only occasionally the leg bones, rabbit (containing crushed and minced bones, legs as well as body. Breast of lamb, therefore lamb rib bones. I've NEVER had any problem feeding any of the above but I do think it is worth considering that the rabbit bones are finely minced: but I've also never found tiny fragments of bone in their sh*t: and YES! I did disect the turds to begin with to see exacly what the dogs were excreting!

 

Chicken carcases from chickens intended for human consumption are very soft boned as the chickens have been bred to grow fast and put on weight quickly: so their bones are pretty soft. Ditto lamb breast : not a tough old beast that has seen a few winters.

 

I do wonder if this has any bearing on my dogs' ability to dissolve EVERY fragment of bone as all I see in their sh*t is sh*t! No fragments at all.

 

Leg bones from lamb do splinter easily, though even a terrier can split them to get at the marrow: my dogs never try and eat the bone fragments once they've split the bone and licked the marrow out. If they do swallow the odd lump of hard, weight bearing bone then they'll throw it back up again a few hours later: their bodies seem to know what needs to come back up, and dogs do vomit very easily and voluntarily to rid themselves of stuff they don't need or stuff they would have trouble passing.

 

Interesting point also made earlier: some dogs have the capability to digest just about anything of animal origin, and I have one dog who must have seriously dangerous stomach acids as her turds are always smooth, featureless and perfectly formed no matter what she eats, and this includes such horrors as the 'C' word LOL (cereals!)

 

I've got other dogs who pass cereals straight through them almost undigested.

 

I think it just goes to show that every dog is different and a wise owner will tailor the diet to suit the individual dog: what one dog will do extremely well on might easily cause a problem to another.

 

Sorry to ramble on but this is a subject close to my heart: and I have noticed that since feeding raw all my dogs have twice as much energy as they used to. I do make sure hard working dogs get quite a lot of fat in their diet in the form of raw lamb, chicken or beef fat: so when mincing up rabbits I'll add a good 20% to the mix. The Saluki types get extra carbs like pasta, rice, porridge as well when they are running hard, though the non Saluki types don't seem to need it.

[littlefish 587]

I have been feeding mine raw now for about 3 months - i was worried about the change to their digestive systems but have only seen changes for the better. The bitch has had no diarrhoea and the dog has a much healthier waxy coat, also he smells a lot better and never seems to fart now. Both their teeth were coated in hard brown plaque but they have very clean white teeth now. I give mine marrow bones to chew as well as chicken wings, legs, ribs, whatever i can get really. They love the veg too, they were almost pulling lumps out of each other last week over..........brussell sprouts! The dog has been helping himself to tomatoes from the tomato plants in the garden. From what I have seen so far, i will keep feeding raw and bones - indeed I feel a bit guilty for having fed them from a plastic sack for all their lives now It seems no more expensive either......

[Calli 93]

Cost wise it is alot cheaper. Especially if you add the odd rabbit to the mix!

 

The chicken pieces which most butchers count as throw aways are a brilliant buy as are the ox heart as muscle meat.

[oxo 459]

The problem with some people feeding BARF is that they think its the ONLY way to feed a dog and its not. It maybe best for your dog but not for someone elses, i have seen dogs looking great on it and others look shit, same as dogs fed dry feed. I am a member of the britbarf board and to be honest a lot of the posts are from people having problems with dogs fed BARF. There are some very good dry feeds available in the UK now, Timderwolf, Orijen, Solid gold etc If your dog is leaving too much muck its because you are feeding too much or the feed does not agree with the dog if its a HIGH quality dry feed, try something else. a lot of dogs look better when switched to raw because to be honest the brand of dry feed they were getting was shit, no other reason.

regards

[thebolt 4]

dos any one use mixer biscuit with there barf feed

is so wat sort do you use

[Simoman 110]

dos any one use mixer biscuit with there barf feed

is so wat sort do you use

 

Feeding a dry mix WITH raw food goes against the whole principle.

[thebolt 4]

dos any one use mixer biscuit with there barf feed

is so wat sort do you use

 

Feeding a dry mix WITH raw food goes against the whole principle.

 

thanks for that

[thebolt 4]

how often do you give your dog's veg

i give mine veg once or twice a week

is this to much or not enough

[Cajunrules 8]

Trouble is I had those symptoms with kibble before I switched to raw.

 

 

Same here