I Have A Confession....

[Cob-Web]

For the last week, I have been feeding Molo true BARF (bones and raw food)  - Prize Choice mince/chicken wings, blended vegetables and bones  - and he loves it    It is far easier than I thought it would be, but I do have a few questions, if experienced BARF'ers could bear with me....?

1) I know I should feed him offel once or twice a week - but hes not interested in raw liver chunks    I do feed him the varieties frozen mince with offel in - is this enough, or should I mince the liver/kidney I have got for him (eugh  :: )

2) Should I be suplementing this diet with anything? I do put garlic in once or twice a week, and blend the veggies with a bit of olive oil - should I buy a commercial supplement as well???

3) I can only source lamb bones at the moment (I am hoping to get some rabbits as well   ) - is this OK, or do I need to vary the type of bones he has?

Thanks to everyone who has posted about their BARF experiences....for convincing me it was worth a go, and for any help you give      

[sarahp]

Thought we were about to get a juicy bit of gossip there for a minute

OK - I'm not sure if I'm qualified to answer this but this is what I do

1) I know I should feed him offel once or twice a week - but hes not interested in raw liver chunks  I do feed him the varieties frozen mince with offel in - is this enough, or should I mince the liver/kidney I have got for him (eugh  )

I dont give Daisy extra offal - she only has whats in the mince

2) Should I be suplementing this diet with anything? I do put garlic in once or twice a week, and blend the veggies with a bit of olive oil - should I buy a commercial supplement as well???

I dont supplement with anything - she seems perfectly fit and healthy - so I think that is ok

3) I can only source lamb bones at the moment (I am hoping to get some rabbits as well  ) - is this OK, or do I need to vary the type of bones he has?

I think this is ok - Daisy only has chicken, pork and lamb.  Penel's Lola only has pork as she is allergic to everything else - so I dont think there should be a problem with only having lamb bones.

Hope it continues to go well - and glad Molo likes it.

Is he still finding it painful to poo - or has that sorted itself out now??

[shonajoy]

I'll probably been shot down in flames for this, but if he's only finding it painful to poo since being fed raw bones, I'd be concerned.

Sorry ::

[Penel]

1) I only feed it when I remember tbh - about once a month usually - or they get it in the Natures Menu mix... (mine seem to like rabbits liver / kidneys more than anything else)
2) I give garlic, salmon oil, and / or evening primrose oil - and if I remember kelp powder every now and then.
3) its ok - but would be even better to vary it.  Rabbits are brilliant.

Glad to hear he loves it.  I hope he is pooing ok now, it does take a while for the anal glands to return to normal after being fed on "dog food".

[sarahp]

2) I give garlic, salmon oil, and / or evening primrose oil - and if I remember kelp powder every now and then.

[snapback]180227[/snapback]

Penel - why do you supplement with these things??  What do they do??

[Cob-Web]

I'll probably been shot down in flames for this, but if he's only finding it painful to poo since being fed raw bones, I'd be concerned.

Sorry ::

[snapback]180218[/snapback]

No, hes fine now - just an imbalance of bones to meat - but we've got it right now  

Thanks for all the tips, everyone - Penel, where would I get "kelp" and how much do I give him?

[shonajoy]

I'm sorry, I have to say the BARF diet scares me. I'm not in the employ of dog food manufacturers by any means - but I balk at the thought, after reading loads about it, and talking to numerous vets.

Best of luck though.

[Penel]

I know I've said it before Shona - but I really was exactly like you before I fed this way    I used to vehemently argue with people why NOT to feed raw !!!! years of experience now though, and chatting to several vets who are pro raw feeding, and I feel differently, obviously !  (I'm not trying to change your mind though I promise !)

Garlic - good for deterring worms n fleas apparently... natural immune "booster".

Salmon oil and EPO - good for coat and numerous other things - basically essential fatty acids, omega 3,6,9 - or you can just get Omega 3,6,9 capsules from Holland & Barrett.

I get kelp powder from www.dorwest.com  they also do another good herbal mix called Keepers Mix - they also sell TreeBarks powder, which is Slippery Elm - the most fabulous powder to give to dogs (and people) with upset tummies....  Dorwest usually have a stand at Crufts if you are going.

[silkstocking]

I get Kelp from Holland and Barret for the dogs food

[Cob-Web]

I was the same as you a few months ago, Shona - its been all the info on here that has driven me to read up loads - and so far, it seems to suit us    We can always go back to kibble if we decide its not for us (Molo might not be too impressed though   )

One thing that has always slightly worried me about feeding dry food is the long term risk to the kidneys due to the lack of water in the diet - a dry diet relies on the dog to drink enough   The first difference I have noticed with the BARF diet is that Molo is peeing a lot more because there is more liquid in his diet - which can only be a good thing  

It has led to some very odd comments though - has anyone else been told that feeding raw meat will turn your dog vicious??

Thanks for all the help - I'm sure I'll be back with more questions    Molo's not had any breakfast yet this morning; I came down to find he had been sick, so I'm waiting to see if its a one-off or a bug  

[Miss Poohs]

What actually is in BARF and how do you know you have the ratio bones:flesh correct?

I always thought it was wrong to feed a dog bones, incase they get caught going through the digestive system.

I know I must sound like a complete numpty, but I've wanted to ask these questions for so long.

[Cob-Web]

I was totally confused about the ratios of meat/veg/bone only 2 weeks ago  

I found several websites that recommended the following:

For every 10kg weight, a dog should eat about 100-150g meat. If gaining weight, reduce quantities, if losing, increase.

For every handful of meat, feed  2 handfuls of blended/liquidised raw vegetables.  Nuts, herbs and cooked beans should be added to the ‘veg’ portion.

Feed raw bones once or twice weekly. (RAW bones are easily chewed and digested. It is very unlikely, but not impossible that bones will get stuck in the gut. If you do NOT give bones to clean teeth, however, a general anaesthetic for dental work is very likely).

Feed offal (either kidney, heart, lung or liver) once a week instead of meat.

I tend to be guided by the waste (poo) Molo's produces - if hes a bit hard, I reduce the quantity of bone, if too soft, I  give him an extra "recreational" bone (without much meat on) to chew     the packs of mince meat I buy are 400g, so one pack lasts Molo two days    I blend the veg every other day, as it loses its goodness if its   not "fresh" - and I have individually packed lamb bones of varying sizes in the freezer (they actually wedge between the other frozen food quite well and don;t take up that much room), I take one out every few days. If the bone has a lot of meat on, I reduce his mince portion on that day....

I also read that vegetables that grow above the ground loosen stools and those that grow below, firm them up - but too much carrot gives Molo the squits so I'm not sure how true this is  

One thing I have noticed in the last couple of weeks is that his skin has become a bit flakey - so I will be adding fish oil (as recommended) to help improve his skin (its not helped by the central heating atm   )

[*Jay*]

I keep toying with the idea of feeding mine Barf but can never make my mind up one way or the other  The main things that concern me are that mine won't eat any of the bones that I've ever got them from the butchers (well, Disney the dustbin probably would) - the only thing they eat are chicken wings and chicken thighs. Also, Vegas wouldn't be able to eat the Prize Choice complete mince as I'm sure the last time I looked at P@H, they had stuff in it that he can't have such as tripe. He would have to have the individual packs of either chicken or turkey and then I would have to add all the extra's to it and thats where it would get time consuming

I'll maybe think about it some more

[Penel]

I do a batch of veg about once a month - spoon it into ice cube trays, and freeze  - its really fresh when its been frozen IYSWIM     then I just take out a cube at night time to defrost along with their brekkie mince.

[Cob-Web]

Me again  

I have just been to Holland and Barratt and boiught Cod Liver Oil for his OMEGA -3's and looked at their Kelp - Lisa, do you use the Kelp Tablets? Our H & B only sells tablets; I was expecting dried seaweed  ::