BARF Diet - Help Please!!

[lucyjane84]

Also converting my Chalrie onto BARF this week (5 months old) so this is really helpful guys! Where does everyone source their bones? Can you just feed them 'normal' chicken wings from the supermarket?

You can, and many do - but it is worth considering WHY you want to feed a raw diet 

I won't buy intensively farmed meat for Molo due to the additives it contains and the humanitarian issues.....I would prefer to feed a manufactured organic dog food than a factory farmed raw diet, iyswim 

I think this is a very valid point to bring up. One of the  reasons that I wanted to go onto BARF is for the very reason that I dont know where tined/complete biscuits meat comes from! If I could buy free range chicken wings, for instance, and/or source my meat from trustworthy butchers than IMO i'm in the best position to buy and support the farming I feel is acceptable.

[CHARLIE-BROWN]

Thanks for all the help on this - I think we are just about ready to start.

I have weighed and bagged up mince meat and veg for lunches and meaty bones for dinners.

Just a couple of further questions - I have got some pork baby back ribs but when I picked them up the butcher said you shouldnt give pork bones to dogs as they are the easiest to fracture and cause splinters, so I phoned the vet for advice and he said he advises against giving any bones to dogs (as they quite commonly cause damage to teeth and mouths) but especially not pork bones - so am not sure now as quite a few of you seem to recommend pork ribs!


Also how is best to do the switch - they are currently on JWB - do I just go for it and straight switch or do I bring the BARF in gradually?

Thanks

[Joules]

I sometimes feed Coco pork ribs with no problem - I don't think the bones are any more likely to splinter - as far as I know it is only cooked bones that splinter not raw ones.  Some people don't feed beef bones though as they are harder and can wear the teeth down more.  You need to be sure that he is crunching up bones properly though whatever sort they are.  I know some people don't like to feed pork though I never know why - have you noticed that none of the ready made pet foods are pork based?    I do freeze the ribs for a bit first as I understand it kills off the harmful bacteria in pork.  Don't expect the vet to approve of BARF feeding - not many seem to be in favour of it.  My vet said "It's better to feed a ready made complete food"  Seems to me that is like saying it is better for us to live on pre-prepared food rather than a fresh, balanced diet.

Re switching - I did it gradually because I had a load of Naturediet to use up but I know a lot of people recommend doing it in one go.  I don't think it matters - some say it is just important not to feed processed and raw food together so Coco had Naturediet in the evening and BARF for breakfast to start with.  That way she had a good 12-14 hours in between 

[Penel]

Lola has pork ribs every day, she is allergic to most other meats.  She's been eating them every day for nearly 3 years now with no ill effects !

[CHARLIE-BROWN]

Thanks - I gave them some today - locked them both in a room and sat there staring at them like a neurotic mother until they had finished every last bit and then checked both their mouths! They must have thought I'd gone mad!

Still all was well and they certainly seemed to enjoy them 

[cockahoot]

I gave mine pork ribs last week as a last resort because the butcher had run out of the normal beef bones.  My older dog was quite ill afterwards, I was convinced she had an obstruction and then she started passing blood.  I had a terrible mess to clean up for a couple of days and found several nasty splinters of bone on the floor too, so wouldn't ever feed them to her again, and would worry about breast of lamb too. 

[clairep4]

I gave mine pork ribs last week as a last resort because the butcher had run out of the normal beef bones.  My older dog was quite ill afterwards, I was convinced she had an obstruction and then she started passing blood.  I had a terrible mess to clean up for a couple of days and found several nasty splinters of bone on the floor too, so wouldn't ever feed them to her again, and would worry about breast of lamb too. 

Do you feed raw or were these as recreational bones? If you don't feed raw and they were not used to eating bones it may just be that their systems couldn't handle it (it can take a while for their stomachs to get accustomed to dealing with bone if they've had a life of kibble or processed meat). Bella used to pass small pieces of bone initially but gradually you find that they are able to deal with it more and more until it just comes out in tiny granules if anything at all.

My two have breast of lamb twice a week and have never had any problems with it.

[Nicola]

Alfie had pork ribs yesterday and is having breast of lamb tonight because Morrisons were selling big packs of it for 65p (I cleared them out, the girl at the checkout must've thought that I reeeeeally like lamb  )  He has both of these once a week each and has never suffered any ill effects at all.

[cockahoot]

I don't feed a completely raw diet more for convenience than anything else, however I do give them bones regularly rather than processed treats.  Apart from being an old lady now, Millie has really itchy skin so I have to be careful what I feed her, I've had her on natures diet for the last month which she loves.  I put her back on the beef knuckle bones this week and she has been fine.  Obviously pork just didn't suit her.