I know this has been covered many times before but HELP .... with BARF

[miche]

I really want to start Mikey, Herbie, Ronald and Oscar my cat on Barf.

They've had a few chicken wings, Herbie was born to eat chicken wings by the look of him - he's an expert, chewing and crunching.  Mikey looks like he shouldn't have it and hides with it, Ronald looked disgusted then had a go and really enjoyed himself and the cat - well i've never seen him enjoy eating something like that unless he'd caught it himself - so I really want to take raw feeding further.

I've also given my dogs some minced beef and eggs with the shell - they loved this too.  I'm stuck now and really want to move on but can't seem to find out what to do next.  I have done lots of searches on COL but can't seem to find what I want.  I think it was Penel who posted a list of foods that her dogs were fed on but I can't find it.

Do I have to feed vegetables and raw meat?, how often are they allowed chicken wings? what other bones can they have? what supplements do they need if any? Do I have to give them toast/yoghurt/cottage cheese?Basically I want to feed them a healthy balanced raw diet that they will enjoy eating.

Thank you so much for any advice, I've been trying to avoid posting about Barf again and have been sat here for ages reading all about it.

[Pammy]

Have you got yourself a good book on barf? There are quite a few around. I don;t do barf myself but from what I've picked up from those that do on here a good book seems to be essentiual so that you get the rght foods in teh right proportions.

They will need veg and pasta/rice too along with the meat and eggs

There are also a number of barf specific forums that are liekly to be useful resource for you if you want to go down the barf road.

hth

[miche]

Thanks Pammy, I originally decided on BARF but have since read about raw feeding without vegetables and I am now a little confused.  I will get a book though and am just going to switch to amazon to look for one now.

[Cob-Web]

Thanks Pammy, I originally decided on BARF but have since read about raw feeding without vegetables and I am now a little confused.  I will get a book though and am just going to switch to amazon to look for one now.

The first thing I found when I looked into BARF is that there are different "raw" feeding schedules and principles - the origional Billinghurst BARF included raw meat/offal, meaty bones and vegetables - but there are other schools of thought that do not believe the veg are necessary, and some who add bulking agents like rice/pasta.

I started out using this website, and in particular, the guidance published here.

Personally, I prefer to buy plain minced meat, and then add all the other necessary bits and bobs to his diet myself, but you can buy "complete" frozen BARF food (with veg, bones and meat included) as you will see from the site.

Good luck!

[silkstocking]

I think to be honest you will learn from the dogs what is best for them with regard to BARF. They tell you. I know with my own Milo can not eat minced chicken for love nor money. But is fine with chicken wings and thighs. And I know Mich can't feed Bailey tripe mince too much, but he is great with Chiken mince.

I feed both mine on BARF as you know, but its obvious to see that they both need more of one thing, Milo needs more rice and pasta than Nance needs but she in turn is better with larger amounts veg than he is ( its all about the poo!!!!)

Mine also get scrmbled eggs mixed with cottage cheese or bio yogurt in addition to the mince and bones, and an occasional treat of wholemeal toast and honey ( no marg!!)

They both thrive on what they are fed but I have learnt from observation what is best for them. My vet thinks the way I feed is great so I'll stick with it!!

I guess what I'm trying to say is you learn from your dogs! You might start BARF thinking I wont feed pasta or rice but then you might realise that actually they need a bit of something to bulk them up.

[miche]

Thanks for your replies, they are really helpful.  The website you told me about Rachel is very informative and I think I will be referring to it a lot.

Lisa, you have told me really what I needed to hear and that there are no hard and fast rules about Barf feeding.  I have found out since yesterday that Ronald can't cope with the chicken wings - he finds it difficult to poo, the others are doing fine and the cat loves them.  I did read on COL that they needn't have a balanced meal everytime but as long as they have a balanced diet over time so I will bear that in mind and introduce different foods slowly.  They've not had veg yet but will be introducing this now, and then a bit of pasta.  Do you feed the dry pasta raw? or buy fresh.  Also how do most barfers prepare their veg.  I have got sweet potatoes, toms, broccoli and parsnips for them - are any veg forbidden foods for dogs?

One other thing, what percentage of meat to veg and pasta do you use.  I can then use this as a guide to start off with and change their diets accordingly. 

Sorry if all of this has been answered before, any help is greatly appreciated

[Cob-Web]

  Also how do most barfers prepare their veg.  I have got sweet potatoes, toms, broccoli and parsnips for them - are any veg forbidden foods for dogs?

I don't feed potato or tomatoes - I have read warnings about them not being good for dogs, but others do feed them with no problems 

All my raw veg goes through the food processor (or juicer and then I mix the pulp and juice back together), I then freeze it in ice cube trays and serve three or four cubes with each meal.

Molo is fed approx 200g of meat/offal/fish a day, plus the veg, a handful of mixed nuts and a meaty bone or chicken wings (he's approx 14kg). I supplement with Omega 3,6 and 9 capsules and a garlic tablet. I split it into two meals - often he gets one meal of Burns (half a daily portion) and the other of raw

[Penel]

I don't feed pasta or rice as a rule - only if its leftover from our food.
I also don't feed much veggies at all - mine eat mainly raw meat and bones (chicken, lamb, pork - and tripe)
Supplements include Vitamin E, Evening Primrose oil and Salmon oil.
A raw egg a couple of times a week.
Pilchards once or twice a week.
That's about it really.

[Cob-Web]

Penel - do you feed raw fish at all? I have done with Molo once or twice as I got some cheap mackerel from the Supermarket - he guzzled it the first time, but didn't seem as keen the second....

[miche]

My father is a fishmonger and their dogs obviously have fish regularly.  Tonight, mum brought over 2 mackerel for Mikey and Herbie's breakfast so they are in for a treat in the morning,  not sure if they'll like it though.

[Penel]

Nope not with this lot no raw fish - Tilly pukes it up - and I don't really want to have 5 dogs doing that 
Saffy used to love raw fish 

[flozac]

Mine love fish. Raw or cooked they don't care. I once had a dog that would not eat anything, meat dried food you name it she lived on fish that was all she would eat. So I suppose it is like every thing else some do and some don't.

I am still trying out the BARF diet with my 2. Different foods seem to have different effects on each of them. Floss seems to get a bit constipated with the boney things and Zac gets the runs with some of the meaty things. It is still trial and error with them.

[Penel]

Howz it going with the raw feeding Miche ?