barf for puppies

[Lindaphills]

Does anyone on this forum feed barf, raw natural feeding to their cocker puppy?  Just curious to know as the more I read about barf, the more I like the sound of it for my pup Jess.  For her last meal today, I gave her 3 chicken wings and she absolutely loved them.  She sat there chewing them up and crunching away like a goodun  She had no problems eating them and started crying when she'd finished them

I have been reading lots of books including Billinghurst, Pitcairn, and Schultze and am most impressed with what I read.  I'm going to give it a go full time so if anybody else is feeding their cocker puppy barf or raw, natural, would like to hear from you.
Linda and Jess                    

[PennyB]

I don't feed barf but here's a web address if you don't already know:

http://www.ukbarfclub.co.uk

I think barf takes a lot of organising as much as anything else. A friend who has Welsh terriers is just about to embark on it and has had to buy a separate freezer in order to go about it.

There's also an e-group that is all about canine health and there's a lot of barf in that one as well:

http://www.egroups.com/group/k9health                    

[tracey]

Hi Linda, I have fed a couple of my dogs on a natural diet, I say natural as I used a mixture of methods and diets. I found it very easy once I had organised myself! I also found it very cheap as I have a butcher who gives me chicken carcasses for free I origanally fed it to 1 dog who had collitis, I saw an improvement immediately :shock:  The only thing I had a little trouble with was weight gain as I was feeding a greedy cocker who put too much weight on. But you soon learn to adjust accordingly.
If you fancy having a go try it out and see how you get on I have had really good results including shiny coats, clean teeth and one dog became less hyperactve!
Icidently a friend of mine reared a litter of puppies on BARF.
Tracey                    

[Lindaphills]

Hi, Tracey,
The results coming out the other end are amazing :shock:  :shock:  Jess has had trouble with commercial diets as you might have read, I think it maybe the grain in them.  Thanks for your reply.  I have bought a juicer and all the supplements like brewers yeast, kelp, etc and always have stuff like cottage cheese, yoghurt, lots of veg and fruit in for the kids anyway   I have a good butcher so not worried about the supply especially as the chick wings from Asda and Tesco are really cheap.  The only thing I'm a bit vague on is the amounts to feed for puppies. :?   There is loads of literature on it and I've been reading about it like mad.
I do worry a bit about getting the balance right but I suppose you have to really learn to look at your pup and use your own judgement
Do you still feed raw/natural and if not, why did you change?
Thanks
Linda                    

[tracey]

Hi, Tracey,
The results coming out the other end are amazing :shock:  :shock:  Jess has had trouble with commercial diets as you might have read

I was surprised at how little waste my dogs produced when I first changed over too, compared to commercial diets. I have found over the years with some foods dogs can produce as much from that end as goes in their mouths :shock: I only have 1 dog on a natural diet now,  that`s down to time. Having several dogs I would find the preperation too time consuming.
I`m afraid I can`t advise on the amount to feed, I think it`s trial and error. A lot will depend on the age of the dog and the amount of excersise they get.
 One of the books you mentioned has the calorie requirements of different sized dogs. I remember thinking how the heck do you find out the calories in a chicken carcass :?
Let us know how you get on.
Tracey                    

[Eljay]

Hi Linda,
I have fed Alfie on BARF since I got him. My breeder told me about it as she had tried it on the pups and was really impressed. I am very lucky as my hubby brings me chicken thighs and wings home from work (he's a chef) and I buy a whole load of veg and nuts and put it in the blender till it's like breadcrumbs,then bag it up and freeze it.
I give about 3ozs and mix it with about 3ozs of either chicken or tripe. (I do cheat and buy Prize Choice raw chix or tripe.) He also has Natural Choice holistic biscuit mixed in. He gets liver or kidneys once a week as well. Once you get in the pattern of doing this it's no mre difficult than opening a tin of something.  I used to have a golden Retriever who was a terrible eater and I wish I had known about BARF then as he always suffered with this stomach. I'm sure he would have been better on it.
Anyway lots of luck with it.
                     

[Lindaphills]

Thanks Eljay,
She loves it so far and its not really very difficult to organise.  I have pulped a load of veg today and have also bagged it up in the freezer in little portions so that should last me a couple of weeks

I think the veg is the hardest part really, but better to do a big batch now and again.  Can I ask you do you give brewers yeast and kelp tablet daily or just a couple of times a week?  I have been speaking to owners of 2 gorgeous field spaniels at my local country park and they are both barf fed and they look fantastic I must say   They advised to feed 1 kelp and 1 b/y tab daily.  Just wondered if evryone added this daily or just now and again.
Regards
Linda                    

[Eljay]

Hi Linda,

Glad you're getting on ok with it. Yes I do give him kelp tablets and powdered brewers yeast, but not daily. More like a couple of times a week. I'm not sure if that's enough but at least I know he's getting some. He also has Hyper-coat which he does have daily and bran which someone suggested, if they have trouble with their anal glands :roll: He did start to scoot!!! a couple of weeks back so I bought some bran and added about a tablespoon to his dinner in the evenings, and touch wood he has been fine since.
Hope that helps.