A BARF Diary.

[happydog]

Barf Day 55.
I think Fern is calmer these days, more focussed. She still has bags of energy and enthusiasm but seems more in control, dare I say happier, more relaxed and confident ?.
My sister, who hasn't visited us for several months remarked upon it today. It's not that her personality has altered as such but Fern has become bolder, less fearful of the unknown. She used to be quite whingy around strangers or people she didn't meet very often. Today she greeted my sister and her husband with cocker wags and sat on their feet for a pat. Previously she would have screamed, run away and hid  .
Fern is seven years old so it's unlikely to be a developmental thing.
Has anyone else noticed similar changes in their dog since converting them to BARF?

[Penel]

Mine have always been perfect 

[Joules]

Mine have always been perfect 

Yeah right! 

I have noticed that Coco seems to have a lot more energy - it is impossible to tire her out.  Not sure this is a good thing - she is just constantly raring to go  and takes no time to recover when she has had a good walk   She has always been totally fearless though so I haven't noticed a change - in fact she is quite a pushy, confident little miss.

On the plus side though, I am sure she is producing far less poo than before - which I assume is because there is less rubbish in her diet and therefore less waste.  Less poo for me to pick up - marvellous!  And I think she smells better too. 

[Penel]

tbh I can hardly remember before I fed raw, twas nearly 6 years ago now....  Lola, and Hattie were raised on raw from puppyhood, and the lurchers have been fed raw since they came to live with me, so apart from Tilly and Saffy I haven't done the changing thing.... certainly Tilly's health is miles better than it was when she was one and two years old contstantly at the vets having anal glands emptied, and also ear infections.  Tilly's only been to the vets once in 4 years, and that was for her lip fold operation.

[Nicola]

Alfie's always been too laid back to be scared of anything and he loves all people without exception so there's been no change in that respect and because he's been on barf since he was 5 months the only real difference I've seen in him is that he poos less than he did    He's always been very healthy, he's never been to the vet apart from his injections and when he got bitten on the head. He always has bags of energy and I think he smells lovely but then again Tilly is on Autarky as she's not keen on BARF and tbh I don't see any differences in the two of them regarding health, vitality or smell (although she does let rip more often  ). Her ears, teeth and erm, bottom are all in pristine condition 

[Penel]

Tbh I think you will notice the differences more as they get older.  Most people are stunned that Tilly is 8 yrs old, she really doesn't look it - or behave that way.  I have friends who feed other diets, and their dogs aren't nearly as fit and healthy as Tils - but maybe thats genes, or lack of exercise I dunno...

[Nicola]

Tbh I think you will notice the differences more as they get older.  Most people are stunned that Tilly is 8 yrs old, she really doesn't look it - or behave that way.  I have friends who feed other diets, and their dogs aren't nearly as fit and healthy as Tils - but maybe thats genes, or lack of exercise I dunno...

Yeah I think you're right, Alfie's still only 11 months and Tills is only 2. I am trying my best to convert her to BARF... she loves sardines, will pick at the forthglade mince, is totally baffled by chicken wings, licks lamb ribs then walks off, turns her nose up at offal and looks at me like I'm trying to poison her with rabbit 

[clairep4]

Bella's been on raw for just over a year now. When she was on kibble we were at the vet's seriously every 2-3 weeks with one thing or another, loads of ear and eye infections, anal gland problems etc. Since the switch she has been to the vet's once for her jabs, once because she ripped out a claw, and that's it. In fact when Zorro went for his jabs a few weeks ago the vet asked after Bella and said he hadn't seen her for a while (she'd become such a regular they all knew her!) and we said she's on a raw diet. He replied, "ah, that'll be why then." 

Zorro was partly on raw before he came to us and has been on it fully since he was about 12 weeks old (thanks to Penel's encouragement!  ) and is doing great, he has a beautiful glossy coat and he's a lovely lean puppy (Bella was a little porker on Hill's) who does back flips when he sees his food bowl come out (poor boy gets soooo confused when he sees me emptying the kiln, walking backwards and forwards with handfuls of empty spaniel bowls!  )

[CraftySam]

One of the BARF books I read said that some dogs who had previous behavioural problems saw a great improvement in their behaviour after switching to BARF. So there could well be a link in the change of behaviour in Fern with the switch to BARF.

I've not found any change in that direction yet but my lot haven't been on BARF as long as Fern. I'd like it to have the same effect that its had on Fern on Sapphi. After years of building her confidence with men she didn't know and getting fab results earlier this year, she lost that confidence following her accident. I'm working on it again with her but its very slow progress, so any help that BARF could be I'd be very grateful!

I remember you saying that Fern had runny eyes for a while shortly after switching. Barney has this too but its being going on for a while now, how long did it last with Fern?

[happydog]

I remember you saying that Fern had runny eyes for a while shortly after switching. Barney has this too but its being going on for a while now, how long did it last with Fern?

At it's worst -about 4 weeks Sam. I still notice it occasionally but it's definitely clearing up now.

[happydog]

Phew!! Note to self.
Do NOT under any circumstances feed BARFed dog cooked left overs  from Christmas dinner, especially sprouts, and parsnips. Fern has had a gurgling stomach all day and has just gassed me out. I'm going to have to evacuate the room before I keel over  .

[Penel]

Weird cos mine have had loads of cooked turkey, sprouts and parsnips - and no wind, no upset tummies they are all totally fine....

[happydog]

Weird cos mine have had loads of cooked turkey, sprouts and parsnips - and no wind, no upset tummies they are all totally fine....

Must be my cooking.....  

[Naughty Pair]

mine have missed out!

i didnt think you should give them anything cooked once on raw!!!

o well...........

[happydog]

It's OK. I've just realized that it probably wasn't the cooked sprouts/parsnips but more likely to be due to the dozen or so mussels I fed her  . I'd forgotten about them.
No runny poo problems though -just enormously powerful smelly f**ts  .
Worse, - she followed me up to bed last night and lay by the side of the bed releasing evil ones all night. I'm surprised I woke up this morning.