Red Fox Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I am currently feeding my 4 and a half month old puppy a mix of fresh and raw (BARF) and planning on changing to a full BARF diet once I have a better understanding of it all. Right now I feed 3 meals a day, breakfast is 1/2 a cup of oats soaked overnight combined with a tsp of frech minced garlic, 1/2 tsp wheat germ, 1/2 tsp brewers yeast, 1/2 tsp kelp powder, 1 tsp cider vinegar, 1 tsp flax seed oil, 1 TBsp natural yogurt. I then add in either some fresh chicken/turkey/or beef mince, or a small can of sardines once or twice per week. Some days I also add an egg or some mashed fruit to the mix and he often has a chicken neck or 3 after this meal. Lunch is always RMB, either chicken wings, lamb flaps/shanks/off-cuts etc. And dinner is 1/2 cup of fresh mince meat mixed with 1 TBsp natural yogurt, some minced veg and the contents of 1 fish oil capsule mixed up with 1 and 1/2 cups of dry food (Nutrience) I also add in some offal every 2nd or 3rd day. This varies and sometimes I swap one thing for another but it's a pretty standard guide of what I feed. I also tend to give one or two stuffed kongs per day to keep him busy (lastest favourite filling is 1/2 a cup of dry mixed with yogurt, topped off with a bit of cheese spread in each Kong and frozen) Anyway, to help me in my quest for the right foods to feed I have purchased 2 Ian Billinghurst books, The BARF diet and Give Your Dog a bone. Great reading, but I've noticed that Dr Billinghurst is against feeding all types of grain Does that mean that what I'm feeding is bad?? Kei is in great health, growing well and of healthy weight range with a nice shiny coat. We have had the occasional upset tummy (2 in 3 months to be exact) which normally gets better within a day at the most. I have been feeding him the oat meal (which he LOVES) more or less since he was about 12 weeks and ran it past both his breeder and my vet who both said it was fine.... now I'm worried that its not I'm also confused because as far as I know VAN also contains grain and lots of people seem to feed that too? I use organic traditional rolled oats, not the quick/microwave type. I dont feed any other grain besides whats in the dry food already, and rice with chicken if he gets a tummy upset. What do you think? Any advice appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Some BARF feeders do feed oats to growing pups. If you want to feed a grain oats are suppose to be the best. What you are feeding sounds very complicated. If you want to supplement I'd recommend a natural supplement like Greenpet Essentials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted February 8, 2009 Author Share Posted February 8, 2009 Some BARF feeders do feed oats to growing pups. If you want to feed a grain oats are suppose to be the best. What you are feeding sounds very complicated. If you want to supplement I'd recommend a natural supplement like Greenpet Essentials. Thank you. It does sound very complicated when it's written down doesn't it? but it's not really, only takes me about 3 mins to prepare. I tend to give Kei all his supplements in the morning as they mix really well with the oats. I just have all the jars on the bench next to the coffee and the sugar with the amounts I need written on top so I dont have to think I also use some of them in our foods too so it's easy to keep them there. I really do worry about getting it right, I know it's not rocket science and all but everyone seems to have a different take on raw feeding and if I did something to hurt my little boy or affect his growth I'd never forgive myself We already have a 6 year old cat with severe arthritis and I wish I had known more about diet when he was a kitten, it may have saved him a lot of pain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Personally I wouldn't feed oats. Not needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Billinghurst says if you have to feed grains oats are the best one to feed. I feed it to my dogs in the winter time, nice and warm, for breakfast. One of my dogs gets a bit itchy when fed dry but has no problems with her porridge. I just feed the quick cook oats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted February 8, 2009 Author Share Posted February 8, 2009 Billinghurst says if you have to feed grains oats are the best one to feed. I feed it to my dogs in the winter time, nice and warm, for breakfast. One of my dogs gets a bit itchy when fed dry but has no problems with her porridge. I just feed the quick cook oats. Thanks, I haven't read that in the books yet, I'm only half way through 'The BARF diet' and haven't started 'Give your Dog A Bone' yet. I will probably cut the oats out or only feed occasionally once we get down to 2 meals a day. To be honest though, we haven't had any probs with the oats either. Kei actually had dandruff before I started feeding them to him and it went away once I cut down on the dry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Oats are meant to be very soothing to the stomach and are also good for milk production in a sick bitch so I wouldn't say they have no place, but for a 4.5 month old pup I wouldn't be "wasting" stomach space on something that isn't a natural food for a carnivore. All the supplements sound very complex to me to, but if you're happy with what you're doing and have done the research that's great. Can you not mix his supplements in something like mince? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 Oats are meant to be very soothing to the stomach and are also good for milk production in a sick bitch so I wouldn't say they have no place, but for a 4.5 month old pup I wouldn't be "wasting" stomach space on something that isn't a natural food for a carnivore. All the supplements sound very complex to me to, but if you're happy with what you're doing and have done the research that's great. Can you not mix his supplements in something like mince? Yes, I could mix the supplements with mince instead. I've actually just ordered some minced chicken frames and minced chicken wings to mix in with his morning meals and incease the RMB content. That way there will be more meat/bone and much less grain. I also plan on making the BARF pattie recipe up as in the book and feeding those as easy meals. The reason that I have chosen to use the supplements I have over say an all in one mix is that I truely belive that the body, whether human or animal, can absorb much more nutients from natural sources and single natural supplements as opposed to synthetic types that are found in many of the tablets, mixes etc. (thats not to say that all the pet supplements I've come across are bad though! There are definetely some decent ones out there, just not much available in my area) All the supplements I use were recommended by my dogs breeder and I then did my bit of research to make sure I knew what each one is for. I'm not fanatical about it though. If we run out of one or I miss a day here and there no biggie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now