Vitamins

[samboy]

Hello everyone i am new to the forum, at the moment i am feeding my cav the dr billinnghurst barf patty's which is quite expensive, so am thinking about making my own. Anyways my question is what vitamins do you add to your barf recipe, because i have been reading a bit of his book and it sounds like you need a million and one different vitamins and oils, how can that be cheaper then buying the pre packaged stuff.

I look forward to your help

krystal

[puggy_puggy]

I add flaxseed oil and sometimes kelp powder to the veggie/fruit slops I make.

[samboy]

Thanks for that, so you dont have to add, vit B,C,E and all the other things that he suggests in his book.

Edited May 2, 2009 by samboy

[puggy_puggy]

Thanks for that, so you dont have to add, vit B,C,E and all the other things that he suggests in his book.

Nope. That is all contained naturally in the fruit and vegtables I food process.

[Tiggy]

I feed a raw diet with no vegies/fruit. The only supplement I use is fish oil.

[samboy]

With the prey model diet not to mention the barf im worried that im not gonna be able to get the right amout of meat, bone and offal, what would you feed in lets say a day for a 15 kilo dog. Its all just so confusing!

[Gretel]

With the prey model diet not to mention the barf im worried that im not gonna be able to get the right amout of meat, bone and offal, what would you feed in lets say a day for a 15 kilo dog. Its all just so confusing!

Please tell me your Cav doesn't weigh 15 kilos?!

When I was feeding BARF I added flax seed oil, kelp, vit e and B every now and then. I don't think you need to worry too much about the extras though.

[samboy]

Please tell me your Cav doesn't weigh 15 kilos?!

When I was feeding BARF I added flax seed oil, kelp, vit e and B every now and then. I don't think you need to worry too much about the extras though.

I know that sounds huge but his actually nearly the size of a cocker spaniel, and at his biggest he was over 18 kilos, the vet told us to take him off biscuits, thats when i started buying barf pattys and he looks so much better and healthier now, his been on so many different diets that the vets have recommened and barf is the only thing that hasnt made him get fatter.

Edited May 2, 2009 by samboy

[Gretel]

When I've had a dog here who needs to lose weight the dry food was always what I got rid of. I've had a few boarders over the years who needed to lose some weight. I wish I was as good at getting weight off me as I am getting weight off dogs I find feeding necks or wings and veggies soon gets them back into shape. Do you have a pic of your boy? There is a Cavalier thread in the General section too. We're quite a chatty bunch http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...p;#entry3644626

[puggy_puggy]

For an adult dog being fed BARF its generally 2% of their ideal body weight daily.

[Seita]

I add vit b,c , kelp and brewers yeast to the veggie mix and then go through phases of feeding vit e (goes rancid if mixed into mix and left so feed it in table form every day) and cod liver oil as well. Although this is not always, it really depends on what I have at the time and what I've used in the way of veggies as sometimes my veggie mix is a bit simple (only a few items) so I preffer to suppliment with extras.

[Red Fox]

Kelp and flaxseed oil in the vegie slops (same as puggy_puggy) I also add eggs including shells in there as well.

Brewers yeast for the vitamin B, though I dont use this every day.

Fish oil and vitamin E oil, I use these on most days except when feeding fish.

Apple cider vinegar.

I dont use all of these every day and if I forget to put something in I don't stress about it (evens out over time anyway). The vegie slops, RMB and offal contain pretty much everything you need anyway as far as vitamins and minerals go. Personally I dont think it's necessary to use synthetic supplements like tablets when you can feed foods which contain natural sources

Goats milk, cottage cheese and natural yogurt are great sources of both calcium and vitamin B too.

[samboy]

THanks everyone, you have been very helpful. This barf stuff is very hard to get my head around.

[Tru Borders]

Just on a quick note BARFERS, I was buying some BARF at Uncle Toms the other day and he told me Dr Billinghurts BARF was bought out by someone else and now the ingredients are majority floor scraps and not the impressive ingredients it used to have in it. He doesnt stock Dr B's now for that reason. Can anyone shed some light on the subject? We have never fed the premade before and thought we would give it a go. We bought the Canine Country Barf and the furkids love it!

[puggy_puggy]

Kelp and flaxseed oil in the vegie slops (same as puggy_puggy) I also add eggs including shells in there as well.

Brewers yeast for the vitamin B, though I dont use this every day.

Fish oil and vitamin E oil, I use these on most days except when feeding fish.

Apple cider vinegar.

I dont use all of these every day and if I forget to put something in I don't stress about it (evens out over time anyway). The vegie slops, RMB and offal contain pretty much everything you need anyway as far as vitamins and minerals go. Personally I dont think it's necessary to use synthetic supplements like tablets when you can feed foods which contain natural sources

Goats milk, cottage cheese and natural yogurt are great sources of both calcium and vitamin B too.

Yes my veggie slops include whole eggs, including shells, that have gone through the food processor. I feed fish once or twice a wek.

I think that just as in humans if something is healthy and been given a good diet supplements are not needed. It is when the diet is lacking or the human/dog has a health condition then supplements can be looked into.

Edited May 3, 2009 by puggy_puggy

[Sandra777]

Well I must be an evil mother - I just give the girls a whole egg and they take care of it for themselves. They're 1 x 13.5kg 1 x 14.5kg and 1 x 16kg so OP that's about the size you're talking about.

I don't add any vitamins/minerals/oils.

Vege scraps, sometimes cooked scraps, sometimes specially & lovingly prepared slops. About a tablespoon for each a day (but not necessarily fed every day) primarily green leafy vege & always including some fruit - pip fruit cores & skins, yucky grapes (no, they have not died), bananas & the odd bit of citrus, but they don't like that much. Twice a week a sheep's heart each (muscle meat not offal) Once a week a sheeps kidney (or equivalent beef kidney) I would give them a feed of green tripe once a week when I could get it (about 200g per dog) but can't use it at the moment as we only have a people freezer which is why I'm doing vege/fruit instead - IMO you don't need both. Once a week a can of sardines each. Once a week about 100g of a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of chicken gizzards & hearts or chicken gizzards and livers. Rest of the time primarily chicken bodies am, chicken "casarole pieces' pm. I have a bitch who does badly on beef & kangaroo and a different one reacts badly to a lot of fat so I avoid buying mutton offcuts, beef & roo (if we had a dogfood freezer it'd be different but for now there's no room for individual diets)

Eggs, sardines, good bone content, tripe - IMO those four things cover virtually everything. Of COURSE some dogs are going to have problems and need different treatment, but for a normally healthy dog this does the trick most of the time