Anyone Feeding Barf ?

[~Anne~]

I buy them from the butcher and ask him to cut them. I think some people call them dinosaur bones. It is up to you if you have them cut or you give him one full length one...but they are pretty long. I think they might be the large leg bone from a cow???? Not sure, I am not a big meat person.

[PuggaWuggles]

I buy them from the butcher and ask him to cut them. I think some people call them dinosaur bones. It is up to you if you have them cut or you give him one full length one...but they are pretty long. I think they might be the large leg bone from a cow???? Not sure, I am not a big meat person.

How long would you leave a bone with a dog for.I mean,do i leave the bone on the ground for hours just incase he wants to come back to it,or do i throw it out because the flies have been on,or can i pick it up and put it back in the fridge for next time?

[~Anne~]

I buy them from the butcher and ask him to cut them. I think some people call them dinosaur bones. It is up to you if you have them cut or you give him one full length one...but they are pretty long. I think they might be the large leg bone from a cow???? Not sure, I am not a big meat person.

How long would you leave a bone with a dog for.I mean,do i leave the bone on the ground for hours just incase he wants to come back to it,or do i throw it out because the flies have been on,or can i pick it up and put it back in the fridge for next time?

That would be your choice. As I have several Pugs here at anyone time, and some are food aggressive, I have them separated while they chew on their bones. When they lose interest in chewing anymore I collect the bones and throw them out and then remove the barriers that separate them all.

[Shmurps]

Hi all,

Just some curious questions for you.

Can you add sardines to BARF Patties and mix it in?

Can you swap straight over to canned(Natures Gift) food from BARF?

What should be added to BARF Patties or Natures Gift canned food to make it better ie-sardines,or fruit?

I am at the cross roads as to what to feed Wuggles,he currently has BARF with a few raw meaty bones per week,but is really not very keen on RMB's,so i was thinking of swappring him over to Natures Gift wet canned food,and only giving him 1 RMB per week.BARF is really getting to the hip pocket,Natures Gift is a lot cheaper,and i have been told that Natures Gift is the same as BARF,but it has been cooked in the can and sealed all the goodness in.

Any advice or knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Is that true, Nature's Gift is the same as BARF patties? I have never bothered to read the ingredience in Natures Gift.

I emailed Natures Gift to ask a few questions,and here is the response i got-

"The only purpose dry food serves is to clean teeth unless it’s a meat based dry. As most dry foods are wheat based, they also delivery very little meat based protein to your dogs diet. As you would be aware with the barf diet, dogs require high levels of meat based protein. This is why your breeder would have recommended our canned food. Our food is 70% real meat with the rest made up from grains and vegetables. Only difference between ours and the barf diet is that we cook our ingredients in the can and seal in the goodness. "

"What you have suggested about feeding one raw bone a week is perfect and your dog will thrive on our canned diet. You will see a difference in your dogs condition within a few weeks of using our food. It is complete and balanced and delivers the right amount of muscle meat protein your dog needs for optimal tissue growth and repair. "

Natures Gift does read well (I think) They do say 70% real meat etc which was 10.8% protein, Nutro was 8.5% protien and I could'nt get Pedigrees breakdown out of interest.

[PuggaWuggles]

Just got Wuggles some Canine Coutry BARF and a few lamb leg bones.The BARF was only $4.10 per kilo in a roll,alot cheaper than the original BARF at 20.00 for 2.75 kilos.Ill cut the lamb leg bones in half with a hack saw when i get home and pray he tries to chew on them.

Thanks all for your ideas,knowledge and suggestions,i am going to keep researching though,just for curiosity's sake.

And thanks to Muddles too for your kind help.

Edited December 1, 2009 by PuggaWuggles

[ozjen]

Just got Wuggles some Canine Coutry BARF and a few lamb leg bones.The BARF was only $4.10 per kilo in a roll,alot cheaper than the original BARF at 20.00 for 2.75 kilos.Ill cut the lamb leg bones in half with a hack saw when i get home and pray he tries to chew on them.

Thanks all for your ideas,knowledge and suggestions,i am going to keep researching though,just for curiosity's sake.

And thanks to Muddles too for your kind help.

Barf is only expensive if you buy the pre prepared patties, if you make your own and feed a RMB diet it can work out cheaper than kibbles. Most of mine is bought in the meat department of the supermarket late on a Saturday or Wednesday when they are doing their markdowns. I have a small freezer just for the dogs meat so that I can buy extra when there are good bargins to be had. I feed two dogs (Australian Shepherd and Papilloin) and a cat and I find that feeding them raw they are alot healthier and it is cheaper than kibble. I feed a wide variety of , meat, offal,poultry, fish, eggs, bones, small amounts of fruit, veg and grain etc along with various supplements(mainly for the benefit of the performance/show dog). I also make up a couple of dozen patties at a time to suit the various furkids big ones for the Aussie, little ones for the Pap and ones with more fish in them for the cat (she's not as conviced about BARF feeding). I divide all of my food up into meals before freezing so only need to find some time once or twice a month to organise it and the rest is simple and quicker and cheaper than opening a can of dog food were you are often paying for the water content.

When introducing raw introduce one protein at a time to check for any allergies or negative reactions, chicken is usually a good starting point. Allow about 10 days on one protein before introducing another. Once you know your dog handles a variety of proteins then feed a variety through the course of the week to help ensure a balanced diet. Aim for about 2 to 2.5 % of the dogs weight per day depending on dogs level of activity and for % of bones, meat , offal, fruit veg and grain think in terms of them eating a small animal over the space of a week and it will be easier to determine the ratio. Join some of the rawfeeding chat groups to become more familiar with raw feeding, they don't all agree on each others methods, but you will be able to decide which works best for you and your dog.

[~Anne~]

On the subject of proteins, there is a thought that you are better not introducing a wide variety of proteins until the dog is at least 2 years old. This apparently lessens the probability that the dog will become allergic to the proteins it has been fed over the first few years of it's life. The most common time apparently for allergies to develop is between 6 months - 2 years. After this the incidence of developing reactions reduces considerably.

It may be best to keep food bland and simple and without variety.

Perhaps the propensity for allergies to proteins in dogs is because of the raw/barf feeding and our desire to fed a wide variety of ood types to prevent 'boredom' (which dogs don't suffer from when it comes to food anyway to my knowledge).

It is just a thought and something to mull over.

[Sandra777]

Natures Gift does read well (I think) They do say 70% real meat etc which was 10.8% protein, Nutro was 8.5% protien and I could'nt get Pedigrees breakdown out of interest.

Just back from the supermarket and because I was buying birdseed I was in the pet poison aisle (oops, sorry pet food aisle) The cans of nature's gift I looked at all had 7 or 8 % protein and were labelled lamb rice and vege or roo pasta and vege etc - just the sort of food to feed an oppotunistic carnivorous scavenger.

I couldn't find a breakdown of what % of what were in the can - which I thought was extremely odd if not illegal????? Perhaps my eyes weren't working properly.

In comparison the woollie own brand stuff was 11% protein and 1/3 of the price to boot.

Yes, I know not all protein is created equal!

Edited December 5, 2009 by Sandra777

[Shmurps]

Natures Gift does read well (I think) They do say 70% real meat etc which was 10.8% protein, Nutro was 8.5% protien and I could'nt get Pedigrees breakdown out of interest.

Just back from the supermarket and because I was buying birdseed I was in the pet poison aisle (oops, sorry pet food aisle) The cans of nature's gift I looked at all had 7 or 8 % protein and were labelled lamb rice and vege or roo pasta and vege etc - just the sort of food to feed an oppotunistic carnivorous scavenger.

I couldn't find a breakdown of what % of what were in the can - which I thought was extremely odd if not illegal????? Perhaps my eyes weren't working properly.

In comparison the woollie own brand stuff was 11% protein and 1/3 of the price to boot.

Yes, I know not all protein is created equal!

The one I had a peek at was the chicken and rice with no red meat.

[hollee]

Hi all,

Just some curious questions for you.

Can you add sardines to BARF Patties and mix it in?

Can you swap straight over to canned(Natures Gift) food from BARF?

What should be added to BARF Patties or Natures Gift canned food to make it better ie-sardines,or fruit?

I am at the cross roads as to what to feed Wuggles,he currently has BARF with a few raw meaty bones per week,but is really not very keen on RMB's,so i was thinking of swappring him over to Natures Gift wet canned food,and only giving him 1 RMB per week.BARF is really getting to the hip pocket,Natures Gift is a lot cheaper,and i have been told that Natures Gift is the same as BARF,but it has been cooked in the can and sealed all the goodness in.

Any advice or knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I would NEVER EVER feed canned or processed food to my dogs. The fact that Natures Gift is cooked tells you enough as it is not raw food I make up my own Raw food diet with the meat being roo as I know for sure there is no chemicals in it. Adding seaweed meal, (pinch)brewers yeast, raw veges, fruit, bran and wheatgerm and make baked rusks of wholemeal bread and small amount of oil (sunflower or Flaxseed) the flaxseed oil purchased from Safeway health section as the one from Vets All Natural is about 4x the cost!

Plus of course raw bones (usually twice a week. My dogs look fantastic and they eat every bit. I would never change plus it is really low cost,and of course you know for sure exactly what your dogs are eating. One night a week they get just veges and rice and some cottage cheese and as a treat some creamed corn in with it. They like plain yoghurt too. Hope this gives you some ideas.

[PuggaWuggles]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and ideas.

If i decide on the Canine Country BARF,should i add anything a few times per week,like sardines,yougurt etc?

[Shmurps]

I find the whole food thing interesting.

I ask people all the time what they feed their dogs and I am surprised.

example. 13 year old Mastiff x- 140 kg . 1 tin of 750gram pedigree each day, table scraps, Bonnie . Not overweight, slightly grey in the muzzle, soft coat.

Husky breeder and show dog, competes around the world ,all fed tin Pedigree and supercoat.

Beautiful black English staffy, with white chest..The softest( I have ever felt for a this breed) and most shiney coat...Natures gift chicken and rice and supercoat.

[~Anne~]

Yes, I have also found similar interesting things in dogs fed commercial diets. Every dog is different. The *you must feed barf or raw and nothing else!!* push drives me spare to be honest.

Someone on DOL once had as their signature "The best food for your dog is the food your dog does best on" and that is so true.

[Sandra777]

Beautiful black English staffy, with white chest..The softest( I have ever felt for a this breed) and most shiney coat...Natures gift chicken and rice and supercoat.

The Stafford breeder within is cringing. Staffords aren't meant to have a soft coat

[Shmurps]

Beautiful black English staffy, with white chest..The softest( I have ever felt for a this breed) and most shiney coat...Natures gift chicken and rice and supercoat.

The Stafford breeder within is cringing. Staffords aren't meant to have a soft coat

Yes I know, probably the wrong description.

Out our way it is staffie's ville. So on one day for example we had 15 come in of all ages and conditions.

This one stood out because of the shine and his coat was not as coarse as some. He was 5, with no signs of allergies and in my eyes looked in great condition, very friendly and well behaved.

[Sandra777]

This one stood out because of the shine and his coat was not as coarse as some. He was 5, with no signs of allergies and in my eyes looked in great condition, very friendly and well behaved.

Sounds like all of mine - fed raw/prey model for 5 generations. No sign of allergies - sorry that's NORMAL