Barf Diet

[Kaffy Magee]

When it comes to feeding raw pureed vegies, yoghurt, egg, legumes etc how often do you feed them that per day or week and how much? Im feeding my boy 3 meat meals a day but in his paperwork the breeder gave me it says to give him all this stuff too plus some other stuff but not how often and what amounts. Can anyone help? I will probably feed a dry food too as i dont think im capable of feeding totally barf and getting it just right. thanks.

[Jed]

Go and have a look at the BARF website. I'm too lazy, but I think it is about 20% veges/fruit. Don't stress about it - the idea is that the dog gets variety and a balanced diet, so if you feed a bit too much or too little, it's not the end of the world - it will all even out over a few meals.

If the 3 meals per day are basically BARF - maybe make the main one the one with the extras, and the other 2 just meat. I give a diet sheet to my puppy buyers - one meal is milk/eggs/cereal - another is dry food (which I put in because it is easy for people who work, or who want to go out during the day, the pup can be left with the dry food), with the main meal barf.

With my own dogs, if they are getting fed twice a day, they have meat only for 1 meal, and BARF for the main (night) meal, because there is NO way I am processing veges in the morning before work. Never had a bad effect on any of them. I don't stress about it, I just chuck in what looks right, and it usually is!!

[Kiera]

I mix my veg pulp into the meat (for a few weeks worth) bag it and then freeze it.

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

My dogs get veg/fruit slop only two or three times a week.

Don't stress about "how much of this how often" b/c that's going to do your head in. Just look at the overall food for a week and as long as you've got mostly RMBs, some whole muscle meat if you choose to feed it, veg/fruit, offal, they're the basics. The rest are "add-ins" that you give less frequently such as yoghurt, eggs, canned or raw fish, etc. I don't routinely supplement my dogs' diets with kelp or alfalfa either but they can get a cod liver oil capsule from time to time if needed.

[Kaffy Magee]

Thank you Jed and Lilysmum. I can relax abit then.I was doing my head in. LOL. Im picking up a food processor today to mush up the vegies/fruit.yummo!

Kiera thats a good idea I will do that. I might have to get a bigger freezer first though. LOL.

[Malamum]

I also just feed a bit of everything and don’t worry about set percentages as it all evens out in the long run.

In regards to veggies mine get about a tablespoon or so 4 or 5 times a week. On the days that they don’t get veggies they get yoghurt or cottage cheese instead.

[SALTWOOD]

It can be a bit baffling initially but I have found there is a big margin for error in feeding raw/natural foods. Wasn't that impressed with BARF roll - only my opinion, as I could only buy it frozen and when it was defrosted it was very messy, so I looked around for something that was a bit more user friendly.

If you want to take some of the guesswork out of feeding raw/natural then I recommend you visit this site - www.vetsallnatural.com.au

The dry mix is a dehydrated mixture of veges, grains, etc. that you only have to add water to and allow it to soak before mixing it with some raw meat or minced chicken frames (available at Lennards).

You can then add things like eggs, yoghurt, offal or whatever to the mix if you want - or you don't have to as it is completely balanced.

You can feed chicken necks, etc. separately ie breakfast if you wish.

Feeding raw/all natural food doesn't have to be messy and difficult!

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Wasn't that impressed with BARF roll - only my opinion, as I could only buy it frozen and when it was defrosted it was very messy, so I looked around for something that was a bit more user friendly.

It's not a roll though, but individual patties. Take the package out of the freezer, remove one patty (or more if you need more than one), defrost patty, feed it to dog/s. It *can* be tricky to separate the patties but I use a really sharp knife, tap it into the dividing join, and presto! The patty frees itself.

ETA - I'm talking about Billinghurst patties. Also the VAN products are great, but I use the complete mix very rarely. It's got a LOT of grains in it and that's one reason I don't routinely feed it. The last package I bought would have been in late 2005...and I usually use it if we're travelling instead of fruit/veg pulp.

Edited January 30, 2007 by lillysmum

[Jed]

I've never seen a BARF patty. I usually use bone in chicken mince - sometimes I use beef mince - and I process veges/fruit or whatever nightly, mix it together, and feed it. Because I have a few dogs, it's easier to do it nightly. Sometimes, if I'm on a roll, I process enough veges for a couple of nights.

Kaffy, don't stress about it. I often think it was easier before we got all scientific with BARF and various opinions.

We just fed the dogs meat and stuff, and they did alright!!

If you feed just meat, the calcium/phospherous ratio is incorrect - so you add things to balance that, and to supply extra vitamins, which is where the fruit/veges etc. come in. As long as the dog gets some variety, he will be fine.

I have 2 friends with the same breed, who show and breed. One measures everything exactly, and the dogs have additional trace elements, minerals etc. They look fantastic.

Another friend chucks in a handful of this and a handful of that, a few sad things from the fridge, the leftover potato salad, a few jatz crackers if they are past their use by date (not every day, but sometimes), a tin of tuna, a few eggs, and they have milk and cereal on Sunday nights. They look fantastic too!!

Breeder A will tell you the dogs MUST have Vit C - breeder B says no : Breeder C says yoghurt is necessary, Breeder D says "never".

So, do it as well as you can - but don't worry about it!! :nahnah:

[lovesdogs]

Hi Kaffy, the way I work out percentages is to think of it as a natural diet ie, if my dog caught say a rabbit for dinner how much of it would be RMB how much offal, vegie (in the gut) etc, then I throw in some bran as the fibre they would get from bits of skin fur etc and hey presto, also I give things like fish eggs etc as to how often they might find these sort of things in the wild! (Complete fantasty on my behalf of course :nahnah: ). Also they should have access to grasses to chew on, most dogs love lemon grass.

Just how I do it anyway.

[SALTWOOD]

I agree Lovesdogs, that's why Vets All Natural is such a good and easy product to use especially when you go to work and don't have stacks of time to prepare dogfood.

Combine VAN with minced chicken frames and any other whole food that are OK for dogs to eat and you have the best and easiest meal for any dog. VAN does have a fair bit of grain in it but then so does the stomach content of most of the original animals dogs would have caught in the wild! VAN is not the main ingredient of the meal, its ratio to meat with bone has been worked out for you on the pack - nothing could be easier.

BARF is good but I was totally grossed out by the roll which is divided up into patties which usually are sold frozen and which totally dissolve when defrosted into a soggy, bloody mess - but it is still way better than commercial dry or canned dogfood.

Edited January 30, 2007 by SALTWOOD

[blade3]

Just wondering, can Vets All Natural go off.?

[Kaffy Magee]

Thanks again for all your replies. Mum gave me her old food processor last night(FOR THE DOG? she exclaims thinking ive gone mad pureeing vegies for the dog,LOL) and did some vegies (the frozen diced homebrand ones are ok right?) and mixed it with some offal and egg. That was easier than i thought. They have been having chicken carcasses, necks and wings plus lamb necks and offcuts plus raw meaty bones. A little bit of dry and today i'll add some fish aswell. Does that sound ok?

I also have some Vets all natural that i won at a show but i havent used it yet. Its for adult/senior so i shouldnt use that with my pup?

Anyway thanks again.

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

I agree Lovesdogs, that's why Vets All Natural is such a good and easy product to use especially when you go to work and don't have stacks of time to prepare dogfood.

Combine VAN with minced chicken frames and any other whole food that are OK for dogs to eat and you have the best and easiest meal for any dog. VAN does have a fair bit of grain in it but then so does the stomach content of most of the original animals dogs would have caught in the wild! VAN is not the main ingredient of the meal, its ratio to meat with bone has been worked out for you on the pack - nothing could be easier.

BARF is good but I was totally grossed out by the roll which is divided up into patties which usually are sold frozen and which totally dissolve when defrosted into a soggy, bloody mess - but it is still way better than commercial dry or canned dogfood.

So are you saying that you didn't separate each patty? That you defrosted the whole package at one time?

If so, there's your problem. It's not the product but the user! Separate one or two patties from the end of the roll and only thaw that one or two at a time (depending on how many you plan to feed in ONE meal)...

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Thanks again for all your replies. Mum gave me her old food processor last night(FOR THE DOG? she exclaims thinking ive gone mad pureeing vegies for the dog,LOL) and did some vegies (the frozen diced homebrand ones are ok right?) and mixed it with some offal and egg. That was easier than i thought. They have been having chicken carcasses, necks and wings plus lamb necks and offcuts plus raw meaty bones. A little bit of dry and today i'll add some fish aswell. Does that sound ok?

I also have some Vets all natural that i won at a show but i havent used it yet. Its for adult/senior so i shouldnt use that with my pup?

Anyway thanks again.

Frozen veg?

Nope, not at my house...the dogs' fruit and veg slop is made with whole, fresh ingredients including the vegetation. I only 'cheat' and use frozen if we're travelling.

I don't make my own patties and I only use the pre-made ones occasionally (once every week or two at most). I serve RMB's, offal, slop, etc all separately but in the one bowl if that makes sense? The patties are a 'side dish' if you like but the RMB and other whole ingredients are the 'main course'.

VAN makes a puppy mix I think so I wouldn't feed an adult mix to a pup...

[Jed]

The nutritionists tell us frozen veges are probably better for us than raw. I don't altogether believe them, but frozen is probably ok.

I do use fresh, because I have a good fruit shop with lots of specials - and they also get fruit. I have been known to chuck in some frozen, nothing seemed to go wrong.

Mine wont eat the veges separately - l'il devils - so I mix the veges (after they have been through the processor) etc in with the mince, and they are good with that.

Gee, your mum is good to give you a processor. A friend had a garage sale, and there was a great looking but older processor for $20 - one of those ones which looked as if it was made out of metal (probably was) and could chew up fence posts with impunity- but I didn't know anyone who needed one.

[Malamum]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure the frozen vegies are more expensive than buying fresh stuff.

I make vegie mix about every six weeks. I just buy a wide variety off veggies from the supermarket at it costs me between $20 and $30. I put it all through the juicer and then freeze it in plastic containers. Each container will do 2 - 3 meals for 2 dogs. I'm sure that buying six weeks worth of the packaged frozen stuff would cost more than that.

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure the frozen vegies are more expensive than buying fresh stuff.

I make vegie mix about every six weeks. I just buy a wide variety off veggies from the supermarket at it costs me between $20 and $30. I put it all through the juicer and then freeze it in plastic containers. Each container will do 2 - 3 meals for 2 dogs. I'm sure that buying six weeks worth of the packaged frozen stuff would cost more than that.

That's what I do as well, but I freeze my slop into zip-lock bags - one meal (for all my dogs) in each bag.

I only use frozen veg if it's not practical to use anything else, such as on a road trip. Obviously I cook it b/c I'm fairly sure the dogs wouldn't eat it otherwise. But it's not generally considered part of a BARF style diet.

[westiemum]

Hi,

Well I do it differently again! Since I haven't got a food processor (but maybe I should get one!) my westies get chicken in the morning as I fly out the door to work (he gets a neck or two only as he has a weight problem which is now under control, and she gets a wing as she needs to put on weight) - fixes their breath and teeth as well. Then at night, when I have more time they get lightly cooked veggies (microwaved) and some red meat (no preservatives).

I think if it isn't good enough for me to eat it isn't good enough for them!! It takes about eight minutes to feed them from start to finish and I find it very easy now I'm in the habit. They have one day a week of a marrow bone only each, which they then chew and bury for the next few days!

Have checked with the vet and he's very happy with their diet - weights good, breath and teeth are good, coats are fine - and buying from the markets its much cheaper than commercial dog food. So I don't get too hung up on quantities or food types either - just make sure its balanced and as good a quality as I can afford.

Hope that helps.