BARF(raw) diet, Cooked Homemade, or Kibble for my dog?

Question

I've been reading up on alot of websites, found out that the kibble-based diet I feed my dog right now could be deteriorating his health, and causing a decrease in coat/skin health, and he does look pretty dull-coated. But, I've also read the sicknesses that can happen from the BARF diet. My dog is a male White German Shepherd/Yellow Lab mix, 10 months.. Would you reccomend feeding BARF diet, another homemade diet, or some kind of kibble? Also, what brand of kibble would you suggest, or maybe a free plan for the BARF/Homemade diet?

Answer 1

www.rawfed.com/myths

www.rawmeatybones.com
www.rawfeddogs.net
www.rawlearning.com

I feed a raw prey model diet (80% meat, 10% edible bone, and 10% organ meat). It is so simple. BARF requires all these supplements and you have to puree veggies and stuff. I'd suggest looking into a raw prey model diet. It is the way your dog was meant to eat. Your dog will love you for it.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Firstly the GSD part of your dog may make him prone to a sensitive stomach, have you wormed him recently?
This may account for the dull coat.

My personal opinion is feed whatever suits your dog, i feed my two on James Wellbeloved and they look great.
If you decide on a kibble make sure to read the label before buying.
The first ingredient should always be meat, NOT meat derivative or by product but MEAT, don't buy a cheap cereal based kibble.
Keep away from all kibble that has any artificial colorants, preservatives etc these can contribute towards skin problems and like children can sometimes lead towards hyperactivity which you don't want in GSD x Lab! :-)

If i had the time i would home cook for my two monsters that way you know exactly whats going into the food.
We have a saying in UK "fit as a butchers dog" which is absolutely true. 30-40yrs ago maybe even less we didn't have these mass produced commercial kibbles, and the dogs were very fit and healthy living on table scraps.

Good luck I'm sure your dog will do fine.

Answer 3

This is what I feed my performance/show dogs:

Merrick Kibble with Cooked meats, such as Chicken, Venison, Salmon, Egg, Orange Roughy, Catfish, Lamb, or Ground Turkey, with Cottage Cheese or Plain Yogurt on top.
I also feed raw carrots and fresh apples off of our tree on a daily basis.
Things like egg and fish oil are excellent supplements for a whole diet too.

I also keep Merrick canned foods on hand because they are an excellent source of protein(meats) and a completely Whole meal.

You can feed an excellent kibble while mixing in cooked meats for a totally healthy and complete diet.
My dogs have never thrived as well as they do on this diet.

I could never recommend the raw diets as I believe that is a foolish choice and will only lead to dogs dying from contamination.
Those who feed it are seriously putting their dogs at risk and have you noticed how high and mighty they get about it?

Answer 4

OK, let´s start at the beginning.
Dogs are carnivores, which means that their digestion system is build up to digest meat. They are not vegetarians and one should not force vegetarian food on them!
In praxis it means that fresh, raw meat with some ground veggies and cooked rice/grains is the best. To digest such a meal a dog needs ca. 3-4 hours. However, it is very difficult to keep this sort of food well balanced. Especially the proportion between calcium and phosphate is of critical importance for a young dog and most difficult to keep in BARF. It is time consuming to find out good substrates, good receipts and to prepare food. Alternative - tinned food works similar and is usually easily accepted by the dogs.
How is it with dry food? Weeelll, not so good. I mean, kibble contains everything a dog might need and forces him to chew, this was the idea behind it. There are two or three BUTs... First of all, to digest dry food a dog need more than 7 hours. Keep it in mind, one should feed dry food just in the evening! Then it is not easy to control the content. Some companies add chemicals and/or grains that cause severe allergic reactions in dogs. Also size and shape of kibble plays a role and some dogs just cannot chew dry food properly. I am not a big friend of dry food myself, but I see it as necessary compromise. My dogs (I have 3 Tibetan Mastiffs) get Canidae mixed with soup, fresh meat or tinned food. This way they get all the critically important minerals/vitamins and have some variety in menu.

Answer 5

Thank you for being willing to educate yourself for your dog! Good job.

There are zealots on either side of the argument, however keep in mind what your dog was genetically designed to do -- chase and eat animals.

Regarding the raw diet: It is what i feed on a prey model basis. Is it an exact science? No. In simplest, cheapest terms, feed a chicken (as a rule).

For my rottweiler, i feed 2lbs/day of chicken backs. She is cut, lean, and SHINY. My Shepherd mix gets 1lb. They are both showstoppers with their coats, their breath is great, their teeth are white.

I do, however, feed them high grade (canidae or merrick) kibble 2x or so per week so that their system will stay familiar with it -- they love the variety, and it makes it much easier when i need to travel to pack a bag instead of finding a grocery store every day.

Whatever you choose, Keep an eye on your dog's weight and adjust accordingly. On the right food, you'll see his coat become shiny, his eyes brighter, and energy level prime.

Answer 6

This will be your research and your decision as to what works best for you financially and what time allows for you. What your dogs habits are and what types of food they will eat. As for one post stating that they feed their dog one type of food one week than switch to another brand the next. I would not suggest it. A dogs system is sensitive and when switching foods it should be done gradually by adding a little of the new food to the old and increasing the switch over time.

BARF diet takes some research and should not be jumped into. There are many good holistic type dog foods out there that will make your dog shine. If you learn to read the ingredients that will be the key. Stay away from the foods that have alot of preservatives and unhealthy additves. It takes alot of practice and research but in the end you will find what works best for your dog and you.

It took me 12 years to learn what I feel is the best way to feed my dogs. Also depending on the type of dog will alter the way it eats. Larger breeds benefit from flax and amino acids in their diets. So I add blueberries to my girls food in the morning and flax oil in their dinner. I stay away from any wheat products, soy, barley and dairy. But like I said before every dog is different. I feed a duck based diet to my dogs but for some dogs its too high in calories so if the dog is overweight it wouldn't work. Truthfully it is all trial and error. Good Luck.

Answer 7

You hear so much nowadays about different methods to feed your dogs, nobody knows which way's up and which is down anymore.

First it's "No, only 'human grade' food is the way to go, feed Canidae." Then it goes to "No, human quality food is ridden with just as many dangerous things, feed raw." And finally, "Raw foods can upset a dog's stomach, just feed expensive Pedigree."

I find this situation is parallel to all of the "discoveries" made on our foods. One year "eggs are harmful and cause cancer!" Another year they'll help prevent heart disease.

Who knows anymore? Who can say who's wrong and who's right?

Personally I feed my dogs your everyday common kibble brands. Beneful is in my pantry right now. Next week it may be Pedigree. If I ever see my dogs getting unhealthy from their diet, will I change? Heck yes! But right now I see nothing wrong in feeding my dogs what they are receiving. They get regular vet check-ups, and are clean as a whistle on their bill of health.

So in short (and for all my ranting xD) feed what works best for your dog, and what you personally believe is best.

Answer 8

Did you tested Eating for Energy (120 raw food diet recipes) technique? Look on this website : http://StayEatingRaw.com/Tutor . This will probably support anybody!

Answer 9

I have tried the barf..did not like it..went back to my traditional ways.. Veggie stew. with rice and pasta..Raw meat ie. beef chicken, lamb canned fish and dry food..Supercoat.
Have bred and shown dogs for years..

Answer 10

i got a yorkie hes 13 and he hated dog food since he was 3 months old so we gave him fresh cooked stuff plenty of veggies too and he gets a clean bill of health every year and he also likes apples oranges bananas water mellon you name it hell eat it