Raw & Barf Diets for dogs?

Question

I have 4 adults and 2 pups and 4 infant pups. Only one of the adults who is also nursing the infant pups is on raw for now.

Her diet started because of medical issues due the consumption of a rawhide we gave as a treat. We have the rest of the crew on holistic high quality kibble and this girl was also prior to the emergency surgery. Now she is on raw full time for the last month. so far she looks super and the babies are growing fast, doubling weight in one week.

I am considering switching all dogs to the raw diet but before I do I would like to learn more, we started it with the one girl due to necessity of her and the pups health and well being. She is doing great but I wonder every day if I am doing something wrong with the diet. That I am missing something. She gets deer, beef, chicken with organs once or twice a week. eats about 2-3 pounds a day so far. any help would be great to make sure I am doing it right.

Answer 1

Hi! I feed my dogs a BARF (raw) diet and would love to give you my two cents! I purchase my BARF diet prepackaged from Dr. Billinghurst (the guru of BARF diets) off his website: www.barfworld.com

Unfortunately, many people are not educated on this wonderful method of feeding. They jump to conclusions that the raw diet can " carry infections that can make both your dog and her pups sick" and this could not be more false. They assume these bacteria will make pets sick. However, dogs, being scavengers, have evolved to eat and thrive on bacteria laden food, requiring them for immune system maturity. Wild dogs eat the gut contents of their prey, and the feces of many different animals. They eat soil, contaminated meat, buried bones, infected meat and so on. These are all a source of microbes and any toxins they might produce. That is why the bacteria in raw meat has no consequence pets that have eaten commercial pet food for most of their life are safe eating raw food from clean sources.

And when you feed bones, they should be finely minced making them safe to your dog. Therefore they will not cause gut obstructions regardless of what people on here tell you.

Dogs are supposed to consume 2-3% of their weight daily. I know you have a lot of questions and are eager to learn about BARF feeding, so check out the website I provided. There is a FAQ section and lists all the benefits of feeding raw.

I wish you the best of luck! Feel free to contact!!!

P.S. It has been my experience that Vets are the LAST people you ask about diets.

Answer 2

Google Barf diets or raw feeding for canines - there's a lot of good info on line re ratios of bone, muscle meat, organs, etc. A rule of thumb is 2% to 3% of the adult's body weight, with a nursing female and pups that rule doesn't apply. Also, go to the B-Naturals website and scroll down to raw diets, it gives a good overview of muscle meat (protein source), organs, etc. and recipes for beginners. Good luck.

Answer 3

Well, you've had some fantastic answers. There's not a lot I can add, except to the vet (?) from Scotland who thinks that a raw diet is bad. You really need to do some *real* research, because vets are notoriously badly trained in nutrition. How many weeks study did you do on nutrition? And who backed that study? (Yep, the kibble manufacturers!!)

I have fed raw for 13/14 years now, and not ONE of my dogs has ever been ill in all that time.....not ONE illness....surely that tells you something?

I feed a raw diet of 65% Raw Meaty Bones (and those are chicken wings mainly, which contain approx 1/3rd bone, 1/3rd meat and 1/3rd fat)...the rest is other meats, and 10% of the overall diet is 10% offal. It is *very* important that you feed your pups something like chicken wings, because they supply the correct amount of calcium, phosphorous, etc. Natural bone has the correct amount of calc:phos...you cannot go wrong with the calc:phos ratio if you feed natural bone.

If you want a raw diet which has been balanced, you are welcome to mail me, or join my list below.

Answer 4

I don't feed strictly raw (what I do feed of raw, I 'cheat' and get the frozen raw diet from Nature's Variety, but it isn't quite as good as feeding raw from-scratch is), but I'll star your question in hopes that one of the raw-feeder answers will see it.

I know you need to get certain percentages of meat, organ, and bone. And the amount to feed is based on your dog's body weight (around 2-3% I think).

In the meantime, here is a place to start some research at:
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Raw_Food_Diet/thread/431875

EDIT:
Joh, I just wanted to comment that I found this line hilarious!
"DO NOT EAT OR PLAY WITH YOUR DOG'S FECES :-)"
Oh, the mental images that popped into my head... LOL
.

Answer 5

Hi,

I fed my GSD raw for 8 months and we loved it. Unfortunately I had to stop due to her being allergic to all poultry and I just couldn't afford to feed her pork and steaks everyday. The main website I used was www.rawdogranch.com. The site is awesome. She has several dogs on raw and has pretty much seen it all when it comes to the diet. There is a free spreadsheet on the site (click on raw diet info on the left and then click on how much to feed) so you can figure out how much and what to feed per week. I used it and it was extremely easy. She also does customized diets but she charges for that.
The other site I used was www.germanshepherds.com. I know it's a breed specific site but they're very helpful. If you click on forums on the left then scroll down to the health and wellness section there is a section on BARF/raw feeding. You will find any answers you need, and if you post a question someone will get back to you very quickly. They can also tell you about yahoo groups for finding deals on meat (I can't remember those links offhand).
Hope these help, and don't let anyone give you a hard time about feeding raw. Good luck!

Answer 6

Here: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/messages?o=1

They've helped me out tons!!

Answer 7

Feed her some kibble with it if possible? Also add some veggies to it my boss uses a yam for her dogs. Switch your other dogs over too it really cant hurt unless they have an allergy to beef, chicken, or deer. (my aunt has a dog allergic to beef)
I must say, wow that dog eats quite a bit of raw (I know she has pups but just wow) 4 Bullies and 4 nursing typically go through 1 1/2 pounds a day so for me this is like amazing.
Good Luck ^^

Answer 8

Raw is awsome, and kudos for feeding it! There is so much info out there, its hard to decifer what is fact....a friend of mine has Weims and feeds raw, just as you are, and her dogs look beautiful. She supplements with a few (and I mean a FEW) vitamins, but not often. They get deer, chicken, beef, rabbit, quail, duck, etc. She growns the fowl, therefore the dogs get all the grains they need from stomach content, just as they would in the wild. She has never had a problem in all the years I've known her.

Answer 9

The best thing to do is reaserch the raw diet.
My dogs are fed on a prey model diet so they are not given grains, fruit or veggies. The staple of their diet is raw meaty bones about 60 to 70% and chicken, I balanced that out with a fish meal 1x a wk, organ meat 1x a wk, and ground meat & eggs 1x a wk. It is important it is balanced because too much bone can produced very hard and dry stools but too much meat can cause diarrhea. I do not feed my dogs a certain amount of food, I feed them by their condition ( the way they look) to thin a little extra food and too fat a little less. It takes a little while to get that hang of it but once you do it will be as easy as feeding from a bag. You already have a head start because you are feeding one of your dogs raw so it should not be too difficult to feed all of your dogs that way. I would start the puppies off on raw chicken wings and groung turkey.

There are some good books on the subject:

Raw Meaty Bones: Promote Health By Tom Lonsdale
Work Wonders: Feed Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones By Tom Lonsdale
Give Your Dog A Bone BY Dr Ian Billinghurst
Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats By Richard H. Pitcairn, Susan Hubble Pitcairn

There are also some informative sites:\

http://www.rawlearning.com/
http://rawfed.com/myths/changed.html
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/barf.html
http://www.rawdogranch.com/rawdietbasics.htm
http://barfworld.com/

EDIT: insomnia, my vet who is also a GSD breeder, recommends a raw diet to all his clients/patients and he feeds his own dogs a raw diet and has done so now for over twenty years. He say the only problem he see is that his clients come in less to see him because raw fed dogs have less illnesses.

Answer 10

I believe either DP or Jennifer T feeds raw. I'll star for them and hope one answer you.

Damn Rawhides. They should be outlawed. People have no idea how dangerous they are.

Edit: Ok, it's Vet Tech... I knew I knew SOMEONE that fed a dog Raw... sorry!....

Edit2:
Insomnia - If you are a vet - and I'm not doubting you, please tell us where you went to school, where you practice, and your credentials. Too many people come online and say they are vets and it's scary. I'm not trying to be mean, but it's something that we just ask - because if you are going to say you are medical professional, please be prepared to show us that you are. Thank you so much! =)

Edit 3:
Insomnia: You don't have to tell us your name. But it would be nice to know where you went to school - undergrad and Veterinary college. That's aways a nice start to convince people that you ARE a vet. It's rather simple. That and what kind of practice you are in.... I didn't ask for your name and address. Just something that to some of us who are just a TAD bit skeptical of people who call them selves medical professionals online, could say and we'd tend to believe you... that's all.
Thanks!