Raw Food

[Dobiegirl24]

I plan on switching my two to BARF, i'm still doing research on it and trying to convince my mom to let me switch. I feel so horrible for feeding them kibble though

[ChrisH]

I thought you all may be interested in reading this critique of the BARF Raw Food Diet written by John Burns

http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk..._Food_Diet.htm

Chris

[micki76]

I do not have the time to feed the BARF diet, though I wouldn't if I did have the time. Chester has pancreatitis and the fat content on the BARF diet would possibly send him to the hospital for a lengthy stay. He is on a steady diet of venison and rice and has not had a single episode of pancreatitis since we changed to this low fat diet. He's doing perfect, he likes the food, and his allergies have not flared up all summer why would I change?

I do have one issue with the BARF diet. (please do not take this as a criticism if you feed or want to feed this way)
The reasoning for this diet is that dogs have eaten raw food in the wild, and we should take them back to a more natural way of eating and that this is far healthier for them (producing better coats, etc.) correct? Well, people ate raw food too at one time. Should we go back to eating raw food? Not me!! I’m sorry, but the reasoning for this diet doesn’t hold water for me. I think dogs have been domesticated for long enough to be used to eating their food cooked.

JMHO

[tikeyas_mom]

I dont like the idea of feeding my dogs raw meat what if they get tape worms that wuldent be good. and they can get worms from raw meat. I just dont liek the idea, I stick to iams/nutro dog foods + the odd ppl food

[binka_nugget]

Well, since the last time I posted in this thread, we've started feeding BARF. I'm taking everyone's opinion into consideration. No opinion is a dumb opinion. For us, the barf diet works (so far). It's really time consuming for me (I'm the one who buys, prepares and feed the food) but the benefits so far are well worth it. For any future dogs, I'm not sure if I'll feed barf again (especially for a larger dog) because it's quite expensive if I don't buy in bulk and it takes alot of my time up. If I don't feed barf, it'll either be home-cooked, or a kibble with human quality ingredients.

A major plus for us (me actually) is that I haven't had to scoop poop in our yard since we've started feeding barf. It dries and crumbles to a white powder after a couple days. Since I've started adding eggs in twice a week, his coat is ALOT healthier looking. He's gotten complemented on it many times.

[alicat613]

Originally posted by micki76


I do have one issue with the BARF diet. (please do not take this as a criticism if you feed or want to feed this way)
The reasoning for this diet is that dogs have eaten raw food in the wild, and we should take them back to a more natural way of eating and that this is far healthier for them (producing better coats, etc.) correct? Well, people ate raw food too at one time. Should we go back to eating raw food? Not me!! I’m sorry, but the reasoning for this diet doesn’t hold water for me. I think dogs have been domesticated for long enough to be used to eating their food cooked.

JMHO

Actually that's not quite it. Yes, humans ate raw before we learned about fire and cooking. But our bodies are very very different. It is about those differences, not simple history. And no, I don't run around speaking of 'wild dogs' nor do I feed BARF. But I do feed raw food and I do agree that it is the ideal for most dogs, physiologically it is their true diet (that which is raw and simulates a prey animal). But I also feed cooked.

BTW it costs me more to feed my 2 small cats (7.5 lbs and 11 lbs) commercial food than it does my Great Dane (130 lb growing skinny pup) on a home diet. But cost shouldn't be the deciding factor, there is a lot of initial work and there is greater effort required on a continual basis.

[joycenalex]

.... Chester has pancreatitis and the fat content on the BARF diet would possibly send him to the hospital for a lengthy stay.
I do have one issue with the BARF diet. (please do not take this as a criticism if you feed or want to feed this way)
The reasoning for this diet is that dogs have eaten raw food in the wild, and we should take them back to a more natural way of eating and that this is far healthier for them (producing better coats, etc.) correct? ...
dear micki, no offense taken at all! for alex, this diet is a better choice. he has had a bout of pancreatitis(garbage eating) and i was able to control the amount of fat in his diet in during his recovery. the chicken necks are skinned and the canned mackrel is rinsed off. there isn't any added fat on the veggies. alex is on multiple meds for his epilepsy and i truly bellieve that without the BARF diet, i wouldn't have him still. common commerically prepared dog foods have just so many bad things in them, animal by products, rendered fat, chemical preseratives (bha, bta for example), wheat, corn, that for alex and duke, there are no benefits and a lot of seizure triggers.
if i didn't have a medically challanged dog, i'm not sure i wouldn't do BARF. i would be buying a super premiun kibble like flint river ranch or wellness.
last month, my dogs were eating their chicken/ground squash/green bean dinner and my 18 month old niece got very interested in the dogs' food while sitting in her high chair,( she's a bit of a picky eater & she could see their bowls) so i whipped out my food processor and ground up some green beans and squash for her (no raw meat for a human of course!) and she inhailed the mix. food good enough for all!
feeding your dogs BARF is a choice, and sometimes it's the best one for that dog.

[NoahsMommy]

Micah is a cat, not a dog, but I answered this poll anyway.

I just started Micah on a combo RAW and Innova canned diet yesturday and amazingly enough, he has MORE energy...if that's even possible!

Micah has feline Inflammatory Bowel Disease and I've been researching a lot on how to make him better. The raw diet has been proven to fix IBD in cats!! So...anything Micah needs to make him better is worth it to me. Pets are a huge committment, and regardless of what they need, its my job to do whatever I can for him.

Here is a link on what I use to make Micah's food: http://www.felinefuture.com/ As far as paracites go, the dont recommend feed pork, because it has the only bacteria cats CAN get from eating FRESH meat. Cats (and I'm pretty sure its the same with dogs) have a shorter digestive system and food passes through MUCH quicker than with people. So, salmonella and e.coli aren't a threat to them.

Making the food isn't bad at all. I spent about an hour last night making 12 days worth of food. (That included cleanup and feeding him his first taste.) It really isn't that much of a hassle if you ARE considering it.

Lots of companies make suppliments to be mixed with the fresh meat, so there isn't a fear of the animal not getting enough nutrients.

As far as the animal getting sick FROM the raw diet...I guess that's why we have to monitor our animals a bit more closely, but that's something we should be doing anyway. Fecal tests can detect tape worms and only cost about $20....and SHOULD be included in yearly exams anyway....

Anyway...that's my take on the raw diet.

I