# BARF Diet Information..



## Amy (May 21, 2005)

Okay, so in the other 'what do you feed your golden thread' Joe asked me to post up some BARF information, so here I am. This is from my mother, various web sources, and links on a Lab board I am a member of.

My friends mother, a vet, stressed the need of a digestive enzyme when feeding raw, when she and my mother spoke about it, as to help the food get utilized quicker, and giving less chance of it 'sitting' there, and increasing the chance for allergies/intolerance. Here is a link with more info..

http://www.homestead.com/vonhapsburg/enzymes.html

Before you think about switching to BARF, there is a lot of reading & researching to be done, you can't just introduce it to them all of a sudden.

Here are some book suggestions, as well as websites.

Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats by Richard H. Pitcairn, Susan Hubble Pitcairn: Includes holistic health care topics, and recipes for Natural Diets (real food, usually slightly cooked, includes grains)

Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats: The Ultimate Pet Diet by Kymythy Schultze: Easy to read explanation of and guidebook for feeding a raw diet.

Give Your Dog a Bone by Ian Billinghurst

Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy for You and Your Dog by Carina Beth Macdonald

Raw Meaty Bones Promote Health by Tom Lonsdale

Reigning Cats & Dogs by Pat McKay 

Online reading:

http://www.biswebdesign.com/ellieta...er/barfmenu.htm
http://www.auntjeni.com/barf.htm
http://www.rawlearning.com/ 
http://www.barfworld.com/ 
http://www.touchmoon.com/dotters/raw/index.shtml
http://www.barfers.com/

here, is a site that shows how much should be fed according to body weight, etc, and it also tells you what foods should be fed, and what they caution against feeding.

http://www.healthy-paws.ca/index.htm

My mother mentioned to me, that when she started Baby (our saint) on a raw diet, it was always kibble/raw. Meaning for 1 meal or so a week, Baby would get chicken backs/necks, or sardines, or something of the sort as opposed to kibble (however, some people reccomend raw ground chicken, or something like that at first. Also, some recommend switching cold turkey, but thats your choice, personally I would not do it.) As my mother learned more about raw, it'd increase, until it was 1 kibble meal for breakfast, 1 raw meal for supper, each day. And then 2 raw meals a week, and so on, and so forth. Though you should *not* mix both, as kibble & raw are digested VERY differently.

She also made sure that if there was a meal where there was no bone being fed, there was another source of calcium (bone meal supplements, I think they are called, or ground up dried egg shells, etc). 

I think I covered a lot, but there probably is some that I did miss, so, let me know if theres more that you need to know, and if I know the answer, I will be sure to provide it, or try and lead you in the right direction to find it. =)

Actually, I think the only things I haven't included are the types of meat that my mother feeds, but, if you want to start on a diet, and need to know, feel free to ask.

Always remember, before you decide to feed a raw diet to your pet, make sure you read, research, read again, and research some more, to ensure safety of your pet.

I hope my long winded mini-novel (lol), has helped someone. I am making another post which will include some prepackaged raw diet suppliers, for those hesitant to make their own. 

-Amy


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## timberwolfe (Apr 15, 2005)

That's a lot of information to absorb there Amy, which is good because I do belive the raw diet can be beneficial, but you need to know your stuff. 

Somewhere I have a couple sample diets given to me from a breeder in the UK who has been raw feeding for years. I was debating switching at one point.


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## Amy (May 21, 2005)

Most definitely. If one decided to switch without knowing what they were doing, it could have a lot of ill effects.

My friends mother who breeds goldens, she used to have them on a raw diet, but switched back to kibble, due to the fact that she just didn't have time anymore for all the prep involved.


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## Joe (Apr 9, 2005)

Wow, thanks a lot. Now I'm gonna spent whole weekend reading :doh: 
Thanks though ... :dblthumb2
Joe


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## Shinecatcher (May 8, 2005)

*Barf*

Thanks, Amy. 

We're checking this out, too. Your mini novel is appreciated.


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