Does anyone out there feed the barf way I have been advised to try it but feel abit dubious surly the top dog food manufactueres have got the dogs diet right have'nt they? I really can.nt see afew bones and veggies doing what a complete foood can do your thoughts and experiances please pawla

It's like the difference between a good meal and space man rations! Or your Mums dinner and Pot Noodle. It is not a method of feeding to be tried unless you really are willing to learn about nutrition. You will need to buy Ian Billinghursts book Give your dog a Bone, or is it give a dog a bone? there you will find answers to all these questions.

I fed Barf for a year, and the main improvement was in teeth, and appetites in my piockky dog. Unfortunately I do not have room for a dog Freezer to source the raw materials at an economic cost, so relied on a good friendly butcher and minced chicken, but then they banned the sale of meat on the bone!

I use a good quality complete, and the dsogs are in good nick, but need extra attention to their teeth (marrow bones) as they no longer have that beautifully gleaming polished look from chewing through meat and bone.

Hi brainless I would much rather have a noodle in a pot or otherwise than my mothers cooking but I catch your drift I will try and get the books you mentioned from Amazon and thanks for your help Pawla

I don't exactly follow the BARF diet, but my dogs are all fed on a natural diet with no additives, preservatives or food colouring (Which causes my bitches to be hyperactive and aggressive towards each other)
I feed raw minced tripe, with a small amount of wholemeal mixer in the morning and at bed time they each have a raw chicken wing. To their tripe i add liquidised vegetables once or twice a week, and as a treat or training aid I give home made dog biscuits. (sausage meat, wholemeal flour, garlic granules, chopped herbs mixed with a stock cube and slowly baked in the oven)
They regularly have large beef bones to chew, and i have no problems with teeth or coat or with what they turn out the other end!!
I also give rain water to drink - never tap water.

Hi Kez thanks for your help if the barf thing looks to be a bit to extreme your option seems agood middle of the road choice Pawla

I know plenty of, usually older breeders and owners who have always fed 'Meat and Biscuit'. this means feeding Fresh , Frozen Meat or tripe either as mince or chunks. to this is added an wqual volume of plain Biscuit, usually wheatmeal. In some other countries they feed cooked Barley as the Carbohydrate content, or a Porridge type Meal made of mixed Grain. A dog being a versatile creature, all these methods seem to work.

I have been feeding the Barf method for about six months. My advice to anyone is to do a lot of reading beforehand!! Try to start with feeding a few raw chicken drumsticks, wings or thighs and then start to introduce veggies (blended), brown rice, raw eggs with the shell on etc etc...

I moved to this diet because I searched around for very low protein diets and did not find any that didn't make my dog serverly hyperactive! I then started feeding the Barf diet and now have a much more relaxed canine.. He has a wonderfully shiny coat, very white teeth and cleaning up the garden after him is a much more pleasant experience!

I am not sure whether it is the right thing for everyone - but for me and my boy it works..

Sally