Good morning all,
Please excuse me if this topic has already been drained but I need some advice on BARF diets. I will be collecting my puppy in just over five weeks time and after speaking to the breeder I have discovered that the pups will be weaned onto a barf diet (mainly raw minced chicken). I was already umming and ahhing about going down the natural feeding route but am concerned about feeding bones. I have read that it's fine to feed any bones as long as they are uncooked, is this correct? I am going to get the book 'give your dog a bone' today but would appreciate any input that you may have. I have started trying my other dog with raw tit bits, bones, pulped fruit and veg and he seems to prefer this type of diet. Thanks in advance,
Naomi.

Naomi

I changed my dogs over the a BARF diet last year and boy are they a happy lot lol.
I had one dog that really wasn't bothered about eating so was always underweight - not anymore he's the first to start muching his way through his daily chicken wing! Raw bones are ok as they are softer than a cooked bone so don't fragment with sharp edges.

I don't wean my puppies onto a BARF diet until the last one has been sold simply because many pet owners don't like the idea of feeding raw chicken or bones. The only time I've had a problem was with our pomeranian he 'stole' a chicken neck when I was sorting the bird out for roasting one day! He tried to swallow it whole and found it was not possible - had to yank the thing out again before he choked to death very stressful needless to say I stick to wings rather than necks.

My dogs are healthier and happier than they were on a complete diet plus their stools are harder and a lot less smelly makes poop scooping almost a pleasure lol. I feed chicken wings daily and swap tripe, kidney, heart, sardines, mackeral and tuna during the wk along with pulped fruit and veg. The fish I tend to keep to once a wk as some of my dogs are not that keen on it.

During a moult or a season I give them cod liver oil and brewer's yeast to help with the stress they experience during this time. They all get a garlic capsual daily as a flea and worm protection agent and a natural anti biotic.

Give it a try and see how you get on if this is the diet your puppy has been weaned onto it will be happy to continue eating this diet just supervise whilst eating any bone food for your own peace of mind.

Hi Schip,
Thanks for your advice, I will be giving the BARF diet a try and was just wondering if I could grind the bones until the pup was a bit older. Do mincers and grinders do the same think? Where can I purchase one and how much do they cost? You'll be sorry that you ever replyed to my original post LOL.
Thanks, Naomi.

I am glad that the BARF diet has made us all think aobut what we feed our dogs, but I have spoken to people who have had a bit of trouble with the raw bones. Dogs in the wild very occasionally do die of a pierced gut or a blocked bowel., although it is rare it does happen.

The raw chicken bones seem to be pretty safe but I just use raw tripe and fruit etc plus "normal" dog food, without the bones though.

I am sure this is better than just a commercial diet full stop.

I would also remind people that, although it is very unusual, dogs can get salmonella poisoning which can hang around for months. One of the puppies I bred got this when he was about 7 months old and took months to recover. He and his owner were on holiday with my dogs and me and he caught it from some cooked chicken they all ate, all the others were ok. It was about 4 or 5 months before he completely got over it and is only now, at 3, beginning to gain the weight he would have done without the illness.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Ian Billinghurstr wrote a further book to Give a Dog a Bone, about rearing pups this way! that shopuld tell you all you need to know (but I can't remember the title).

The second book is 'Grow your pup with bones'

Hi Naomi & Schip

I also changed my dogs' over to the BARF diet. The 'Give Your Dog a Bone' is excellent and full of good advice. The ingredients I use are more or less exactly the same as Schip. Additionally, I do give them a raw egg each once a week and sometimes sprinkle desicated coconut over their food. I give them about three large teaspoons of goats milk yogurt every day and occasionally add a little flax oil or cod liver oil. I cook whole grain brown rice for them (in the greens water left over from cooking the family's veg - of course) which they occasionally have. I always mince the raw chicken bones with the chicken meat and the electric juicer is always used for their raw veggies/fruit producing lovely pulp + juice.

Dr Pitcairn's recipe for 'Healthy Powder' is always made up and kept in the fridge ready to have a teaspoon or so sprinkled over each meal as a supplement. (Mainly consists of Brewers Yeast etc.)

I suppose that all this might sound 'over the top' to most people but now that I have got used to preparing their food this way I find it easy and very rewarding.

My two year old BC and two 6 month old Cocker pups are thriving on this diet - the pups never having known much else.

Liz

PS I did post here a little while back with a 'picky eater puppy' problem and received lots of good advice. Just to let you know that since she has been on a natural diet - no problems!!