Hi,

Well, after looking at all the information on the net about raw feeding, ive decided to give it a go :)

Everyone seems to have conflicting views on it though, ive searched here under BARF, but still cant find the answer im looking for.

What is the best book to buy on the subject? Is it suitable for ALL dogs, I have a Patterdale Terrier. Are there any side effects from Raw feeding, by this I mean in the sense of them getting all fresh food, rather than dry complete food. Is it nescersary to add vitamins? or can other foods counteract this?

Theres too much contradiction when looking it up on the net, so I thought id ask the people who are actually feeding it to their dogs, and not trying to sell their own books.

Kind Regards

Ben :D

HI Ben.
I feed raw and cooked, although not complete dry food.  Try him on chicken wings, raw Rabbit, breast of lamb.  You need to give veggies too, I give cooked peas, raw carrots, broccoli, cabbage etc...  You can puree it if you like in a blender and mix it with some chopped up meat.  I also feed Sardines and Pilchards and Narurediet which is a complete meat and veg meal with NO additives or extras.
Good luck.
Dawn.

I feed:

Breakfast: Raw mince (lamb, beef, chicken or turkey) and raw tripe with pilchards or sardines in tomato or oil plus a couple of spoons of raw pureed veggies (currently brocolli and greens)

Lunch: Chicken wings or chicken necks

Supper As breakfast

I also give a whole raw egg twice a week (with shell). Once a week she has a fresh whole sardine. Once a week some offal ..whatever is cheapest.

Once her teeth are through I will give her lamb breast bones and chicken carcasses. You can add various suppliments to the diet ..Stress for example.

She also will eat tomatoes, cucumber ..well ...anything and everything really!

She also has marrow bones to nag on in the garden

Delly is nearly 14 weeks old :)

Thanks for the promt responce :)

I was thinking of making up, meat, veggies and things in the blender, so its all mixed up. He has tinned tuna (in spring water or sunflower oil occationally). Its the chicken wings and things im confused about, do these need to be fed differently to his other food? Do you add different vitamins into their foods, or are they getting enough in the veggies and things?

Sorry for all the questions, just want to get it right.

Thanks :D

The chicken wings etc are classed as raw meaty bones and are essential for calcium.
I feed raw meaty bones( ch.wings,rib bines etc),minced meats(chicken,beef,lamb etc)pigs trotters,ox tail,offal,tripe and anything else I can get my hands on.
I make a mixture from my offal(heart.kidney,liver) and blend it with veges to make a meal in itself...I make loads at a time and freeze it in meal sized portions
Archer

My dog is in welp . Have been told to feed her puppy dog food but she turns her nose up it ? Can I feed her raw meat ? Or anyother surgestions
Rachael X

If you are providing a wide range of veg (celery, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, avocado, carrot, sweet potato, tomatoes, spring greens, beetroot, apple, red/green/yellow peppers for example) then you wont need to be doing too much supplementing.

As a standby, having kelp powder and keepers mix is handy.

'side effects'.......... yep there are a few of them!

When feeding liver, expect stinky breath/farts the next day.

In general, all the side effects are GOOD........ clean teeth, nicer breath, less general smell, solid poos, the list is loooooooooong.

For feeding a bitch, i am not sure, but there is a book, Grow Your Pups With Bones by Ian Billinghurst.

HTH

Em

The easiest most accessible and readable book on raw feeding is IMHO either Switching to Raw by Sue Johnson (not available in the UK) or Natural Nutrition for dogs and cats by Kmythy Schulze easily available over here.

You can feed ANY dog raw whatever their size, breed, age, in whelp or not etc.

Yes there are side effects from raw feeding, cleaner teeth, ears, fragrant breath, smaller amount of "residue", better health, fewer parasites etc etc etc

Everyone has their own "version" of raw feeding diets and supplement according to need, work, etc etc

My 6mth Lab gets.
Breakfast-  Raw mince (either tripe, chicken ,rabbit, Fish, beef etc etc) with a little limestone flower, garlic and keepers mix
Lunch    -   As Breakfast

Dinner   - Wholemeal mixer with a range of cooked veg, limestone flour, garlic and keepers mix.
Twice a week i add a little Safflower oil.
Treats he has mini cooked sausages or a carrot or i make up some liver biscuits myself.

He is much better behaved and content now on this diet so i also feed it in smaller quantities to my 6yr old Cavalier who seems very happy on it.

Bev

Best Books:  The Barf Diet by Ian Billinghurst; Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymithy Schultz

Great Internet list:  BritBarf@yahoogroups.com (go to www.yahoogroups.com and put BritBarf into the search to apply).

Yes there are some risks but I weigh the risks against the benefits and feel they're worth it.  There is a risk of bones too big impacting, but I counteract that by making sure mine chew well.

Vitamins:  Some say yes, others say no if you're balancing right - what everyone does agree on is adding fish oils (omega 3's) to the diet.

I'd definitely join the BritBarf group.

Wendy

Right, I have all my info, and im starting the raw feeding from Friday onwards :)

Wish me luck :D

Go for it!

Em

I will o, lol :D

Thanks :)

Im actually quite looking forward to it, and he's a bit on the 'lean' side at the moment, he eats more than what he should, has been wormed, and had a check up, and all is well. He does get excersised quite alot though, he's out on walks for about 3 1/2 a day. Not all at once though, plus playing in the garden. So im hopeing that this diet will keep his energy, but allow him to beef up a bit aswell :D