I have a 3 year old chihuahua who i have recently put on the BARF diet.
What i would like to know is a little about the diet, like:
How it helps them?
Why its preferable over kibble?
Maybe some recipes?
Would i need to mix vegetables in it also? As otherwise he would be eating protein and nothing else?
Should i still give him kibble as well as Bones and Raw meat?
Can i feed him raw fish as well as meat?
And some additional info would be great, thanks

I think I’m ready to switch my dogs from a raw BARF diet ( Chicken, finely ground chicken bone, beef liver, whole egg, cultured kefir, seasonal vegetables selected from broccoli, celery, spinach, carrot, ground flax seed, bok choy, dried alfalfa leaf powder, beef kidney, beef heart, unbleached beef tripe, apple, pear, grapefruit, orange, dried kelp powder, garlic, capsicum) to a vegan diet.
BUT I’ve got a some criteria.
1. It has to be a home made recipe since I don’t like feeding processed foods or feeding grains to dogs since it’s unnatural for them to eat grains).
2. As above no grains.

Now if anyone has a recipe on how to make a wholesome vegan dog food I’d be very interested since previous attempts have caused my dogs to lose too much weight and when I’ve got rescues they can’ afford to lose weight.

Thank you.

I have been looking in to (and starting the dog) feed a barf diet to my dogs and cats…my dogs have always gotten raw soup bones and pig ears. and they get most table scraps, mixed with kibble…
however after we lost our male cat at the young age of 4 to a bladder blockage…i have been looking in to feeding our other male and new female cat a raw diet…the vet told me that indoor fixed male cats get it more often then say a fixed male barn cat would. my mother also loss her indoor unaltered male cat a week before we lost ours(same food fed). So the more i looked the more i belamed the food companies that claim they care.
also the male cat is VERY over weight. and the dogs are chunky…but they get lots od exersize….so lite diets would be helpful.

so the question is have u read any good books or web sites with some free recipes?

thanks in advance.
first off CS u asume to much and are a bit of a b*itch about it….i know what caused it..i know the crystals and the male urthea..i also know that u have to watch the ash content and Magnesium ect. for males. As MY FAT CAT has had infections..i know this my cats where on the right food…
CS SAID: Funny though, your willing to blame a food company, but not your own medical management of a cat that you have let become overweight and therefore unhealthy…wonder why that is?

…my cat was over weight well before i got him….and he has lost some because i cut back his food and diet food make him sick…or he won’t eat them wasted even money on the crap the pet food companies sale….and like i said Assuming makes ya look like an ASS.

Oh and what do u think our pets ate before the pet food company’s?!

oh and thanks electro….
oh my dogs are not over weight they are just a bit chunky… it winter here it been very cold (They are not out side dogs but they do play outside for about 3 hour though out the day plus i walk them for about an hour a day….before any one belames me for that to)and they seem to gain winter bulk. they are at 73 and 75 lbs they are rottie/ border collie and ‘u name it’ mixes. so i figure they are about 6-8 lbs over ….

I love the idea of homemade dog food vs commercial pet food. My dogs love it and do well on it, my question was grains or no grains?

Dr. Richard Pitcairn’s book ‘Complete Health for Cats and Dogs’ is a fantastic read. I love his homeopathic based ideas and all his suggestions for a healthier lifestyle for our pets but his Recipes include whole grains- millet, bulger, oats etc. and yet the BARF diet includes none. I wonder what’s best?

I bought a dog homemade food cookbook, it isn’t the raw or barf diet, just cooked food. But I was wondering if I can feed them the same thing every night oppose to feeding my dogs something new every night. They eat the same dog food every night so does that apply to home cooked meals?
My dogs are eating store bought food the dry one that comes in the bag "dog chow" and I just wanted to make the switch, it’s not they need to, but I want to know what they are eating. But thanks for teaching how to do the switching

I know many people who feed their dog the BARF diet. It’s healthier, cleaner/shinier coat, they feel better, and they live longer.

Seeing this, I’ve thought of a ‘people raw food diet’. What WE would eat in the wild. Fruits, veggies, cooked meats, no dairy, sugars, or processed foods.

Don’t you think we’d feel just as good as our dogs?
Has anyone else thought about doing this?
Some of you need to re-read my details. I never said raw meat in the first place. Read thoroughly before answering, please!
Thanks, Bonslyar! :) Great links! That’s so interesting! I shiver at the thought of raw eggs, though. >_< Lol.

Of those who feed a BARF diet, what exactly do you feed them.?
I’m interested in examples of actual diets you give your dog.

I have friends that have their dogs on raw, but where I live they don’t have the meal packages or they’re way too expensive. So we are going to have to do this from scratch. (the veg and fruit part)

I’m not interested in somebody telling me about possibilities of salmonella poisoning, blah blah blah. Go to your local dog food factory and see how much salmonella you can find in the factory. And while you’re there ask why most of the food they make is not even absorbed or capable of being absorbed by the dog’s system – it’s filler and most is bad filler. It’s sickening! I’ve done my research, and I have made up my mind. I’ve seen results and heard of results.. dogs on their death bed switched to raw and turning 360s. Less vet visits, doctors asking what the flip the people have their dog on because they seem so healthy, etc.
thehamburgs@hotmail.com email us if you have any questions on BARF or are new to the idea.

Thank you to the poster regarding comment on knowing your source. So very true! :)

What i’m interested in – in specific – is the veggies and fruits. We’ll be feed majority of chicken back and turkey neck. But it’s all the other that doesn’t come pre-packaged that we will have to put together on our own. muscle meat, vegetables, fruits, oil, etc… the other 40% or "meal deal" portion that is.

I heard about the BARF (bones and raw food) diet a while back, and initially thought it was a good idea – what could be better than feeding simple things that a wolf would find in the wild?

BUT I now have doubts, and I think this is actually quite a dangerous thing to believe in (although I’d be happy if someone could explain it to me differently, as I like the idea of this diet). I think it’s perfect for cats, first of all, because cats are pure carnivores. They don’t need any of the rubbish they put in cat food. But for dogs…

Dogs are omnivores like us. They need carbohydrate. Feed a human on nothing but meat and we’ll live for, what, 20 years if that (and be very unhealthy). There’s a reason why dog food is not the same as cat food. Feed a dog on cat food and it will become ill because there isn’t enough carbohydrate.

I suggest that maybe modifications need to be made. I intend to feed my future dog on the BARF diet, but supplemented with carbohydrate.
Wasn’t enough room to put this, but people often incorrectly assume that what a dog eats in the wild is the best possible thing for it to eat in captivity. Wild canines do not fulfill the same life expectancy as captive ones – they eat to survive, not to be healthy, and as long as they survive long enough to reproduce then their genes will be passed on.
Thanks everyone, I didn’t realise the BARF diet includes carbs as well.

Dogs are omnivores. 34 years in vet tech and you don’t know that? Their teeth are different from pure carnivores. They do need a diet that is mostly meat but supplemented with carbohydrates. Their tooth structure is similar to that of apes – which are omnivores.

Before dog food was around, dogs didn’t live that long.

And dogs are different from wolves, totally different although they are the same species – and different kinds of dog need slightly different diets (some are prone to obesity etc). But the basic diet is the same. However as I said above, what an animal eats in the wild is not necessarily the best for them. Take iguanas for example – in the wild they sometimes feed on meat. Feed them meat in captivity and you lower their life expectancy drastically. But even so, wolves in the wild eat berries and fruit. Not much carbohydrate, but a little is essential.

I have a 7 month old chihuahua. I am thinking about putting him on the barf diet. I have no idea how to go about doing it. I have read about it to some extend… Has anyone here done it or does it??? If so, please give me as much info as possible.

Where do you get the raw food from?

I’m sorry for being so ignorant.

I want to start feeding my ferrets (and possibly dog and cats too) the B.A.R.F. (biologically appropriate raw foods) diet, as I found out it increases their longevity. Can someone please help me find a place to buy prepackaged raw ferret food? I’ve found it for cats and dogs, but I can’t find it for ferrets and they have different vitamin needs and cant digest anything but meat. I’m too nervous about borne illness to prepare it myself. The ferrets are the most pressing, as one probably needs surgery to remove an adrenal tumor and I got a reality check about their typical lifespan on commercial diets. They are 4 1/2 now and the vets never seen one older than 6. On the BARF diet they usually live into their teens. I’m also looking into V.I.B.E. therapy if I can find someone with a VIBE machine in Virginia. As for the food-price is no object. If we’re going to pay over a thousand dollars for Rascal’s surgery we’re not going to skimp on the food to keep them healthy

Hi, i would like to switch my dogs to a raw food diet! One is a 6 month old red heeler male. A 9 week old blue heeler female, a 5 year old male pit bull, and a 11 year old female pit bull. Anytips? they are eating Purina puppy chow, purina diet chow, and purina active dog formulas. Not mixed but each for a diff dog. thanks
i mean a barf diet….everything raw meat and veggie kinda thing

Ok so I’ve decided I want to try my cat on the raw food diet…I’ve been on the internet looking at all different sites and am a little confussed. I’ve seen on some sites the BARF diet which says its best to leave the bones and grind them up too then I’ve been to other and they said not to put the bones in and use a supplement powder…So which one is better or are they pretty much the same??
What do you give to your cats??
Also if you are feeding your cats a raw diet what sort of grinder do you have and does it grind bones??
I think that’s all I’m confussed with at the moment…thanks :-)

Have any french bulldog owners put their dog on the barf diet? If so how did you do it and what do you use to make it up. Did it help clear up the normally unbearable frenchie gas attacks? I’m very interested in doing this for my girl so any resources would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
she does eat eukenuba already but that hasn’t helped and the vet doesn’t have any other ideas…

I want to switch my cats over to a BARF diet, after about three months consideration and research, but I can’t afford a grinder at the moment. I have everything else available to me, but grinders are expensive. I would like to buy premade food from a pet supply store but I haven’t been able to find any myself.
I live in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada which is about 15 minutes away from Houlton, Maine, USA.

I’ve read up on the BARF diet, is this the same thing? It seems time consuimg and expensive.

I started researching the BARF diet after my dog got sick and I have decided to stop or at least start weaning my dog Bob off of store bought dog food.

The comments I’m finding are mixed, while a large amount say it is a good idea there are a handful that say it’s not healthy.

Is it? Would Bob, my two year old (almost three) Westie be healthier on a raw food diet or would I be doing him more harm?

I just got a 7 week old kitten and started him on the regular cat chow. But after visiting a pet food store was persuaded into trying a Raw food diet simular the the BARF diet. He seems to like it but I am conserned about feeding my kitten raw meat! They told me at the pet store that grains were bad for cats because they weren't able to diggest them. I'm very confused can anyone shed some light?