Dogs are relatives of the wolf and originally ate raw foods. Nowadays it is common for owners to feed commercially made cooked (kibble) foods. Cooking is supposed to destroy harmful bacteria and parasites and to insure adequate shelf life of the food. But, cooking also removes some of the nutrients that our pets need. And, after the problem with the Chinese tainted gluten in US foods, we can't really say that kibble is "safer" than feeding raw.
Raw feeders often say that they feed "BARF" - bones and raw food. Feeding BARF is not the same as merely throwing a bunch of raw meat at the dogs. BARF diets include raw meat, vegetables and supplements but does not include grains or other carbohydrates. BARF includes meats from different animals - beef, pork, chicken and turkey are often available without too much searching. You can also incorporate fish and other animals. Organ meat, particularly liver should be 5 to 10% of the diet.
Here in Phoenix, there is a yahoo group called PhxBARF that discusses feeding raw. And, there is a Phoenix-area BARF food-buying co-op, visit http://www.azrawbones.com/ Various raw foods can be purchased in Surprize, AZ from Susie's Doggy Delights http://www.suzysdoggiedelights.us/
Gaming the System: Animal Extremists and the Law
11 years ago
I have feeding my dogs with raw food for the last 2 years and they have never been so healthy before I started the raw food!
ReplyDeleteI do not feed them BARF but I buy their meat and meat I buy in ordinary shops. I grind the vegetable myself in the foodprossessor. I give them 1/3 raw meat, 1/3 raw vegetable and 1/3 carbohydrates and they get a bone a couple of time in the week - and of course vitamin supplement. No fasting. It's a recipe from an old veterinarian wich treated the animals alternative compare with other veterinarians and he did it with very much success!
After I have started their raw diet they have no more tartar. Almost nothing comes out of the other end of the dogs :o)) Their fur shines and their eyes sparkles. I can only recommend raw food, but people had to make themself acquainted with this kind of food, so the dogs get all vitamins and mineral they need!!
//Bente
Thank you for the info. It's testimonials like these that makes one look into feeding BARF
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