Barf Diet

[Rileys mum]

Hi all

I know this has probably been done to death but i'm REALLY interested in learning more about this diet. Everything about it makes huge amounts of sense to me.

So..... My boy (4 month old pointer) is currently fed a cup of chicken or turkey mince and a cup of dry kibble morning and night. In the evenings I add a teaspoon of livamol, half a calcium tablet and a teaspoon of stockgain ( this is the diet he was on with his breeder and I have stuck with it). I also alternate the mince with sardines once a week.

Is this a good or bad diet nutritionally?? Would love to hear any helpful advice

Also, How much raw meats/vegi is suggested with the BARF diet per kg of weight? I will do more research on it all and slowly remove the kibble from his diet but just wondered if there was a weight ratio I should follow.

Thanks in advance :D

[Hetzer]

Hi there Rileys Mum. Good on you for your decision. I think your dog will be glad you made it. Do you feed your dogs any bones ie chicken neck or chicken wings? I must admit I've been buying BARF patties for the convenience. After reading your post I did some reading on Dr Billinghurst's BARF website and there's books/DVDs on BARF so you'd probably get your answers there.

www.barfaustralia.com

Edited April 18, 2010 by Hetzer

[Stitch]

Be careful with the Livamol - it's base is molasses and it can affect the teeth and result in excess tartar being produced.

[persephone]

It's a good way to start- but he is a dog, and he will benefit from chewing bones! :D At his age, teething is not far away- and lots of nice chicken frames/lam ribs/turkey wings will help remove loose teeth, and give him something to do ,as well as helping his body with calcium, etc.

If it were me, I would not be giving supplemental calcium- but others more knowledgable than I will explain the ins&outs of calcium/phosphorous ratios,and working out just what is needed to avoid joint troubles ;)

[conztruct]

Hi,

It sounds like a pretty good diet to me....although I don't really use a lot of supplements - I do occasionally throw in some fish oil tablets (for coat) and occasionally half a multi vitamin.

I'm really no expert but I do use the principles of BARF - when I use veges, I whizz them up and it probably works out to about 1/5 of the mix with the mince/meat, etc.

Good luck with it all. There are some really good articles and some people in the forum who have had a lot of experience and know a whole lot about diet so there's a wealth of information available.