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Raw: Barf Or Prey? Itchy Dog And Refusing Food


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My 5 month old border collie is currently on a homemade BARF diet and the last few weeks she pretty much refuses to eat it no matter how much gravy or sardines I put on it - which I know I really shouldn't be doing but she really needs to eat. I'm a big softie and can't stand to see her not eat for 2 days.

So I use about a 70:30 mix of meat to veg + a little bit of liver, olive oil, cod liver oil, the slightest bit of garlic (1 clove across 5kg) & raw eggs + shell (2 eggs across 5kg).

I think she has been refusing to eat it ever since I put garlic in it. Plus ever since she has been refusing this she has been itching a lot and it looks like she has dandruff. I seriously thought this was good for her and I've seen so many dogs thrive on BARF - what am I doing wrong? It seems like she has an allergy... the only time she has eaten voluntarily is when I gave her a chicken mince one instead of beef.

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So I am thinking of changing her to prey - she loves RMBs and fish.

Its pretty much RMBs, big chunks of meat, raw green tripe, 5% liver and 5% other organ hey?

Can someone please clarify this and tell how their dog has thrived on it?

Plus can someone please give me a guideline on what to actually feed her in a day - 5 month old BC - just an example so I can start off and move from there.

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So do I switch to prey or do I continue with BARF and eliminate beef and garlic?

By the way if I can't figure it out by the end of the week I am booking her in with an allergy and diet specialist.

Since she has been refusing barf I have been feeding her RMBs and fish which she loves and I am happy to change her to this but I am just worried about it being unbalanced... any advice? Can RMBs, chunks of meat and fish really be balanced? She HATES the taste of liver and the only way I was able to get her to eat it in the past was to mix it in with the mince, but with a prey diet I wouldn't be able to.

Plus if I change her to prey - where can I source raw green tripe from in QLD, Aust?

Thanks!!!

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HI

Green tripe will be hard to find unless you do your own kills , I think from memory is not legal to sell in Aus,

I would change back to the mix that she willingly ate and had no probs with , garlic is not a required part of the diet

If she will eat apple , pear or carrot add that in

Elimination takes time so you may need to wait a few weeks to see any changes from diet

Is it possible that she is reacting to something else ? we have grasses and trees flowing again her now is she encountering something she has not had exposure to before ?

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Since she has been refusing barf I have been feeding her RMBs and fish which she loves and I am happy to change her to this but I am just worried about it being unbalanced... any advice? Can RMBs, chunks of meat and fish really be balanced? She HATES the taste of liver and the only way I was able to get her to eat it in the past was to mix it in with the mince, but with a prey diet I wouldn't be able to.

There's no need to have it solely one or the other. What's wrong with RMB and one meal a week of mince with the offal you want to feed her (liver, kidney, whatever). You could add some vege if you feel you need to (jury's out on that one :thumbsup: ) The whole point of this sort of feeding is balance over time - a dog doesn't need a balanced diet every day any more than a person does, If it really bothers you, you can give her some mince with all the additives you want to use for one meal and a RMB for the other each day. Personally I wouldn't bother but it's up to you.

I raise pups on a very simple diet - I don't feed additives in the form of garlic, oils etc and have never had any issues. They get RMB mostly, offal once every 7-10 days (mine will eat anything) and vege scraps almost daily - which they probably can't digest but they love chewing up anyway. These are Staffords, so not a lot lighter weight than a Border Collie, but without the longer bones so I'm not saying what suits them and me is perfect for your girl.

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Since she has been refusing barf I have been feeding her RMBs and fish which she loves and I am happy to change her to this but I am just worried about it being unbalanced... any advice? Can RMBs, chunks of meat and fish really be balanced? She HATES the taste of liver and the only way I was able to get her to eat it in the past was to mix it in with the mince, but with a prey diet I wouldn't be able to.

If she eats that then feed it to her. My dogs get RMB and meat. They will get pureed veggies, eggs and yoghurt occasionally when I have them/have the time to prepare them. They also get fruit, whole carrots, and whatever else I have to give them for treats/snacks. My dogs will not touch any type of offal [little princesses]. They are both extremely healthy dogs.

You don't NEED to follow any diet to the letter. Do what is right for your dog.

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Cant realy help you with the allergy thing, have heard beef can cause problems, also my brothers BC gets allergic rashes when certain grasses are out. Never considered prey diet, too difficult to get fresh animals here. I feed raw meat & bones.

Can only tell you about my BC.

Up until 5-6 months Marlin was pretty much eating 3 meals a day, she decided that she would cut one out (breakfast), aparently that is normal, so now she gets a small treat or bone in the morning, meaty bone for lunch, raw kangaroo or pet chicken mince, vegie slop, offal, for tea. She gets fish & veg twice a week, and one or two days will be just bones.

I make vegie & fruit slops every couple of weeks, and freeze in 100g chunks. I just get one weeks worth of food out on a Friday night (anywhere between 3 & 3.5kg worth) about 50% RMB, and portion it out so she averages around 400g-450g a day, sometimes more sometimes less :laugh: , pop it all in daily bags, take one out each night. Usualy ends up with 2 nights fish, 2/3 nights mince, 1/2 nights RMB, Only extra is a splash of omega oil, yoghurt and occasional spoon of gravy, she loves real stock, a hard boiled egg occasionaly. She does love her treats tho, so I only buy oven dried buiscuits, dried fish, dried roo.

She used to spit out offal of any type and I despaired getting her to eat liver, I think it was the smell, but I found that cooking it very slightly in the microwave and covering with vegie slops and she will eat it no problem. For several months I could only get her to eat dried liver & kidney, which was great for training treats. Only changes I have made is the bones have got bigger and some more suited to adult teeth and more vegies/less meat to fill her up and control weight. She is thriving. :bottom:

From what I can gather you will not be able to source green tripe in Australia. Sounds like horrible smelly stuff anyway. :thumbsup:

There is lots of great info in the raw feeding threads in this forum. Happy reading!

Edited by BCPuppy
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Why feed garlic? Thought it was really bad for dogs to have garlic and shouldnt be part of their diet.

It has been said to repel fleas. And yes, in large quantities it is bad, but in small doses (such as one clove over several kilos) it is said to be quite good. However, I think my pup just can't stand the smell of it. So I'm going to take it out and there is some odourless garlic powder sold at pet food stores which I am considering subsituting in.

That said, our last dog loved the smell of garlic - so go figure its obviously up to each individual dog.

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