happy.grl Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Hi all, I have been thinking about changing my boy over to a BARF, or at least mainly BARF diet. I have found a lot of info, here and elsewhere on the net, relating to the physical health benefits, but wanted to find out also whether anyone has noticed any changes in temperament when switching their dogs over to a more natural diet, and what you noticed with their behaviour. My boy is currently on Royal Canin, with chicken necks & mince a couple of times a week, but I have found that he can be fidgety and restless, and have very little concentration lately for training, although this is probably normal puppyness. I have also found that he does not really like the dry - he can get really excited at dinnertime, then have a sniff and walk away - I want to give him food that he will like, especially while he is still growing. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haven Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Yes, absolutely. I changed my GSD over the BARF as recommended by Dr Robert Holmes because he suffered acute anxiety. When I swicthed to BARF and again later when I started supplemeting him with certain things I noticed a HUGE changed in his temperament. He was less stressed, showed more confidence in situations which would usually be scary for him etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
border14 Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 I have been feeding my border collie Duke on barf since we brought him home. He is thriving on it He has the best temperament and besides the usual things that puppies do, he is a well behaved dog but in my honest opinion, I don't think it's solely beacuse he is on BARF that he like this. We spend alot of time with him training and playing and teaching him things. It's not unusual for a puppy to lose concentration when trying to train them. I started on Barf for the health and nutritional factor as I don't like canned or chemical food and try to avoid it as much as I can He does have his biscuits, which is Nutro, as it doesn't have half of the crap that other biscuits do. Try it and see how he goes. All dogs are different and what works for one doesn't mean it will work for the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rottsaroundtheclock Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Absolutely. I've noticed that my dogs tend to be calmer, less inclined to react to situations unless strictly necessary. And the added benefit....they don't smell...DOGGY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Today I saw the opposite effect - my dogs have been on a raw diet for years. I have a 6 month old pup in training at the moment. He is energetic at the best of times but today I happened to use some commercial treats as I had forgotten my usual ones for training. After coming home after training all I can say is that this pup was 'overstimulated' and like a kid on red cordial! LOL! He had wide wild eyes and was VERY fidgetty and jumpy. Back to more natural training treats for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Off topic, sorry...but good to see you back espinay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Good to be back Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy.grl Posted February 11, 2007 Author Share Posted February 11, 2007 Thanks for your replies everyone. Akira gets his first BARF meal tonight I'll let you know how we go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyking Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 (edited) In all honesty I cannot say the temperament has changed in any of my 4 dogs since starting them on a BARF diet several years ago. Nor can I see any dramatic health benefits and our Vet bill is probably more than it was prior to feeding BARF. We used to feed a combo of raw and kibble then removed all kibble and went to the Billinghurst model of raw feeding. While I do find it demanding and expensive I will continue using it as I believe if is the best way of feeding the dogs. ETA: the dogs really do love their raw food and on the odd occasion when I do give them kibble they are happy to eat it but if by chance they get it more than twice a week look at me a bit strangley Edited February 11, 2007 by curlyking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 (edited) Hi all,I have been thinking about changing my boy over to a BARF, or at least mainly BARF diet. I have found a lot of info, here and elsewhere on the net, relating to the physical health benefits, but wanted to find out also whether anyone has noticed any changes in temperament when switching their dogs over to a more natural diet, and what you noticed with their behaviour. My boy is currently on Royal Canin, with chicken necks & mince a couple of times a week, but I have found that he can be fidgety and restless, and have very little concentration lately for training, although this is probably normal puppyness. I have also found that he does not really like the dry - he can get really excited at dinnertime, then have a sniff and walk away - I want to give him food that he will like, especially while he is still growing. Thanks in advance I can definately say that I've noticed a calmer dog when they have gone onto a BARF diet from a supermarket diet. Edited February 12, 2007 by sas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arby Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 we've had Humphrey on Barf all his life. We went away on a holiday, he was looked after by someone else who fed him commercial stuff. When we came back his coat was looking bad, he looked bad, he smelled alot worse that typical "wet dog" smell We put him back on BARF as soon as we came home, within 2 weeks he was calm, his coat was shinny, his breath was great, and no wet dog smell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy.grl Posted February 12, 2007 Author Share Posted February 12, 2007 Well, Akira has just had his third barf meal and he seems to love it :p I was a bit worried about the veggies, but he has eaten everything that I have given him. After reading another website I put pumpkin and sweet potato in the mix, and he cleans it up. Thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arby Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 great news happy/grl Just keep the variety and stick to season fruit and veg :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 A lot of people seem to think it makes the dogs calmer. Could I then expect if I switched my dogs to barf there agility/tracking performance would drop accordingly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haven Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 When people say their dog is calmer, from my experience it means that their dog has as much (if not more) energy and ability to perform, but that hyper 'ive had too much sugar and can't contain myself' energy is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 I didn't notice any difference when I changed my dog from a commercial "dog food" diet to a mostly BARF diet. I suspect that is because I mostly fed a very good quality commercial "dog food". I imagine if you fed a low quality commerical dog food that contained artificial colours and carbs, you might see a big difference when you switch to BARF. But you'd probably also see a big difference if you switched to a great quality commerical dog food that had no sugar, no grains and no artificial colourants. Just my 2 cents. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skwo2 Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Hi Happy/grl, Can I ask you what food do you feed as the first BARF? Because my pup is fed with Royal Canine and also some necks and mince, just like Akira. I want to change her to BARF, but not sure how to make the changes. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Thanks Haven!!! That is what I was hoping to hear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy.grl Posted February 15, 2007 Author Share Posted February 15, 2007 Hi skwo2, Sorry for the late reply. I made Akira a veggie mix with carrots, beans, pumpkin, sweet potato, potato, some apple, a little brocolli - just threw it all in the blender and mixed it up. I am alternating the meat portions of his meals, mostly chicken at this stage - necks or wings, gravy beef, lamb. He seems to love it, and although I have not seen a change in attitude, the difference in what comes out the other end makes it all worthwhile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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