barf diet

Question
Hi Renee
Do you know any thing about the barf diet.I all ready give my two gsd raw meats with a dry dog food,but i have read that you have to give fruit and veg with it.do you have to give minerals with it as whell.Hoping you can give me some advice.Thank you Tracy

Answer
Hi Tracy and thanks for your question.

I don't feed a traditional BARF diet, but I do feed some raw.

The main thing with the BARF diet is balance and most aren't familiar enough with it, to be able to balance it appropriately. While I have some formal education in animal nutrition, I still don't feel comfortable feeding a totally raw diet, as I feel it's just too easy to create a nutritional deficeit. There has to be a certain amount of muscle meat, organ meat, and bones to provide adequate nutrients, as well as, carbhydrates (veggies, fruit, grains). While some feel that canines don't need carbs, I (along with many others) do see that they are an important part of the diet.

This is how I feed my dogs. They get a base diet of a GOOD quality kibble, along with fresh foods (meats and carbs), and some home cooked foods. I don't use a lot of supplements, like some do, because I am providing the base kibble which is nutritionally balanced. Just make sure that you are not exceeding 25% of the diet in fresh foods, as that can alter the vitamin and mineral balance of the kibble. If you are wanting to continue to feed a kibble along with the raw meat, adhere to this rule and you won't have to add any v/m.

If you are wanting to convert to a raw diet, there are MANY good books and websites about this subject available for your reference.

Dr. Ian Billinghurst wrote a great book about real foods diets and then there is a decent website www.rawdogranch.com that provides alot of info. As with ANY method, get lots of info and form your own opinion based on what you've learned. This is one of those subjects that can get very "cult-like" and some of the philosophies, I don't really agree with.