RAW Feeding (BARF/RMB) for newbies

[peaches]

Great read, have been looking into this and it really does make sense.

I've an abbatoir down the road, chicken farm down the other, farmer friends etc etc seems ideal.

one question though (at the mo anyway lol) one one of the links to that Dr chappy, he lists whole rats and mice. Well I breed my own. Does anyone else offer them, how often would you give them (no I'm not just thinking a sole mousey diet lol)

[labmad]

Originally Posted by peaches

Great read, have been looking into this and it really does make sense.

I've an abbatoir down the road, chicken farm down the other, farmer friends etc etc seems ideal.

one question though (at the mo anyway lol) one one of the links to that Dr chappy, he lists whole rats and mice. Well I breed my own. Does anyone else offer them, how often would you give them (no I'm not just thinking a sole mousey diet lol)

What dog you feeding....ie size etc......

[debbieVN]

as a veterinary nurse i see at least one dog in surgery a week that needs to have a bone removed as its stuck in its transit systems. 95% of these come from chicken. please dont feed chicken bones to your dog they splinter easily can can really cause damage. when feeding bones knucles are the best as they do not split. the bone should always be larger than the dogs mouth as this will ensure the dogs chews the bone which is good for its teeth and means the dog wont swallow large chunks which are more likely to become inpacted.

[Emmaj]

cooked chicken bones splinter............not raw ones

Im sorry but i have to disagree on that one if your feed raw chicken bones to dogs you wont even see them come out the other end, dogs stomach acids are that strong that they break the chicken bones down

Yes there is a risk and those of us that feed this diet are fully aware of this

But this diet has proven to be the best diet possible for my dogs especially my oldest boy who is displaysic i havnt had a single limp from him since being on this diet

But the chicken bones you have to remove are more than likely cooked chicken bones not raw ones how we feed

[Emmaj]

Oh and just to add to that

Kibble can be just as dangerous as bones can

I know of a few people that have lost dogs to bloat due to feeding a kibble diet

so there are risks with any diet your gonna feed your dogs

[debbieVN]

when you remove them from the dog its not really possible to tell if they've been cooked or not. as they are reasonably small they are not chewed so get wolfed down and then are to big to be passed through

[Emmaj]

Originally Posted by debbieVN

when you remove them from the dog its not really possible to tell if they've been cooked or not. as they are reasonably small they are not chewed so get wolfed down and then are to big to be passed through

Non of mine have ever had a problem passing through anything my oldest boy has even passed a few socks he managed to pinch without me realising

Mine all go to toilet like clock work i know my dogs routine very very well and so far i have had no problems with this diet at all more benefits actually

But yes if bones are cooked they can be dangerous to dogs and cats but if fed raw then they are safer

[debbieVN]

ouch! i bet the socks wasnt very comfortable to pass out. we once took 6 pairs of socks out of one jack russel terrier x!! do you feed them fish as well, i find my scottie/westie cross has better skin and fur since added fish to his diet

[Emmaj]

yeah they get full salmon heads and tuna do my lot pampered poochies lol

nah he had no probs passin the sock he has a big ass LOL

[Evie]

Not risk free but the benefits outweigh the risks imo. This diet is endorsed by many vets. Years ago I was advised to put one of my old dogs on a low protein prescription diet after repeated problems with bladder crystals. I opted for BARF instead and he never had a problem after that. GSD x lived until he was 17.5 years old. I have fed 8 dogs this way for around 10years and never had a problem myself. Its a good way to feed but needs to be researched and understood beforehand. How many dogs die prematurely of organ failure, cancer, have allergies/skin complaints. etc................. How many of these complaints are down to crappy dried food with all the nutrients cooked out of them? Foods containing dubious ingredients, pet food with labels designed to decieve the consumer.
The people who advocate this diet have looked into the whole nutition thing. We have weighed up the pros and cons of commercial and barf and made an informed choice.