I have all 5 of my dogs on the BARF diet. 3 of them have never been on anything else. There is a lot of information on the web about BARF ( Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods). For freepers who do not have time to read up on the diet, which is really quite simple and inexpensive, I recommend Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance foods. They can be ordered from Jeffers.
www.1800jeffers.com. Full information on ingredients can be seen on the Jeffers website.
Our dogs on the BARF diet have no obesity problems, no orthopedic problems, great teeth, no bad breath, lots of energy, and beautiful coats. The only drawback is that the chicken necks sometimes give them horrendous flatulance but heck that is why God gave us the outdoors.
Thanks. I checked out the BARF diet on another website on the suggestion of a freeper on another thread. I think I'll try it.
That's why I think this thread can be helpful. One of my dogs has allergies, another is old and not as active. So, I am personally curious about how to tailor their diets.
I am now regretting selling my freezer. However, we have frequent power outages here, so I may try canning meat. I like canned deer myself. For years I canned my own vegetables, and I have the canners and jars to do so (haven't canned the past few years, except last year I canned some beets).
I may try to get several pet owner friends nearby to get together and have a canning effort. It can be a lot of work, but, in the olden days I remember all the women in a family, or neighbors, getting together to can when certain veggies (like green beans) came in.
Girl the foods are dogs get on the BARF diet are
Chicken necks, Chicken Backs, fresh or frozen Fish, sardines, Pork neck bones and Beef neck bones. The also get organ meats and what is called glop. Glop usually is made up of. Ground turkey, oil, greens, carrots, whole egg ( shell and all), green vegetable such as peas ( no broccolli or cabbage too gassy), pumpkin, apples or other fruit ( we usually add this when we have stuff getting soft in the fridge) and yogurt.
They usually get the boney foods 4 days a week and glop twice a week. They get organ meats about once a week. I think the proper ratio of boney foods to the glop/organ meats is about 70-30 or 60-40.
The diet is actually quiet easy to follow and compared to commercial foods quite inexpensive.
You forgot to mention that a barf diet also results in smaller poops which quickly break down and leave little piles of what looks like ashes instead of huge piles of cow dung.
I feed all three of my dogs a raw diet as well. I buy beef, pork, goat, rabbit, green tripe from Hare-Today -- a family farm in PA...
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance food?
How many should I order? Eight Is Enough? :)
(sorry...couldn't resist.)
Yes we use Dick Van Pattons Fish and Sweet potato formula.
Wonderful healthy lean boys.
Great for skin allergies too.
I did a Google search on homemade pet food and came across a site that uses the BARF diet. It is also part of a web ring. These are foods you can order. I know this thread is about making your own food, but wanted to put this in case anyone was interested.
http://www.ringsurf.com/netring?ring=getBARF;action=list