German Wire Haired Pointer BARF DIET

[Cut+Squirt]

I'm considering starting my 10 month old GWP on a BARF diet, chicken wings, tripe, offal etc............Does anyone have first hand experiance of this diet and any pro's and con's?

My thinking is that it is a more natural way of feeding what is of course a natural carnivore, as well as the fact she isnt that fussy on dry food.

All thoughts and advice will be well received.


CADEX

 

[re'M'ington]

Feeding raw is the best way to get the best out of your dog Cadex,but at 10 mths you will have to start it off slowly as it could upset the dogs stomach.The main thing is keeping a good balanced diet,and here is what I feed my dogs........

Chicken carcases
Lamb breast
Lamb neck bones
Venison meat/bones
Beef scraps from the butcher
Ox/Lamb/Pigs heart
Ox/Lamb/Pigs liver
Fresh veg that has been ground up(otherwise the dog can't get the goodness out of it).

You also have to remember that you don't need to feed as much as you would with dry or tinned as the BARF diet is 100% goodness,the stools will change as well into hard tubes that you could write on a blackboard with....lol

Any other info just PM me

Martin

 

[Apache]

It's fine in theory but it's very difficult to achieve a good balance. Just because animals ate raw flesh 'in the wild' doesn't make it an ideal diet now. Things have moved on and the dogs we have today are nothing like the wild animals people seem to want to feed.

There's nothing wrong with a good commercial dog food. Decent commercial diets are the main reason for the increase in life expectancy in dogs.

There's a lot of crap banded about on the internet about this.

 

[trouble]

i tried doing it for a short time and its not easey , im no vet but id say good quality food , plenty of exercise and warm , dry , clean kennels are more important . Not forgetting regular flea and worm treatments , one strange thing is iv never seen fleas on flesh fed hounds dont know why

 

[inverwire]

IMO,its the quality off the natural diet,you give the dog,chicken wings,tripe,other offal, wont let you get best out your dog,where as minced beef, venison once a week, and fresh veg, would,i suppose we all feed a diet thats tailored too our own dogs needs,ive fed WILSONS for many years and swear bye it,also give kelp,bonemeal,liver sparingly, minced beef everyother day,and a large knuckle or marrow bone once week is excellant for them in every way,

 

[jimmy milnes]

hi
ive a 15month GSP and for the past 6/7 months have feb BARF to her, prior to starting to feed this she would be fine for about 3 or 4 weeks then for no reason she would break out with runs, after starving her for a day it would clear but after a few weeks the cycle would repeat its self, i tried a few brands of dry "from £15 a sack to £40" but all had the same effect. since changing to BARF she gets 400grm per day in one meal and ive never had a problem since
all the best
jimmy

 

[Buchan]

It's fine in theory but it's very difficult to achieve a good balance. Just because animals ate raw flesh 'in the wild' doesn't make it an ideal diet now. Things have moved on and the dogs we have today are nothing like the wild animals people seem to want to feed.

There's nothing wrong with a good commercial dog food. Decent commercial diets are the main reason for the increase in life expectancy in dogs.

There's a lot of crap banded about on the internet about this.

Totally agree. It's also worth bearing in mind that at 9 months, your dog has not finished growing yet. Keeping the right mineral balance in any home made diet is tricky (even feeding the bones in chicken wings). Long term she'll be better off on a good commercial diet, at least until 18mth old

 

[Selous]

My first experience of BARF was treating a spaniel who had ruptured its oesophagus and died of a pyothorax (pus in chest cavity). So basically not a fan!

Over time the BARF has changed from bones and raw flesh ie skin, bone muscle, offal, intestines ie whole animal to feeding frozen blocks of skinned rabbit and chicken wings. In my opinion this is probably to make the diet more acceptable to Mrs average housewife who buys everything in packets.

To me feeding brioler chicken carcasses cannot in any way mimic a natural diet.

I've got my tin hat on !!

 

[jamross65]

I don't really see the advantage in the BARF diet. I have fed all the dogs I have owned on Beta Puppy when young and Chudleys Working Crunch when adults, varying the amount depending on time of year and workload. They look superb, are full of energy, have nice even temperaments and their coats shine. When eye tested and hip scored they have always produces superb results. They are worked regularly, walked at least 3 times a day and when bred from have all produced cracking healthy litters. I am only at the vets very rarely and never for something I would put down to a diet. I have a 15 year old bitch in the kennel just now and except one who had cancer all my dogs have lived to reach similar ages.

Why would I want the hassle of preparing a BARF meal for 4 dogs but more importantly, can someone tell me the apparent advantage in this diet?

 

[JabaliHunter]

Poor dog! Can't see the point of getting an expensive pedigree high performance dog like a GWP and feeding it crap. I don't mean that to be derogatory, but despite the best of intentions, unless you are a nutrition expert and can accurately formulate a ration with the optimal mix of fibre, protein, carbohydrate, vitamin and mineral levels etc., I really wouldn't bother. How many of the top FT trainers go down this route? Not many. Adding some meat to a diet as mentioned above is one thing, but it would be difficult to get a BARF diet right and get the best performance out of your dog IMHO.

 

[Kit]

Barf is a b*gg*r to regulate.I get best result from a basic maintenance complete as a bulker mixed with lung,heart etc from my friendly butcher costs a brace of pheasant a month in the season Beef bones at the weekend to clean teeth.Dogs are lean and fit, last one died at 15yrs old

 

[Cut+Squirt]

Cheers everyone for your input............I have decided to try a similar diet as Kit is suggesting........A kibble based feed maybe with a bit of fresh minced beef or tripe every few days, best of both worlds I think.

 

[biggav30]

Here check this out

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-health-nutrition/

if no any good you could also try

No.8 Meadow Sweet with honey



An appetising non-heating, high fibre, low energy mix ideal for horses and ponies at rest or in light to moderate work. With Alfalfa Blend chaff, a light honey coating and dusting of spearmint.

No.8 Meadow Sweet with honey



An appetising non-heating, high fibre, low energy mix ideal for horses and ponies at rest or in light to moderate work. With Alfalfa Blend chaff, a light honey coating and dusting of spearmint.


THIS COULD BE WELL SUITED TO UR CROSS BREAD MONKEY!

 

[Cut+Squirt]

Here check this out

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-health-nutrition/

if no any good you could also try

No.8 Meadow Sweet with honey



An appetising non-heating, high fibre, low energy mix ideal for horses and ponies at rest or in light to moderate work. With Alfalfa Blend chaff, a light honey coating and dusting of spearmint.

No.8 Meadow Sweet with honey



An appetising non-heating, high fibre, low energy mix ideal for horses and ponies at rest or in light to moderate work. With Alfalfa Blend chaff, a light honey coating and dusting of spearmint.


THIS COULD BE WELL SUITED TO UR CROSS BREAD MONKEY!

Your the only mongrel that I know!!!
You should try the BARF diet on those two good for nothing spanials of yours. It might give them a bit of spunk before the pheasant season starts. Letting them out the back garden for a crap dosn't count as training. First day of the shoot you'l need to tempt them out the boot of the car with a pot of oxtail and a Mars bar four pack.........