whippet08 8 Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 hi all,now my other half took my new pup (whippet x bedlington) to the vets for his vacine jabs,now the vet said he was perfect ,weight and size and in good health,the vet asked what he is fed on,my girl explained he has been on minced up chicken carcass with ox heart,the vet explained that this may not be a good idea,and could cause health problems during the dogs life as it is not a balanced diet. now he has been fed on this by the bloke i purchased him from, and advised me that this is a great way of feeding as has done for years,now this bloke was a true dog man with good working lines,and i have read up so much on barf and wanted to put my current lurcher (not the pup)on this aswell,as she is on arden grange dog food,bt now the vets saying this,i just dont no what to feed,i have also read about bad points that raw isnt proven,and todays kibble has dogs leading a good long life(such as all my nans jrt's) last one dyed at 19yrs,i want the best for my dogs but just really cant be swung either way,can anyone convince me,and also,some books,people,say they must have veg in the diet,others say a dog gains no gooness from veg and they dont need it...... thanks for reading , p.s heres a page i found against raw http://www.rawfed.com/myths/ just scroll down on the page it has a list richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dogman89 0 Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 my vet told me the same mate... she told me my dog wasnt getting enough calcium cause its knuckles were to big... i took the pup back two weeks later and she said they are better but i hadnt feed it the food she gave me to give it lol... vets dont have a clue about feeding... raw is best imo, my two pups are thriving on it, they are 6months old and are the two of the biggest from the litte and arnt lacking in anything... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Irish Setter 1 Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 Wolves have been doing ok on this diet for a little while now Although there are several physical changes to the anatomy between dogs and wolves the digestive system is the same. As long as there is variety in the diet and not too much of one type of food is fed then it is a balanced diet. It is said that you should try to put a meal together that would represent a prey animal, some muscle, a little less bone, organ meats and a small amount of vegetable matter. Vets are given no training in raw feeding, the lectures that they receive come from dog food manufacturers, vets see problems with raw feeding when people dont do it properly. For every site that is anti raw feeding you will find one singing its praises, you have got to make the decision yourself. But take note of what the vet said, perfet weight, size and in good health. There are some excellent books on the subject like Grow your pups with bones and Give your dog a bone by Dr Ian Billinghurst (a vet!!) Feed Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones by Tom Lonsdale (another vet!) Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats: The Ultimate Diet by Kymythy Schulze. Setter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Doglost Co-Ordinator 4 Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 Think you will find more people going over to Barf as its better for the dog. Loads of the rotties are fed on it & the working dogs. You rarely see either with skin allergies or coat problems. Normally got lovely teeth. More healthy & dont have a lot of issues other dogs do Like others have said vary it & include vegs & you wont go far wrong. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TIMMAY 6 Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 Had a look at the link, appears to be a pro-barf website, dispelling myths? Tried to look for stuff that was anti-barf before i put my pup onto it, and couldn't find anything really, oh only a dog food manufacturer slating it! say no more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TOPPER 1,809 Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 stick with barf mate a good varied diet of raw meat and veg and you cant go far wrong the dogs will be better for it , more supple better teeth no tartar better coat etc etc , i have a 7 year old hard worked lakie and a 10 year old dog that have never been to a vet and there on barf atb top Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin 332 Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 I would say that just feeding chicken carcase and ox heart wasn't balanced myself,I feed BARF to both of my dogs,but,they get ......... Chicken carcase rabbit venison lamb breast beef mince and,a proportion of offal...ie. heart/liver/lungs&kecker/kidneys etc. at a % that it would be in the carcase of a beast,so 10-15% of the full dish/weight of the meal. I also make sure that they get plenty of meaty bones,and,my preference is for neck bones.Every now and again I also feed them some boiled veg. regards..........Martin. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maria_ferrets 0 Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 I've been feeding my dogs a raw diet since 2005. They don't get veggies, just meat, bone and organ.. They eat lots of deer plus rabbit, beef, chicken, beaver, goat, pork, squirrle and whatever else I can find. The link that you posted is PRO-raw.. If you click on those things like "raw food makes dogs blood thirsty" it wil prove that it is false. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
whippet08 8 Posted May 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 thanks everyone for replies ,just realised the link was pro barf, many thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RustyG 0 Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I would say that just feeding chicken carcase and ox heart wasn't balanced myself,I feed BARF to both of my dogs,but,they get .........Chicken carcase rabbit venison lamb breast beef mince and,a proportion of offal...ie. heart/liver/lungs&kecker/kidneys etc. at a % that it would be in the carcase of a beast,so 10-15% of the full dish/weight of the meal. I also make sure that they get plenty of meaty bones,and,my preference is for neck bones.Every now and again I also feed them some boiled veg. regards..........Martin. Your dog eats better than me mate! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Clover 0 Posted May 10, 2009 Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 I would say that just feeding chicken carcase and ox heart wasn't balanced myself,I feed BARF to both of my dogs,but,they get .........Chicken carcase rabbit venison lamb breast beef mince and,a proportion of offal...ie. heart/liver/lungs&kecker/kidneys etc. at a % that it would be in the carcase of a beast,so 10-15% of the full dish/weight of the meal. I also make sure that they get plenty of meaty bones,and,my preference is for neck bones.Every now and again I also feed them some boiled veg. regards..........Martin. I completely agree with Martin - you need to add a bit more variety to your dogs' diet. Mine had turkey necks and beef mince and some complete last night. Today they'll have lamb bones with some meat and fat on them and some liver and also tripe mince. I don't feed much in the way of veg, but they do like fruit. I'm still feeding a bit of James Wellbeloved but am working my way back to barf again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Attack Fell Terrier 864 Posted May 10, 2009 Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 Raw is the best way to feed a dog. How can a dog possibly be better off feeding on anything other than what they have evolved to eat? A good varied raw diet is the best mate, Try it, and then let us know what you think. Bones fat and meat! My dogs are so much healthier looking and stronger due to raw feeding. I had the terriers on dry food for a few weeks and they dropped weight, they didn't have as much energy and their coats didn't look as healthy. Not only that, when they were on the dry food they were shitting all over the place. With the raw diet they don't shit as much as the food is digested much better, and the shits are a lot more solid, unlike that creamy horrible cack they push out on the dry food. I couldn't recommend a raw diet for dogs enough mate, so long as you change it up a bit they'll be sound mate and a lot better off than on the dry or tinned stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neal 1,893 Posted May 10, 2009 Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 I've been feeding raw bones etc for about ten years now and every time I go to the vet, which isn't very often, my vet always says he wishes all the other dogs he saw were in as good condition as mine. Also, as someone stated above, several thousand wolves can't be wrong. When I started feeding this way I read in one of the Billinghurst books that it also reduces the risk of fleas. I must admit I thought this was going a claim too far but since then I've only had two very minor bouts of fleas (touch wood) and one was after moving into a house previously owned by a "mad-cat-woman" (somebody else's words, not mine). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sandymere 8,263 Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 It don't matter what you feed if you get the right balence of nutrients ie protein, fat & carbs, a dogs digestion don't care if it's raw cooked or whatever. If i had a lab type as a pet I'd not mind a BARF type diet but for a sprinter, such as a lurcher, giving carbs, oats, pasta, biscuit, complete etc will boost glucose availability for speed work. I've oft posted what I feed, a complete base with meat/bones and cooked veg a couple of days a week, plus table scraps, and have fit healthy animals. Basically inclusion, of a variety of feeds, is bettwer than exclusion, of all bare one or two. A wolf doesn't have to carry out multiple sprints night after night so a diet for a wolf will be different from that reqd by a lurcher bit like an athlete against layman there needs to be feeding to meet needs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darlotaximum 2 Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Raw is the best way to feed a dog. How can a dog possibly be better off feeding on anything other than what they have evolved to eat? A good varied raw diet is the best mate, Try it, and then let us know what you think. Bones fat and meat! My dogs are so much healthier looking and stronger due to raw feeding. I had the terriers on dry food for a few weeks and they dropped weight, they didn't have as much energy and their coats didn't look as healthy. Not only that, when they were on the dry food they were shitting all over the place. With the raw diet they don't shit as much as the food is digested much better, and the shits are a lot more solid, unlike that creamy horrible cack they push out on the dry food. I couldn't recommend a raw diet for dogs enough mate, so long as you change it up a bit they'll be sound mate and a lot better off than on the dry or tinned stuff. I have a bull x saluki and a collie whippet and a patterdale terrier which I fed on dry since pup. About 1 year ago i switched to raw coz my bull x wouldn't put weight on and constantly had the runs. I had tried a load of different foods for them but none of the dry food was sitting well with them In the end i went to raw. I feed them fresh tripe cut into chunks loads of raw bones, regulating according to poo outcome, and a bit of minced chicken or beef every now and again when I've got the money. I don't feed mine veg as I've been told the tripe contains the nutrients they need from that. The bones are a bit of everything from lamb ribs, beef shanks to bits of chicken carcasses (with loads of meat on) which I get free from a local butcher by the box load. They get a bit of liver or kidney every now and again too. All my dogs and my current litter of pups are looking fantastic for it. I would appreciate any advice if i'm missing something or if i'm giving them too much fat etc. Thanks all Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.