A closer Look at the BARF Diet Part 1

Much has been debated on the BARF Diet for Dogs. Even among those who feel this is the perfect canine diet, there are vast differences of opinion as to portion size, frequency of feeding, and ingredients.

This makes perfect sense to me because there are no two dogs alike. What works perfectly for one dog may not work for another. A close relationship to your companion helps a great deal when sorting out the options. If you know your dog, you will be able to see which foods work best and which cause problems.

Central to this diet is the concept of food rotation. This is the practice of moving various foods in and out of the diet, so that no food makes a constant appearance in the diet.

Often the Protein Source is rotated to avoid overexposure to one protein, such as chicken. Some people feel this lessens the likelihood of an allergy developing to that protein.
The additional ingredients, the plant based foods are also rotated for the same reasons of allergy avoidance. However they also rotate in order to include the widest variety of vitamins and minerals offered by a diverse diet.

As mentioned, there is no solid rule regarding how much of what and when. That said, I will offer an example of what I feel is commonly accepted as a healthy ratio of foods.

• Raw Meaty Bones (RMB) about 65-75% of diet
• Vegetables, fruit, plant matter 15-25% of diet
• Offal (organ meats) about 10%

Meat and Bones: Use whole bones with meat when possible, such as chicken legs, wings etc. NEVER COOK BONES.

Plant Edibles: All vegetables, and fruits must be ground, pulped, or otherwise finely grated or minced. If you use a juicer, return the pulp to the mix before feeding. It adds fiber. Use more vegetables and less fruits. Overripe fruit is best.

Offal: Include a variety of organ meats. Remember that hearts are actually muscle. Use livers, gizzards, kidneys etc to make up offal mix. Keep it rotating.

The diet does not have to be balanced every day. The goal is to provide a balanced diet overall. For example, some people achieve 10% offal in the diet by feeding a day of ONLY Offal every 10 days, and putting zero offal in on the other 9 days.

Chose meaty raw bones that fit the size of your canine companion. All dogs seem to do well with chicken, however small does are unable to crunch through beef bones. So for the smaller ones, stay with appropriate bone sizes.

Some people say supplements are a must. Others say they are not needed. The verdict is out for me.