What you put into your dog is VERY important and we strongly believe that what is not given in a puppies first stages of life can not be made up for later on in life. Feeding your dog a good quality diet is essential.
We have tried over the years various commercial diets all advocated very keenly by vets!
The Raw diet will hardly ever be encouraged by vets and many will often tell owners that is is dangerous and not healthy for your dog....Well of course because vets cant sell you raw food can they!
What they fail to tell most of their clients is the amount of dogs that are seen for various stomach problems, major skin conditions, allergies and other probelms which are largely caused by the artificial crap that is put into those wonderful commercial foods. Also that 95% of dogs that suffer from gastric torsion (twisted stomach) are fed kibble...which swells,releasing gases into the stomach, raw food does not swell and is completely natural. Obviously every owner must feed what they are comfortable with feeding but this is my own own personal opinion on how to give your dog the best and i would never revert back to kibble and tinned meat as the results shown in my dogs speak for themselves.
After trying various diets and never being completely happy we looked into the natural way of feeding...the BARF diet which stands for Bones And Raw Food.
Our dogs have never looked healthier or been happier with this way of feeding, it is without doubt the most natural way for your dog to feed, after all dogs were designed to hunt, kill and devour the whole carcass of what they caught. Their jaws and teeth are designed to rip and tear meat and crush bone....what is natural about a bowl of biscuit day in and day out??? Dogs are carnivores and thrive on fresh meat and bone.
***VERY IMPORTANT, ONLY EVER FEED RAW BONES....NEVER EVER FEED COOKED BONES AS COOKING THEM REMOVES ALL THE WATER CONTENT AND DRIES THEM OUT MAKING THEM BRITTLE, WHICH CAN THEN LEAD TO THE BONE SPLINTERS PERFORATING THE INTESTINES, RAW BONES ARE FULLY DIGESTABLE***
Below is a list of what we feed our dogs and some pictures of the types of food they will happily devour.
A typical weeks variety:
Whole Chicken Carcass
Full length pigs trotters
Beef Tripe
Lamb Tripe
Minced lamb
Minced Beef
Minced chicken with ground bone
Minced turkey with ground bone
Hearts
Lungs
Kidney
Liver
Pork Ribs
Lamb Ribs
Lamb Necks
Lamb carcass
Whole Rabbit
Venison
Pigeon ..... Caught fresh by our Ruby!
Sardines
Raw Eggs
Along with any scraps left from our own dinner
Our dogs feeding regime consists of a bone meal for breakfast which would be chicken or lamb carcass, pigs trotters, pork ribs, venison or whole rabbit and then for a dinner a variety of minced meats with a small amount of working diet kibble just to ensure we dont miss any nutrients at all, though they make it very clear which meal they prefer to see in their bowls, we feed working diet because our dogs often are free running and therefore burn lots of calories everyday!
All our puppies are raised on the raw diet from the age of 3 weeks, starting with raw minced beef and then over the coming weeks we introduce, lamb, tripe and chicken. We also feed a puppy kibble to ensure that they dont miss out on any vital nutrients at such an important stage in their development, however once puppies are older we do believe that as long as the raw diet is as varied as possible you can feed soley raw without the need for kibble at all. We choose to feed a small amount of kibble fed only in the evening meal but the main substance in the diet is RAW and our kids are very happy with this menu!
Some advantages of feeding raw are:
Smaller & Firmer stools with less odour
More satisfying meal for your dog
Chewing raw bones helps keep teeth clean
Chewing builds up muscle in the neck and shoulders
Cheaper than top brand commercial food
No upset stomachs from artificial additives
Shiny, full and healthy looking coats
Generally less vet bills as your dog will be healthier
Your dog will be happier and have more energy
Remember...Most vets dont like raw diets, if you have any questions about feeding raw speak to a breeder not a vet, i am happy to give help and advise whenever i can and i hope that this page has been interesting and informative.
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TELL US WHAT YOU THINK OF OUR DOGS DIET
Our vet couldn't agree more with you about raw diet which actually shocked us as we were ready for the 'speech', but like he said dogs years ago had to kill for there food as there was no-one to feed them or open a packet or tin, so we were happy that we told him, he is a good vet though and one we have been with for years, I am glad we have kept Bryn on the raw diet as he thriving on it xx
Bryn is doing really well on his raw diet glad we took the plunge, his favourite thing are the marrow bones and pork chops!! (he eats better than us lol) xx
. 2011.9.1 12:57
Sarah Ross: I think this a great way to feed your dogs and I have always said that both dogs and cats should be able to eat raw food as they descend from a wild animal first and foremost. The last vet I saw about a cat that ate raw meat told me how unhealthy it was as the meat didn't contain all the nutrients that were essential. I now have a St Bernard and she loves raw meat but I always give her dry food for the main part because of that one vet! So thatnks for proving my original thought and I think I may try the raw diet after all!
aphrem lister: thanks 4 the info on feeding dogues
sarah limb.: Absolutly fantastic dog feeding site. We couldn't agree with what you have said any more. Well done you for putting it out there. It doesnt need to be expensive if you shop around and us local markets etc. DAF Pet foods is another cost effective way of feed raw. Lots of books to guide you on your new feeding experience.( tom lonsdale works wonders is a great read for newbies.) Love your site , love your babys, good luck for the future.x
donna chalmers: hi there, i am the proud mum of two ddb girls,who are one years old,and a 16 mnth old bulmastiff boy, please could you advise on how much raw meat they would need to be fed each day'''''/thankyou
alan bain: I s it expensive to feed your dogs on a totally barf diet?
mandys-staffs: I have now placed all my dogs on the Raw diet,they are loving it attached a link for a surplier --- http://www.landywoods.co.uk/index.html
yvonneive been readi: ive been reading a lot about barf diets my rottie has a really funny tum and ive always fed her dry kibble i would be really grateful to know how to feed her a raw diet
Dave williams: hi great site and lots of useful info ::) we have just got a new rott pup she is just over 5 mths old and the breeder we got her of [ beryrda] told us to give her raw chicken wings as treats , i have never tried raw food with my other rotts b4 but she loves it along with our husky, was just wondering where you would buy some of the meat you feed yours. thanks in advance for your time
linda linley: i totally agree with you but i have just moved into the spalding area and being totally new to the place i find it hard to find a supplier can you help we are at sutton st edmonds
brad: this seems very good :D
Alex: I feed Alice Tripe cooked by me Chicken livers Baked by me and chicken harts cooked and diced by me I do get her proper dog bones but would be really scared to give Alice chicken bones she is very fussy and we rescued her she was abandoned by a breeder when it was found the litter had Parvo out of 12 pups only Alice and a brother lived so she is very coddled and its her birthday today so her doggy pals are comming for a party
kraig essex: i couldnt agree with you more,dont get me wrong some vets still are genuine and animal loving but there are a fairfew out there who are all about the money,my dogs love nothing more than chewing on raw bones,mince and raw chicken they also wouldnt eat if i gave them tinned rather than there usual tripe mince but i did pick up a wider variety to feed y dogs thanks to your advice.