At 2.5 years old Lydia was diagnosed with end stage kidney failure and I was given a choice, either to be put down then or to control with a very high quality natural diet and drugs but still only this would keep her going for 2 weeks or so. I changed her to a diet of high quality chicken, eggs with shell, fish and rice. Lydia sustained a good quality of life for another 7 weeks before the awful decision to let her go was made but after this there was no way I would ever feed any of my dogs dried food again and when you look it to it, it's a terrible diet. Click on any website or discussion forum for the diet and so many people say NEVER EVER feed raw????? Can someone please tell me for how many years dried food has been available and just how on earth has the dog survived so long without it? Dogs are meat eaters, in the wild they hunt their prey and eat the contents. Carbohydrates in a dogs diet is open to discussion but if you take a dog in the wild, say the Dingo, where do the carbs come from? Well the stomach contents of what it has killed and not all will be lucky enough to have a fill of this, so carbs really arn't a natural part of a diet. They do however give energy but you will find that many of domestic dogs allergies are due to a wheat gluten allergy from the carbs. So what is the BARF diet? Basically it is feeding as natural a diet as possible. Proteins are gained from chicken, beef, lamb, fish, Calcium is gained from the bone in the chicken, beef etc Essential minerals and vitamins are gained from fruit and vegetables, liver, heart etc. So what can I feed my dog? Almost anything, The obvious which is chicken wings, whole or minced, lamb mince or breast, beef, turkey or turkey necks. The not so obvious, lamb backs, chicken backs, tongue, stomach (for the strong minded), tripe (green). Any food which is whole bone will also help to keep a clean and healthy set of teeth. This is a list of what you can give your dog for the best and when you get into it you will find that it is far cheaper than feeding dried (freezer required) and your dog will be a picture of health and less visits to the vet. So.... Meat Chicken wings, Lamb mince and back, turkey mince and backs, beef mince. Bones, whole marrow bones, lamb bones, chicken backs and lamb backs, a great source of calcium and teeth cleaning. Carbohydrates, Sweet potatoe and brown rice Veg, Carrots, broccoli, sprouts, swede, cabbage, spinach. Potatoe in moderation Never onion, potatoe skins etc. Fruit. Apple, banana, strawberries, oranges, blueberries, etc In addition. Live Pre and Probiotic Yoghurt, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, almonds. So this is the diet all my dogs are now fed, it's cheap, around 35p a pound for the raw chicken and you lean to shop for the rest. The enjoyment seen in them eating is good enough for me. All my pups are weaned onto this at 3 weeks, starting slowly with minced chicken and building up. They just love it! |
