The RAW meat and BARF dog food thread

tbourner

We've tried 5 local vets and they all recommend NOT feeding BARF and instead feeding a good quality commercial food ("which we can supply for you at cost price don't you know"). Also, I seem to recall hearing that almost all veterinary training colleges are sponsored by a commercial dog food company, so don't expect your vet to agree with your decision to feed BARF.

jimbugalee

I haven't found a vet who agrees with it either. I just don't mention it to them now and pretend we feed him on commercial food. Although maybe a few years down the line when he's looking really healthy I could say it was because I fed a BARF diet!

kerri77

vets are against raw and barf... and the main reason is mmoney....

in my opinion commercial pet foods and kibble are full of rubbish,, chemicals and god knows what else.. in turn making dog ill,,, then going to the vets,,, then them making coin!!!!

By feeding raw its the most robust natural healthiest food we can give a dog or cat,, no illness or lil illness,, meaning less money for the vets... unfortunately its a money mad world.. the only thing i take my dog to the vets for is to have his anal glands squezzed... and one time she gave me a pedigree chew to clean his teeth.. this was the product they were flogging at the time.... i said why do i need this??? she replies to clean badgers teeth... i said ... have you seen his teeth... she says no... i open badgers mouth to show the mose whitest teeth you have ever ever seen,,, whiter than white,, she said wow his teeth are clean... i said yeah raw diet and bones that is.. she looked at me as if i had lost the plot!

skypie123_2

I've kind of lost faith in my vet sadly. Just the thought of all the pain and misery Scraggy went through due to his allergies and the operations and oh - the cost! leave me cold!
It was all totally needless and had my vet suggested he might have food allergies causing his problems he probably wouldn't have had any ops at all and might still be able to hear properly
I am keeping everything crossed that the raw meat diet works wonders for him.
How soon do you think before I see results in him?

tbourner

A week for skin and fur etc.
The change might give him belly problems for a while anyway so hard to say for that.
He might have allergies to BARF as well especially if you're doing complex veg mush recipes and stuff. Are you giving supplements as well? We just buy tesco vit-C pills and apple cider vinegar etc. and crush them up to add to veg mush. Then we usually put in a cod liver oil capsule and a vit-E (I think) capsule as well.

jackieglasgow

My dog is fed raw 5 days a week, and kibble with raw mince and kibble with sardines or other oily/slimy fish the other 2 days. Simply because she doesn't like the kibble, and I am not throwing it out or giving i to the Digs Trust. I also think until I have the raw 100% balanced, she is still getting some nutrients that I might be missing. She gets chicken most days, I buy them when they are on silly price yellow stickers in the supermarket, and also buy the basics bag of frozen chicken pieces from Tesco, it's £2.49 for 2 or 2.5kg and that one bag plus a tin of sardines and some prime choice frozen mince get her through the week. I supplement with treats used in training, and in her Kong. She likes chopped pork sandwich slices, sliced chicken stuff, cream cheese, apples and carrots and the odd raw potato. I also discovered the other day she like baken beans, and when I cook veg she gets a handful chucked in the pot, too, which she always enjoys.

Her coat is gleaming, and she has recovered really well from her speying two weeks ago. When I collected her from the vets after it, they gave me 3 tins of food, saying it was what they always gave post-op dogs as it was gentler on their tummies. I told her my dog gets raw, and shelooked shocked. She asked why, and I said, because she doesn't know how to use the cooker. I don't think she was impressed at all. I gave the dog the tinned stuff, and she seemed to like it OK, but she was starving. She has been delighted to be back on her raw chicken though. I'll also add that pork and ham did nothing for her except give her terrible thirst, and she won't eat them now, and I didn't give her beef as its not really a dog's natural prey. She also loves rabbit, but I can't bring myself to get that very often:o Oh, and she loves chicken livers too but not raw. They get left if they are raw, she ate them the first time, but not since, so I fry them with some olive oil and mix with the kibble. I must really love her, I am veggie and won't even cook chicken for the OH and kids. :rotfl:

kerri77

skypie you will see results sharpish in weeks i would say,, her coat will gleam ,,, overall health will improve ... i get most of my raw food absolutely FREE... i go to the market butcher every tuesday,, and they have to actually pay someone to take the chicken carcass and bones away!!! mad!! they also have loads of meat left on,, then i get my beef bones free!!,, i pay for chicken hearts,, pig hearts and lams hearts,, i give my dog raw egg twice a week,, he has tuna or fish once a week, apple cider vinegar does wonders for ear infections!!,,, I would never be so careless to give my dog KIBBLE not now not ever,,, its basically crap of the floor mixed and dried,, raw all the way for me!

skypie123_2

Thanks Kerri. How do you give yours apple cider vinegar? I tried putting it in his feed a few weeks back but he just sniffed it and left the food. Then i try and sneak a little in his water but then he wont touch that....

kerri77

sounds crazy but my dog wont touch it on his raw chicken bones ,, or in his water,, however he loves stealing the last bit of my cup of tea,, so i sneak a bit in there and he doesnt notice!!

Also when he has an ear infection or itchy ears i clean his ears with cotton wool balls and apple cider vinegar or sometimes i spray them with it too,, hope this helps you!

skypie123_2

Thanks Kerri I will wipe his ears down with apple cider vinegar tonight then, do you think its ok to put the Thornit powder on after? I'm hoping all these ear infections stop soon, now that he is on the raw meat.