If you are a dog owner and you are concerned about the commercial foods that are offered to your canine then there are healthy alternatives that will allow you to feed your dog a wholesome diet without any potential risks from commercial food. This diet is called the BARF Diet; BARF stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods and also for Bones and Raw Food Diet. The diet is a feeding method that allows you to feed your dog in a way that is as close to what nature intended as possible. This article will present an overview of the BARF Diet and allow you to begin feeding your pet the meal plan immediately.
It is a meal made up of meat and veggies. That is it. Half of your dogs meal will be the meat and the remaining ingredients make up the rest. To begin the diet you must remember that all of the meat, including bones is fed to your dog raw. Never give your dog cooked bones as they become soft and can splinter easily, injuring your dog or even causing death from intestinal perforation. Begin the diet with feeding your dog exclusively raw meat for the first few days.
Once your dog is accustomed to the change in diet, then you can begin adding blenderized vegetables to his meal. Processing the vegetables breaks down the cell walls and allows your dog to receive all the nutrition from the vegetables that would otherwise be missed because they were not digested. Bland vegetables such as carrots are great to start off with. Just liquify the vegetables and add the meat to it.
After adding the vegetables for a few days, then you can begin adding richer foods to the mix such as eggs. Then you can progress to adding different vegetables to the mix to allow your dog to get the benefits from a wide array of nutrients. Onions, however, should not be given to your dog in large quantities as they can cause health problems. Foods like broccoli and cabbage can cause gas, so you might want to be cautious in feeding these foods if the results and the smell of the gas will create problems, if your dog stays indoors for example. Also be aware that potatoes may be hard for your dog to digest, so if you feed them monitor your dog for digestive upset such as diarrhea or undigested food in the stool.
Also a part of the BARF Diet are raw meaty bones such as chicken backs, necks, wings, or turkey necks. These bones are soft enough for your dog to chew and provide great exercise as well as nutritional benefits. If you are concerned about your dog choking on the bones, or if your pet wolfs down his food, then you can grind the bones in a grinder and sprinkle them over his food.
Finally, you may want to add some fish oil to your dog's diet. Fish oil can help to control shedding, reduce flea problems, and help your dog to have a healthy heart and blood pressure. Benefits of the raw food diet for your dog include better smelling breath and cleaner teeth, their immune system is enhanced, the skin and coat become healthy, and weight control and metabolism are improved. Another effect of the BARF Diet is a change in stools, after and initial period where you may notice more mucous in your pet's stools, the stools will become smaller and will degrade easier making for less mess in your yard. This occurs because the BARF Diet is more digestible than commercial diets and therefore has less waste byproducts that your pet cannot use.
By feeding your pet this diet, you can be assured that you are doing everything possible to ensure that your dog has a happy, healthy, productive, and hopefully longer lifespan.