BARF

Right. I'm pretty much convinced of the benefits of raw feeding. Two brands have been recommended. Nutures Menu ( recommended by my niece who breeds Red Setters and has been feeding BARF for 15 years) and Natural Instinct ( by a member of our local staffy club ). Any feedback on these?

Also I've been reading up on BARF over the weekend and some literature recommends giving chicken backs, chicken wings, turkey necks etc every other day. Thoughts on this?

Would you experienced raw feeders recommend the addition of liquidised raw veg to the diet ?

Also, the general concensus of opinion seems to be to switch straight to raw ( in healthy young dogs ) rather than a gradual changeover as recommended when changing kibbles?

I want to switch but want to get it right and it all seems a bit baffling.

I know Ella gives her boys chicken wings, necks, back, carcasses, I also know Ella doesn't feed her boys veg, I agree it can be a little baffling and this is what put me off I'm getting bogged down in ratios but Ella says just go with it I feed the occasional raw meal and the consensus is right just switch straight over.

Yes, do switch straight over. If you like you can fast for a day and then make the switch too.

I do sometimes do a batch of liquidised veg for my two but mostly as a treat as they love the flavours (I call it their veggy smoothies!). But it's not a necessity if you're getting the right ratios of bone:meat:offal and so forth. I supplement instead with ingredients like coconut oil, olive oil, oily fish once a week(not salmon), apple cider vinegar and spirulina. They also get ground up flaxseeds with some meals as these are fantastic for joints and coat.

Chicken wings and backs are fantastic to start with and then, as you will have read, you can start slowly introducing a greater variety, and once you get into that, it's incredible what you can find!

Don't over complicate the ratios too much either. Go by how your boy looks.

Mine have been on raw for about 6 or so months now and I can honestly say they are thriving on it. No more upset tums, or not-working tums, no more tummy gurgles, loads of vitality, shiny coats, no doggy odour or bad breath, incredible teeth and so on.

Hope that helps

I'm on week 2 of raw, so far no problems, did a straight switch over  

I've been buying miced RAW from a local shop, chicken carcuss last week and lamb tripe this week. Will start encorporating bones soon, getting lots of guidence from the shop and the forum

Yep IMO a straight swap is easier on their bellies, and less likely to cause upset.

Have a look a these links for some reading:
www.preymodelraw.com
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t14787-raw-diet

No i don't give veg at all, i don't believe dogs need them plus my two will not eat them no matter what anyway!

I do give chicken/turkey wings/necks/carcasses but not every other day, i give the biggest variety of meat i can, and i feed as much RED meat or GAME as possible as it's much more nutrient dense then white meat or poultry. But you need to introduce meats slowly and build up to a good variety