BARF again! (for Caryll)

Sorry for bringing this up again but I am just not getting my head round what I should feed and when and how much.

Caryll my lovely, would it be possible for you to make a list or a menu for the week of what your dog has, pretty please.
It will give me a guideline then on what to go out and buy, as I'm just perplexed at the whole live, tripe, etc etc.

What do I ask for at the butchers weight wise and also what sorts of meat.

I am an orgainised 'ole sod and like to shop for the week and it's just all confusing me

I've copied this from the Raw Meaty Bones site.........

Aim for 70% or more of the diet as raw meaty bones. Thereafter, the remaining percentage can be made up of offal, table scraps, and large lumps of meat or more raw meaty bones. Nature, thankfully, is tolerant and allows a range of options that provide for good health.

Daily food intake varies. As a percentage of body weight, giant breeds tend to need less and small breeds need more food. Working dogs, breeding and lactating females and growing puppies need more food than do less active dogs.

As a guide, healthy adult dogs usually require between 2% and 3% of their body weight in food daily. Over the course of a week, in round figures, that amounts to 15% to 20% of body weight. For example, if your dog weighs 10 kilos he will likely need between 1.5 and 2 kilos of raw meaty bones each week.

If you measure in pounds weight then the sums are the same. Perhaps your dog weighs 20 pounds. Then you can expect to feed her between 3 and 4 pounds of food each week.

Dempsey gets a meaty (as meaty as I can get) bone some time during the morning - any time from about 9am till about 1pm, depending on whether he goes to work with me. The bones will be either lamb ribs/necks/spines, venison leg, duck necks. I can't give him any chicken as he's allergic to it!Then, about an hour or so after his evening walk he gets approx. (I weighed it today!) 400g of meat chunks. That can be either beef (various sorts - ordinary stewing type beef or tongues), lamb (not too often as it's fairly rich & he gets a lot of lamb bones), or tripe chunks. Then once or twice a week he'll have a raw egg. Plus I add some offal to his meat once or twice a week - kidneys mainly as I can't get him to eat liver no matter what I do, but also things like lung & spleen if I can get them. I also add a couple of tea spoons of cod or salmon liver oil twice a week

You don't need a lot of offal, but you do need to give some.

I don't add any veg, rice or pasta, but I know there are some who do.

caryll how do you feed the raw egg as i've read that you give it to them shell as well and other say just to crack the egg and let them eat it?

My girls wont eat the shell so I just crack it open and they eat it like that, however I do have friends whose dogs eat the whole thing.

Thanks Caryll. I'm going to make a list and head off to the butchers tomorrow and become aqainted with them so I can get it from there regularly.
Also, to my suprise I thought Lola was chicken intolerant, well fresh chicken wings anyway. But the last 3 days she has had frozen chicken wings and not only does she love them but she has kept them down nicely. The only thing is her poo is quite chalky, if that makes any sense. But I'm still leaving her biscuits down so she can fill up with those as I am yet to get to the butchers to ger her everything she needs.
Going to try her on a tin of sardines later.

But thank you soo much for the advice.

ella wrote:caryll how do you feed the raw egg as i've read that you give it to them shell as well and other say just to crack the egg and let them eat it?

Dempsey won't eat the shell, although some dogs will. I have to crack it & then, believe it or not, lightly beat it. If I leave the yolk whole he won't touch it!

Ok thanks i'll have to see what he likes then

So that's frozen chicken wings and sardines in tom sauce she loves now. I'm loving giving her raw now I have my head well and truly round it, just to try her on all the other stuff aswell.
Thanks Caryll for showing me the way.

BA rocks

It seems complicated when you first start, there's a lot to think about. But once you get into the swing of it, it's not so bad.

Right I'm thinking this...

Bones in the morning 7 days a week.

Then as evening meals...

2 x sardines (differebt nights)

2 x tripe

2 x liver chunks

kidney chunks

2 raw eggs.

Tada, done, I think lol

ooops sorry one more question, could Lola being 9 months have a chicken carcass?

I am lol - not at you it's just weeks ago I was like yourself already a convert (before even trying it-it made perfect sense to me) but was on this stumbling block as to where exactly to begin and what when and how to implement it. I thought about it too much as I wanted to get it right from the off. You're already doing it and I'm into the swing of it and never looked back, neither will you welcome to the barf diet x

Oh I tell ya it's not been easy, a lot of grey matter I had to use and loads of research. I actually had a headache last night after reading, reading and reading some more.
Today I've been phoning people and sourcing everything she will eat so I can get it all at one place.
Luckily found a local place with free delivery so was chuffed to pieces.
Phoned them and had a lovely chat with the person that set it all up, and then researched more on their website.

Can I put the website here Steve so others from Brum may want to look into it?

lackeman wrote:Right I'm thinking this...

Bones in the morning 7 days a week.

Then as evening meals...

2 x sardines (differebt nights)

2 x tripe

2 x liver chunks

kidney chunks

2 raw eggs.

Tada, done, I think lol

ooops sorry one more question, could Lola being 9 months have a chicken carcass?

Take care not to feed too much offal, especially when you're first starting out. Offal's well known to soften poo, and if you feed too much you'll get the runs - well, your dog will, not you!

9 months is fine for a chicken carcass - you can always put what she doesn't eat back into the fridge for a day if it's too much.

The thing that always gets me is suddenly being able to see the 'wolf' in your dog when a previously delicate & fastidious feeder suddenly starts to tear meat off a bone & then to crunch the bone up entirely!

Caryll wrote:The thing that always gets me is suddenly being able to see the 'wolf' in your dog when a previously delicate & fastidious feeder suddenly starts to tear meat off a bone & then to crunch the bone up entirely!

I totally agree with this, harvey used to casually eat his food, but not anymore he throws it around the trying to kill it!

ella wrote:

Caryll wrote:The thing that always gets me is suddenly being able to see the 'wolf' in your dog when a previously delicate & fastidious feeder suddenly starts to tear meat off a bone & then to crunch the bone up entirely!

I totally agree with this, harvey used to casually eat his food, but not anymore he throws it around the trying to kill it!

snap

I know that would horrify some people, but I find it quite fun to watch. It's the only time you really see a dog acting as a wild dog would!

Plus, they enjoy it!

Why do people do BARF like what does it help with ect? what are the pros and cons I've heard it can shorten there life span?

it's a natural way to feed your dog if you think about it for a mo. why give processed food and cooked food to our dogs when they were designed to eat barf stylee?!

It's not until I had seen first hand my fil's 3 dogs fed this way that I asked myself the question 'why not?' and began asking and researching for myself. However my first thought was wtf are you doing man?! Why because it was alien in our society to fee this way.

When you stop and ask yourself a queation whatever it may be we sometimes realise it's 'trend' or 'what everyone else does' or perhaps never enters our head there's another way to approach something. To me me it's a bit like breast feeding and formula feeding. I have 3 children of whom were breast fed and I've done baby led weaning all what I believe to be the natural and healthiest way to feed my children, but yet I had never even considered feeding my pets in such a natural way lol!! Shame on me ha ha! We used to feed our dogs bakers which I now know is a s.hite food, we fed it because it was cheap and we didn't thin it mattered!

I'm in a hurry now but here are a few links for you Caryll will direct you to some good info. and people on here have a wealth of experience to share x

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/diet/exp-diet-guide.pdf
http://www.ukbarfclub.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewDoc&docId=7

smitherssss23 wrote:Why do people do BARF like what does it help with ect? what are the pros and cons I've heard it can shorten there life span?

It certainly doesn't shorten their life span! It's a natural way to feed, and most dogs actually prefer the taste to cooked or provessed food.

However, as I've said many times, it isn't for everyone, or for every dog. And if you don't want to do it, you'll not be harming your dog in any way at all!

Caryll wrote:

lackeman wrote:Right I'm thinking this...

Bones in the morning 7 days a week.

Then as evening meals...

2 x sardines (differebt nights)

2 x tripe

2 x liver chunks

kidney chunks

2 raw eggs.

Tada, done, I think lol

ooops sorry one more question, could Lola being 9 months have a chicken carcass?

Take care not to feed too much offal, especially when you're first starting out. Offal's well known to soften poo, and if you feed too much you'll get the runs - well, your dog will, not you!

9 months is fine for a chicken carcass - you can always put what she doesn't eat back into the fridge for a day if it's too much.

Thanks Caryll. So do I just feed her offal once a week then?

I got 2 other meat meals to find then, what can I give her?

I'm not sure what is and isn't offal?

Offal is basically organ meat - anything that isn't muscle meat. Bit of a bone of contention as to whether tripe is organ or muscle, but I tend to class it as offal, but don't feed it as offal if you see what I mean - I don't count it towards the weekly offal.

The only exception to the above is heart, because that's pure muscle. However, don't feed too much because it's very rich & can give mild tummy upsets.

I'd give one meal of offal a week - either on its own or divided between the other meals. For the other two meals you could give beef chunks (frozen from the larger pet shops) or heart (lamb, beef or pork - although pigs hearts tend to be cheaper!).

Caryll...I have been following this topic and also researching on the web.

I am slowly learning, the more I read.

Sorry to sorta' hijack this post lackeman....but we can all learn from everybodys questions.

Caryll.. I've read a few comments that you've made regarding protein contents of meats eg... you said kangaroo meat is high protein and could make a dog more hyper. Which meats are the best to feed on a more regaular basis.

Would you have a link to any info, or maybe the name of a book that I could read.

Thanx

Give me a couple of hours - I'm just going home from work (I know, I know, I should have been working all morning while I've been on here!) & then I have to go shopping, see to the kids (must stop calling them that!) and pack oh off to bed as he has to get up at 4am for work tomorrow. Si I'll probably be back around 9pm at the latest (hopefully before)!

WoW busy day

we feed billy mostly chicken, some dogs cant take chicken, but billy does not like liver and beef gives him the runs.

Loopy wrote:

Sorry to sorta' hijack this post lackeman....but we can all learn from everybodys questions.

Hiya Lisa, don't think your hijacking the thread at all, it's here for everyone to learn as I am learning, so the more the better.

I have my freezer bags ready and going to do a quick defrost of freezer tonight as delivery coming tomorrow of Lola's BARF. I'm soooo excited

let us know how things are going

I got my delivery for harvey the other day, i was rather excited which obv makes me sad

This is a good diet guide - the thing is to read & form your own regime, one that suits your dog best............

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/diet/exp-diet-guide.pdf

Always feel free to experiment a little. Remember that you can't get everything your dog needs in one meal when you're feeding raw. That's ok - as long as you balance it out over a couple of weeks, or even a month, that's fine.

P.S. I don't actually know of any books, but google raw feeding online & you'll see loads of sites which will help.

Lola has been so good she has eaten everything I put in front of her. Liver, lamb necks, chicken wings, minced lamb, sardines and eggs and shell.

She seems to love it all, thankfully.

So no regrets changing her diet and it's so much cheaper than dried food and so easy to manage. Just out of the freezer or if I forget I know she will eat frozen, which she has and loved it aswell.

And it gets delivered, I don't even have to go out to the shop for it.

Lola is a BARF doggie and loving it.

'So no regrets changing her diet and it's so much cheaper than dried food and so easy to manage. Just out of the freezer or if I forget I know she will eat frozen, which she has and loved it aswell.'



can they eat the chicken wings frozen. i thought it all should be defrosted.

They can eat them frozen, but if you're going to defrost they should be defrosted thoroughly & kept in the fridge for no more than 24 hours.

Mick wrote:
can they eat the chicken wings frozen. i thought it all should be defrosted.

They can eat them frozen, Lola cannot tolerate fresh ones so I found out. It's especially nice when the weather is hot she loves them frozen and so it's just so easy to get right from the freezer.

Just a few questions.

Is it alright to give Lola sardines every other night with her meal as she loves them.

Also Lola does the tiniest of poo's now and only twice a day. Am I right in saying that she will not poo as much as all the raw is absorbed into her body? Posing the question if she doesn't poo that much will she become enormous and over weight?

As long as your dog's stomach can take sardines every other night, that's ok. But bear in mind that they are cooked, not raw. Fresh raw ones would be better if you're going to give that many.

Yes, they do poo less. Dempsey poos as often as before, but less of it! You do have to be a little careful with quantities when you start raw feeding cause they need less than tinned or dry.

Ive been looking in to putting Frank on to BARF!

Just worried me about given him Raw Food!

However this post has been really helpfull!

I think come the end of the month I'm going to change his diet to BARF to see how he likes it!!

Just to re cap to make sure I'm reading this all correct - Freeze the food and either let it de frost complete (but for no longer that 24 hours) or give him it frozen?

Im always worried about given Frank bones but I think this might be a good move for him! If he doesnt take to it then I will move him back to his old food!

Caryll, you are clearly the owner in the know in this department
Never mind hoping Frank takes to it, lets hope I do!

x

Charlene_Frank wrote:
Just to re cap to make sure I'm reading this all correct - Freeze the food and either let it de frost complete (but for no longer that 24 hours) or give him it frozen?

Im always worried about given Frank bones but I think this might be a good move for him! If he doesnt take to it then I will move him back to his old food!

Caryll, you are clearly the owner in the know in this department
Never mind hoping Frank takes to it, lets hope I do!

x

Although freezing won't kill all bacteria in raw meat, dogs can normally cope with what's left. If he's a 'gulper' and tries to swallow everything whole then it's a good idea to give the meat/bones frozen to begin with as it'll encourage chewing.

Feeding raw bones (not the weight-bearing ones, ie the marrow bones) is actually very good for dogs. It gives them vitamins & minerals, including calcium and satisfies their normal chewing urges. It also helps to firm up their poo. So if you see that he's a bit constipated at any time, reduce the amount of bone he gets.