"Biologically Appropriate Raw Food" or "Bones and Raw Food" was
initially introduced by
Dr. Ian Billinghurst in his books "Give Your Dog a Bone" (1993) and "Grow Your Pups With Bones." (1998)
We have been feeding a RAW or BARF diet since January of 2004. In
that time we have seen a tremendous improvement in the health of our
Cavaliers. Their teeth stay cleaner, their breath is fresh, they
have lots of energy. The pups are healthy and strong. They are using
their food more efficiently and therefore get more nutrition from
their food (and less to pick up in the back yard). All bonuses in my
book.
A RAW diet provides the dog with nutrition in a format that their
digestive system is designed to manage. A dog’s digestive system is
naturally acidic and the RAW food is processed very quickly. Hence
the bacteria do not have a compatible environment within which to
multiply and they do not get to stick around long enough to do any
damage. Contrast this with a kibble fed dog whose digestive track is
alkaline and moves much slower. You do the math!
Never feed cooked bones! Generally speaking RAW bones do not
splinter, although large raw bones can cause problems, by
getting stuck in your dogs mouth or in their digestive tract. To
avoid any problems of this nature we have chosen to
primarily feed ground chicken bones as the main bone component along
with chicken and turkey necks and backs. RAW chicken bones are the
least likely to cause any problems. An occassional beef soup bone is
also given for recreational chewing.
Use caution and common sense when feeding your dog. If your dog
treats every meal as if it is their last and gulp down their food
without chewing, then either give them their food in chunks so big
that they have to chew or feed only ground bones and meats.
All that is required to keep free from spreading the bacteria, that
are naturally found in raw meats, is to follow simple precautions.
Precautions such as washing all dishes and utensils in hot soapy
water and washing your hands after serving a RAW meal, the same as
you would when preparing a meal for your family.
Some people are afraid that feeding your dog raw meat will cause it
to have parasites. I've heard of Vets telling their clients "if
they want to feed RAW, then they have to deworm their dogs every
second month." This is of course preposterous. Read the article
"Will
Eating Raw Meat Give My Pet Parasites?"
Many people prepare their dog’s RAW diet from scratch.
Unfortunately, I do not have the time to do so. With the advent of
several commercial RAW food preparations it is now just as easy to
feed RAW as it is to feed the alternative. RAW food can be purchased
already ground and mixed with fruit and veggies and/or organ meats
or any combination thereof. RAW fed dogs now have a vast and varied
menu to choose from including the standard chicken and turkey as
well as beef, bison, elk, fish and green (unbleached) tripe. Add in
a few chicken or turkey necks and/or backs, an occassional knuckle
or recreational bone and supplements such as the omega 3-6-9 oils,
kelp and alfalfa and your dog will be eating better than most people
I know.
I highly recommend that each pet owner investigate and decide what is
best for your pets and your situation. To that end, I will be adding more
information on feeding RAW over the coming months. More resources
are becoming available on the web and in books all the time. I will
try to compile the best of them here for you. Please contact me if you
have a resource that you feel others would benefit from.
Mogens Eliansen has provided a
"Dog
Food Feeding Frequency" list that will help you get started.
Mogens is a prolific writer on the subject of RAW diets.
A good place to start is with the article on
The Dangers of
Cooking Dog Food. View more of Mogens’ excellent articles
and/or subscribe to his newsletter at
The Peeing Post
Brenda Hagel is a pioneer in the advocacy of feeding RAW. She is a
founder of Urban
Carnivore and previously a founder of
Barf World.
Brenda has a new web site coming soon with lots of information. To
get you started you can read the following articles written by Brenda
Hagel (reproduced here with written permission of Brenda Hagel):
