We use…”Bones and Raw Food” or “Biologically Appropriate Raw Food” B.A.R.F. for short, is in my opinion, a god send. (might want to get yourself a cup of tea at this point…lots of info to follow…am a bit passionate on this subject!)

Dogs are omnivorous, however, their digestive systems are more geared towards meat, veggies and not starches and sugar… (Like us humans…go figure.)  God didn’t invent apple pie…just apples which we then messed up with processed sugar and flour, etc.  Many of the allergies, behavior problems, bad breath, ear infections, bad teeth, etc. dogs have are attributed to inappropriate diets that have lots of corn, wheat, sugar, crude fat etc rather than natural foods and high protein. (its very much the same problem as American diets today…sugar, starches, fat with the attendant problems of diabetes, food allergies, etc)  So…there is a train of thought in the dog world…call it the Adkins/south Beach diet of the doggie universe, that believes that feeding our dogs their natural proclivity for raw meat, raw vegetables is the way to alleviate these relatively recent medical problems that began with the prominence of processed and canned dog food.  (This came about in the 1950’s and that’s when vets began to see the rise in diabetes, cancer, etc in our canines). 

Think of it this way…dogs are descendent from wolves…when is the last time you saw a wolf sitting around a campfire roasting corn and eating cooked meat?  Instead, they ate the sheep and the sheep’s innards which was filled with grass, clover and gave the wolf the nutrients it needed:  raw meat, bones and vegetable fiber!

Myth buster: RAW bones are NOT bad for dogs; in fact, they are an important part of their diet.  COOKED bones are the problem, cooked bones shatter and splinter because they are hardened and will perforate the dog’s stomach. Raw bones are soft, full of calcium, nutrient-rich bone marrow and are easily ground by the dog’s massive molars. Bunker and Boo get raw chicken legs, necks and backs.  For treats they get round bone shanks cut into 2” chunks.  They eat raw green peppers, slightly cooked sweet potatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, and strawberries, basically any vegetable/fruit we eat, they eat raw.  And they love it…

BARF has many positive impacts on the dogs:

1. Clean white teeth and sweet breath (no sour acid stomach so NO bad doggie breath)
2. NO ear infections, ever so again, no bad doggie smell
3. Clean, bright, Shiny coats that shed less and curl more keeping them healthier in winter and summer
4. Optimal weight…Bunker came to us at 130…he is now 107 and looks fabulous and feels much better
5. Much less dog waste to pickup…when you have two 100lb plus dogs to pick up after this is a major bonus!  The dogs digest just about everything that is fed to them…so very little comes back out…plus the dog waste turns white and then goes to dust because it is almost all protein…so if I don’t do my chore immediately…I don’t worry too much because its not a mess.
6. Clear bright eyes and less behavior problems because the dog feels better not suffering from itchy infections and allergies
7. Dogs are energetic and “puppy-like”
8. Dogs put on this diet have see dramatic reversals in diabetes, arthritis, infections, etc… because many of these conditions are cause by inappropriate diets.
9. Dogs may actually live longer because of the healthy diet

This is probably way more info than you wanted.  A good book on the subject:  “Give your Dog a Bone” by Ian Billinghurst.  The book is available on Amazon.com which also has a quite a few other books on the topic.  Two good websites to visit: 

http://www.touchmoon.com/dotters/raw/

http://www.auntjeni.com/barf

Negatives on B.A.R.F.:

1. Requires preparation. True: I don’t puree their veggies…I just cut them into chunks, I don’t grind their meat, I just divide into big bite size pieces and skin the meat… prep time for two dogs twice a day:  15 minutes each time. (we feed twice a day because we are gone so long and seems to alleviate hunger swings and a tendency to chew on things)  Each dog gets about 1 lb of meat and .5 -1. Of veggies at night and 1.b of meat only in the morning.  (two big chicken leg quarters skinned is about a lb of meat)
2. Humans who do not practice smart hygiene in the kitchen may have some problems with salmonella, just clean up with Clorox and wash the bowls out after every feeding and all is well…been doing this for four years and no problems yet
3. Ensuring doggies get right nutrient balance…our pups always get a multi-vitamin and are on glucosamine…that way I know they are getting their vitamins and mineral…Vet has given them thumbs up on their health for all four years.
4. Its expensive:  not true- may have to shop around and find a grocery store that sells big bags of chicken legs, quarter, or even necks and backs (lots of stores have these in the back)…we spend anywhere from 68 cents a pound for chicken to sometimes only 40 cents a pound when we find the chicken wholesale.  Veggies are negligible because you are buying that for yourself.  High end dog food can be anywhere from 1.10 to 1.30 a lb. 

I can’t stress enough what a difference this diet made in our dogs life and health.  Even Nutter, who had such a bad heart, was healthy in all other aspects. Vet thinks this diet may have even prolonged her life…all we know is that she was swimming and grinning up until the day she went to heaven…so…I will not change a thing for my two boys. 

Author’s disclaimer:  This article is NOT a recommendation for BARF.  It is a description of our choice.  You must make your own choices.