Ever Heard of the BARF Diet?

By: Deirdre Elvis-Peterson, Owner/President - http://www.passion4pets.net/

My life as a dog owner started when I was in college. I always wanted a dog since I was a child but was never able to have one. So when I moved out and got my first apartment the search was on for a pooch. I headed to the pound in Prince George’s County and found my future companion on my first visit. I’d always wanted a cocker spaniel and the one I saw in the cage was MY perfect choice.

She had the biggest brown eyes and of course, unfortunately, the docked tail. But she was adorable. So I started the process. I cleaned my house like crazy for the home inspection. I read all these books about dog care and made sure no wires were on the ground for the home inspection. The inspector came and spent a few minutes with me asked a few questions and was satisfied. I was so excited. Her name would be DIVA. I liked that name due to its use by the sisters on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Later we would find that this name was quite appropriate for her. Boy was she a Diva!

Ironically when I went to pick her up at the pound there was a lady there. And she advised me not to feed my dog commercial dog food. That it “kills animals”. Being ignorant about the feeding aspect of dog care at that time and probably as a victim of the pet food advertising industry, I thought – “Surely this lady can’t be correct. Why would they [pet stores/veterinarians] sell something that is harmful to my pet? Why would people feed their dogs this stuff if it were detrimental to their health?” All those questions led me to believe that the store bought, processed food was the best for my poochie. So she ate Science Diet for all of her life.

At the age of ten years she developed SARD (Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration). This was a hard blow, for her humans. Diva was always so active up to this point. In fact she hid it from us well as she knew the layout of our apartment and the four flights of stairs to go out and go up VERY well. We didn’t realize anything was wrong until we moved to a new apartment. She was hesitant going up the stairs – “It must be the dark hallway”, I thought. Then one night I realized she just was not seeing at all. Animals really do adapt to changes in their bodies quite quickly- another lesson learned. So with the diagnosis we got her some toys that were noisy she could track them very well. She would bound down the hallway after them – and she was her puppy self again.

Our next move came a year later. We finally bought a house with a yard. Unfortunately Diva didn’t have much use for the yard. We had a newborn and we were very busy. Diva’s care shifted to my husband and baby care to me. I noticed through the summer and winter that her coat was not growing very long. Her coat always grew so much so that it HAD to be trimmed or she’d look like a fluffy mess. She developed a skin irritation, which was diagnosed as a yeast infection. I’d later learn that skin irritations are a precursor/sign of potentially worse internal malfunctions- something the vet never mentioned. We got through the yeast infection with prescription medications. A few months later I thought Diva deserved a teeth cleaning. When I took her to the vet that morning they said due to her age (eleven now) she would need a blood workup to make sure she could handle the procedure. A feeling of foreboding overcame me – I can’t quite explain it. That day I had a local conference and while there my cell phone rang and the vet’s number was displayed – more foreboding – I was informed that my girl was experiencing kidney failure. Months earlier my cousin’s puppy was diagnosed with this because he’d been fed chocolate chip cookie dough by the dog walker’s nephew while in her care. He was put down as a result. I fell apart and called my cousin – she was my roommate when we adopted Diva. Despite Diva’s age this was terrible news.

She lived a month and a half with the degenerating condition – she finally started to vomit and couldn’t hold anything down and was extremely weak. I finally had to make the most difficult decision in my life and allow Diva’s suffering to end. We took her to the vet and she was put to rest on March 7, 2006 – She was 11 years old. We went home to a quiet house. I never realized how much noise those dog tags made. It was drop dead silent. It was driving me crazy.

I made the decision that we had to get another dog. I was missing all the dog things I’d done for the past 11 years…the walks, the talks, the grooming. We went to the Humane Society in Baltimore County and found a spaniel mix (probably lab). She was all black with a spot of white on her chest and chin and age 7-months, too cute. Her name would be Raven. She was our choice. Picking her up was tough – it was too soon. But I’d made my decision. So she came home with us on March 21^st.

I wanted to be more educated about dog care this time so upon surfing the Internet, I found a site for a dog trainer/breeder. This site informed me that we needed to be pack leaders. Further investigation of the site revealed that this trainer/breeder has trained shutzhunds for years and he only feeds them BARF – Bones and Raw Food. “BARF?” I thought, “That sounds disgusting” - But why? Before domesticating, dogs and wolves hunted for their food. They killed animals grazed on grass and ate what their bodies needed to survive. In fact dogs still graze on grass as you may notice in your own pet.

The BARF diet is not only for dogs but also for cats. We started Raven on the BARF diet and I have NEVER seen a dog so excited about her food in my life. Observe your dog. Do they get so excited they can’t contain themselves when you serve them commercial dog food? Do they act like the dogs on the TV ads when you put the bowl down? OR do they sit nicely and begin eating when you say “O.K.”. Do they munch the kibble as though it’s a chore? Well Raven could barely contain herself. We had to tell her to sit several times. Whenever the bowl got near the ground her hind would raise. Eventually she realized she needed to calm down or she would not get her food anytime soon. As soon as the bowl hit the ground she lunged into it and grabbed the chicken leg quarter.

By now we’d acquired a second dog Orion (Border Collie). He was sickly so being a BARF novice we thought he should stick to the prescription diets. We’d later find we were wrong. As Raven chomped down on the chicken leg quarter, Orion’s nose was sniffing like crazy as if to say, “Goodness what does she have over there?” We had their crates separated by a couch and he’d peek behind the couch to try and get a glimpse at what smelled so good. I thought, “maybe he should eat it too? But the vets said the Z-D is best for him”. A few weeks later we decided to try Orion on BARF. Prior to this he’d had severe diarrhea, since we acquired him in April. Do you know the next day Orion had solid stools. Oh my God, I was amazed and absolutely SOLD on BARF. Later we’d find that Orion was too sick to have just BARF save him. But he had solid stools for a month or so and then his illness took over.

But, to this day, Raven finds it hard to calm down when it is time for her breakfast and dinner. This is how a dog should greet their food. And we love it. She gained TEN pounds in two months on the commercial dog food. She looked like a lump. On BARF she’s trim and fit, as a dog should be. And guess what? Their urine won’t stain your lawn anymore and their feces do not emit a foul odor. I would and I do recommend BARF to everyone with a pet. It has to be what’s best because it’s natural.