CindyandThunder

I found the bulk of the article to be cons and would encourage people to read the following as well (for a more "pro" point of view) BARF "How To" and Pictoral Barf FAQs Another BARF FAQ More Info on BARF Dr Ian Billinghurst's Page Dr. Tom Lonsdale's RMB Page Just Food For Thouhgt (pardon the pun) Cindy

No surprise here - I'm a BARF advocate. But I must say that you should not just "Feed the dog a bone" -- in order to do the diet correctly, please read as much as you can on natural, home prepared meal plans. 1. Give Your Dog a Bone -- Ian Billinghurst, DVM 2. Grow your Pup With Bones -- Ian Billinghurst, DVM 3. The Ultimate Diet -- Kymythy Schultz 4. Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats -- Richard H. Pitcairn, Susan Hubble Pitcairn 5. The Nature of Animal Healing : The Definitive Holistic Medicine Guide to Caring for Your Dog and Cat -- Martin Goldstein D.V.M. 6. Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog -- Wendy Volhard, Kerry L. Brown Search on the internet for information (both pros and cons) to this way of feeding. Its not without risk. Yes, a dog could get salmonella or e-coli from raw meat. THey could also get it from licking their anus or eating poop. The dog's digestive tract is very short and the digestive enzymes are very strong. Things that woudl kill a human don't even phase a dog. I buy my meats from a wholesaler -- $.29 / lb for chicken backs/necks. This is teh staple here. Thunder eats about 1.5 lbs of raw meaty bones per day. He also gets a few "meatballs" - ground beef mixed with ground veggies and his supplements. (glucosomine+chondroiton; vit c; CoQ10; Vit E; EFA). I also give him chicken livers and other offal 3x per week. I've been feeding this way for 2.5 years with nothing but success. I know people who have been feeding this way for 20 years with success. Again, its not without risk. You have to weigh the risks vs. the benefits and for me, the benefits outweigh the potential risks. Thunder's been fine; I've been fine. I spend about 1 hour and $7 per week to get Thunder's food for the week ready. In the early days it was more because I weighed all the meats and really took my time. Now, its easy breezy - takes no time at all A raw diet is not for everyone. If you're interested in a home prepared diet but not raw, try the Pitcairn recipes. They are cooked and come highly recommended. Volhard and Pitcairn are cooked diets. They also offer things to add to kibble to make it more nutritious. I hope this helps some! Cindy

I'm so sorry for your loss. What a tragic accident

Thunder Showtime Thunder Sire: Show or Go; GrandSire - Lana; Grand Dam - Solo Mia Dam: See Amsterdam; GrandSire - Dutch Bahama ; Grand Dam - Miss Dreamboat I know there are gazillion of DB grandbabies out there but what about his other relatives??? Anyone have a Miss Dreamboat grandbaby???

I'm not sure if I'm still supposed to reply here but... Thunder - Showtime Thunder - 6-94 White and Red Male. Raced in IA and WI (DL and GL). Retired in 1999 I have litter info at home THe only tattoo I remember is 64C CIndy

Quote: wonderful while it is cooking but doesn't have much in the way of flavor. I mix it with some science diet adult maintanance and she is thriving on it! It takes a couple of hours to make a pot of grewl but is much cheaper than kibble per lb and has NO colors, preservatives or by products. I am not trying to 'start' anythign but the SD you're feeding has chemical preservatives, by-products, and no meat!!!! From the SD web-site (http://www.sciencediet.com/adultdog/caorigdry.asp) for their Adult Dry food: Dry: Corn meal, chicken by-product meal, soybean meal, animal fat (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), natural flavor, vegetable oil, dried egg product, flaxseed, preserved with BHT and BHA, beta-carotene, minerals (salt, calcium carbonate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), vitamins (choline chloride, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, ascorbic acid (a source of vitamin C), niacin, thiamine, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement).

Thanks for the link!!!! That's the one I've been lookign for!!!!!! You saved my sanity! :lol :lol

I recenlty read an article about this but am not too familiar with it. I bet there are some really good on-line articles that talk about it. If I find any, I'll share them

Quote: Around here, the only "quality/more expensive" brands I see are Iams, ProPlan, Science Diet, Nutro, and a few others ... YUK SD is not high quality. Its (in my humble opinion only) the worst food available. Just read the label and you'll see! I find many quality foods at several non-chain pet food stores in Madison, WI. (Animart and Noah's Ark for anyone around here). You can go to the web-site in teh opening post of this thread and find each food's web-site ... all of the sites have "Store Locator" functions. I know that Nature's Recipe is sold at PetsMart (again, I only recommend the group specific formula). Don't forget to ask the store if they can carry a food -- many of the smaller stores will be happy to oblidge! It can also be ordered factory direct from many companies and shipped right to your door! There is a web-site to comapre/purchase many of the higher end foods (including IVD) but I can't remember what it is! I've been wracking my brain to find it but can't ??? Maybe someone knows what the heck I'm talking about and can help!!! Cindy

Hi "My Rottie" A few of us here feed BARF to our greys -- I've been feeding Thunder BARF for almost 2 years now and he's done really well on it I agree that Wellness is a great food. I also recommend Innova, CA Natural, Nature's Recipe (Group Specific Formula only), Solid Gold, Pinnacle, Precise Sensicare (not Foundation), Canidea, and a few others that I'm forgetting. Anyhow, welcome Cindy and Thunder And Clint (the foster)