Let's see if we can answer some of the most commonly asked questions about feeding your pet a raw diet.
(1) Why is it often called a BARF diet (yuck!)? BARF is an acronym that stands for either Bones And Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. It's quick to say, memorable, and anyone concerned with pet nutrition will be familiar with it. (2) Aren't bones bad for dogs? Cooked bones can be very bad for dogs. Cooking makes them hard and brittle, causing them to splinter and become dangerous. Never feed your dog cooked bones. However, raw bones are very crunchable by both dogs and cats. Remember, Nature did not supply wolves and wild cats with fillet knives (or the thumbs to use them), but they do have powerful jaws filled with teeth designed to crush bones. Actually, chewing on raw bones (especially getting the meat off of a raw meaty bone) is Nature's own toothbrush. The chewing action, the enzymes in the raw meat, and the saliva produced to digest it all act together resulting in sparkling white teeth and fresh breath! (3) What about germs? Won't my pet get sick? Won't I? The world we live in is filled with germs. Bacteria like e. coli and salmonella are everywhere. In the dirt and grass in your yard or neighborhood, on floors and countertops, even in the fresh produce you bring home from the store. Fortunately for our pets, their digestive systems were designed to deal with all of these "bugs." Case in point, the average dog who's digestive tract is very short and very acidic. This allows quick, efficient processing of the raw meat-and-bones diet it was built to consume. Have you actually seen the disgusting, half-rotten mystery items your dog thinks are gourmet treats? Not to mention this is an animal that routinely finds snacks in the litter box and licks his own and everyone else's behind! A pet with a healthy immune system will not be sickened by everyday germs. He also will not be susceptible to the various internal and external parasites that plague some dogs and cats. Raw fed pets generally have the strongest immune systems they can have simply because their bodies are being fueled by the proper foods. As for the human caretaker(s) preparing the raw food for their pets, they simply need to follow the same safe food handling guidelines they follow when handling raw meat for their own meals. Wash hands and surfaces thoroughly and often. Do not allow raw meat to come in contact with other foods. If there are small children in the home, it's best to feed the pet in an enclosed area like a crate or a separate room (or outside) and be sure to clean surfaces before the child is allowed in that area. Common sense and soap and water will go a long way toward keeping everyone safe and healthy! (4) Can I combine kibble or canned food with raw food? Generally speaking, the answer is yes. But the follow-up is "Why would you want to?" The only "extra" ingredients your pet will receive from the kibble or canned food will be the huge amounts of grain (that will end up in the litterbox or backyard) and the over-processed or added-later vitamins, minerals, flavorings and other additives over which you have no control. When you hand your dog a piece of chicken, you know exactly what she is eating. It is very hard to decipher pet food labels, and even when you think you have a pretty good idea of what's inside, you can't really be sure. Several recent episodes of pet food recalls due to unexpected mold or other types of contamination are cause for concern. The toxins that have shown up in these contaminated foods are deadly to our pets because the ingredients in those foods are not a part of their natural diet. However, that being said, everyone has their own issues / lifestyles / tolerances and there are as many ways to feed a raw diet as there are owners and pets! Today, there are several premium grain-free pet foods on the market. They are tolerated with varying success by different dogs and cats, and they are certainly worth a try if your situation demands a compromise between the ease and availability of commercial pet foods and the many benefits of a raw diet. The addition of any raw ingredients to your dog or cat's diet is better than nothing at all! (5) I'm nervous about whole bones / my pet can't chew whole bones, can I grind the food? Yes, you can grind the food or use a pre-made ground food (frozen or freeze-dried) instead of or in addition to whole RMB's (Raw Meaty Bones). You will lose some of the "toothbrush" action involved in getting the meat off the bones and crunching them up, but if it's a choice of ground or no raw food at all, definitely go with the ground! Just don't under-estimate the ability of your pet! There are lots of old and/or nearly toothless pets who still manage to chew up bones. (6) Will my pet really eat raw meat and bones? From my own experience and observation, I would answer with a resounding YES! Dogs are easier to switch than cats, and younger pets are often easier than older ones, but it's usually just a matter of getting them to realize that (1) it is food, and (2) yes, they really are allowed to eat it! What I have observed is that the owners give up on it for various reasons (lack of time, lack of resources, "yuck" factor, lack of support from significant other / family / vet). You may very well find over time that your pet has likes and dislikes. My Italian Greyhounds are not too fond of rabbit, but my cats and my big dogs like it. One of the big girls does not care for turkey, and beef can be a little too rich for her and for one of the IG's. All of them will eat little frozen smelt like french fries, but they will not touch whole fresh fish! They are individuals and with a raw diet they have the opportunity to have a variety of things to try -- some they like, some they don't! (7) How much should I feed my pet? The best answer I've seen for this was referred to as the "Goldilocks Method." - If your pet is too fat, feed less. - If your pet is too thin, feed more. - If your pet is sleek and lean, it's just right! If you start with about 2% of your pet's ideal adult weight per day, you should see which way you need to go rather quickly. Keep in mind that it's usually a whole lot easier to put weight on than to take it off! For more detailed information see the How To... page OR follow some of the raw feeding links on the Links page. (8) Do I need to use supplements with a raw diet? A biologically appropriate raw diet should by it's very nature contain everything your pet needs. Of course, there are certain health conditions and hereditary problems that require modification of the diet. In these instances, it is recommended that you consult a vet who is knowledgeable in the health effects of various diets. Additional information can be found at these excellent sites: Dog Aware and B-Naturals. (9) Should I switch my pet gradually or all-at-once? For dogs, it can go either way. My dogs all switched "cold turkey" (BARFers just love using that term!!). One day they were on kibble, the next they were chewing up chickens -- no problems, never looked back. For some dogs, it may take a while for their (lazy) digestive systems to rev-up enough to handle raw meat and bones after years of kibble. It's kind of like taking a person who's been eating nothing but soup, or bread and water and suddenly feeding them steak and potatoes. The dogs also have to get the hang of really chewing their food. A piece of bone that's a bit too big may come back up. (Be patient, and try not to get grossed out -- your dog will likely re-eat that morsel and you will never see it again!). It helps to either hold on to one end of a meaty "part" so your dog has to chew off pieces. Or, if your dog is big and/or an aggressive eater, make sure the parts are cut way too big for him to swallow without chewing. Observe your dog very closely for the first several days to see if there are any issues, then adjust accordingly. Cats, unfortunately, are another story altogether! Many young cats (less than a year or two) will take to raw food like a fish to water. They seem to know instinctively that the chicken wing is food and they chew it right up without hesitation. However, some youngsters and most older cats are not that easily "fooled!" They are creatures of habit and that stuff you put in their bowl looks and smells nothing like what they've come to know as food. For them, you will probably have no choice but to switch them gradually (and creatively). You may need to mix canned cat food, canned fish, crumbled frozen or freeze-dried raw diets, or something enticing like Kitty Kaviar first on their kibble, then on a combination of kibble and raw ground RMB's, and finally on just meat and RMB's. You may also have to lightly sear the outer skin of a piece of chicken (usually the easiest meat for dogs and cats to start with) just enough to get some chicken aroma working. Cats really get used to the strong smell of manufactured foods and it's hard for them to understand that the almost odorless raw meat is food. It takes time to switch a cat to raw food -- weeks or even months. However, the change in a cat is even more dramatic than the change in a dog when it is switched from a kibble diet to a raw diet. Cats are obligate carnivores which means they need nothing but meat and bones in their diets. As is discussed in the Why Raw? section, manufactured foods are almost 60% grain -- bad for a dog, horrible for a cat! The change in coat, teeth, energy, and much less litterbox cleaning will be so dramatic for your cat, it will be well worth the effort in making the switch! (10) My pet is drinking less water since being on a raw diet. Should I be concerned? There is a whole lot more moisture in raw meat and bones than there is in kibble. Also, when food contains grain (which the dog or cat digestive system cannot digest) there is a need for a much greater intake of water in order to move that grain through the digestive system. Eliminate the grain and you eliminate that need. Replace dry kibble with moist raw meat and you also cut way down on the need for water. And guess what? If less goes in, less comes out! Your dog or cat will be using the moisture in the food more efficiently and will not have to pee as much either. (11) My raw-fed pet is pooping less and the stool is small, firm nuggets that turn white and powdery in a couple of days. Should I be concerned? No -- you should be elated!! This is one of the most "owner-friendly" side effects of a raw diet! All that undigested grain in your pet's food used to make for big (huge), soft, stinky piles in the backyard or in the (unbearable) litterbox. Now, your pet's diet consists of only ingredients that the animal's body can actually use! Therefore, almost everything gets digested. What is left is a little insoluble fiber (there will be more if you give your dogs fruits and veggies) and the excess calcium from the raw bones that the body does not need. This makes for firm, almost odorless, small nuggets that turn white and powder away to nothing in a few days! Please note: if your pet is struggling and obviously constipated, the diet has too much bone in it. Replace some of the RMB's with boneless meat until you reach a level where the problem goes away. For a more immediate fix, canned pumpkin can be fed. It is a wonderful, natural balancer that soothes both constipation and diarrhea. (12) Won't my dog choke on bones? Dogs choke on lots of things -- toys (or pieces of them), rawhide bones (or pieces of them), rocks, pieces of wood, pieces of carpet, socks -- the list is endless. People have been known to choke on pieces of hot dogs, sandwiches, popcorn and all kinds of "foreign objects." And, yes, it is possible for a dog to choke on a piece of raw bone. Most often, the offending bone will be coughed up, chewed and swallowed. Owners who are new to raw feeding watch their pets very carefully at every meal for quite a while before they trust their dog to thoroughly chew bones. That's a good thing! It reassures the owner, and it allows them to intervene or try something different if there is a problem (such as feeding larger pieces to ensure the dog must chew before swallowing). It's good to be aware of some of the harder types of bones. These include the leg bones of large mammals which must be very strong to support the animal's weight. Except for turkeys, poultry leg bones are not included in this. For some reason, turkeys seem to have unusually strong, hard bones in their legs, wings and necks -- perhaps because of the selective breeding done to produce Thanksgiving birds that are so meaty. Watch carefully if you feed your dog whole turkey bones. And of course, I will reiterate: never feed your dog cooked bones. (13) How often should I feed my pet? Adult dogs are usually fine with one meal per day, but it's completely up to the owner to decide how often and when to feed. Wolves or wild dogs do not have dinner waiting for them at the same time every day. Indeed, they will often go for several days without food. Their systems are very adaptable -- it is usually the humans who create the unnatural condition of a dog waiting impatiently to be fed, pestering the owner until they give in. My own dogs eat once a day, at whatever time it is when I feed them! Some folks routinely fast their dogs once a week or so. It won't hurt the dogs and it may be beneficial to them (and more natural) to have a break like that. Others have always fed their dogs twice a day and they continue this schedule when they switch to a raw diet. Nothing wrong with that! Whatever works is good! Puppies need to be fed much more frequently. They need a more constant source of fuel to their rapidly-growing bodies. Four meals per day at weaning gradually reduced in number over the first year is quite common. Usually, the puppy will tell you when it's time to eliminate a meal -- she will consistently ignore it! Some small breeds of dogs have very high energy needs and do best on two meals per day. I must say, however, that my two Italian Greyhounds are small and very high energy, but have no problem consuming everything they need in one daily meal. Cats seem to do better with two meals per day. Perhaps their ancestors did most of their hunting at dawn and dusk. At any rate, our domestic cats do not seem to gorge and fast the way their much larger wild cousins such as tigers, lions and cheetahs do. It is best to leave your cat's food out for a set amount of time (say 20 minutes) twice per day. If the cat does not eat at those times, too bad. Put the food in the 'fridge and by the next feeding time, kitty will probably be ready for a meal. Of course, if it doesn't bother you, go ahead and bring the food out every time the cat asks for it! Sometimes the animals adapt, sometimes we do! (14) Can I thaw raw food in the microwave? It is best not to use the microwave to thaw RMB's. Microwaves cook so quickly and thoroughly that it is easy to accidentally cook the meat to a point where much of the nutritional value is gone, and to get the bones to that dangerous brittle state. Better to thaw frozen foods in the 'fridge or in a sealed container on the counter. If needed, put the container under hot water to thaw faster. One more thing to keep in mind is that many dogs are quite happy eating frozen or semi-frozen food! Cats gererally want their food at room temperature, and small dogs may not care for cold food either. (15) If I feed my dog raw meat, won't it bring out a blood lust desire to kill? No. Your dog could be eating a chicken wing while a flock of chickens wanders nearby and she will never make the connection between the two! What makes a dog chase things (small animals, balls, screaming kids) is their prey drive (hunting instinct). It is prompted by the movement and sound of whatever they are chasing. In a wolf pack, this hunting behavior only happens when the pack leader allows it. If your dog (raw fed or not) chases things it shouldn't, perhaps you need to work with a trainer to learn how to become that pack leader! (16) Can my dog be allergic to BARF? Most food allergies in dogs are caused by the grains and other non-meat ingredients found in commercial kibble, canned food, and treats like biscuits, rawhide, and the green teeth-cleaning chews. These ingredients can cause problems such as ear infections, recurring UTIs, hot spots and itchy skin. It may take some time to start seeing changes in these areas after your pet starts a raw diet. Also, in the case of bacterial or yeast infections, the animal may need one more treatment from the vet to eliminate the problem after you've eliminated the underlying cause (poor food). Actual allergies to meat are very rare. If your pet vomits or has diarrhea following a meal of a particular meat, the meat may be a little too rich for them. This happens quite often with beef and pork and is also a consequence of too much organ meat (liver or kidney) at one time. Reducing the quantity fed at one meal can help. Also, it is not unusual for such a sensitivity to beef or pork to decrease with repeated exposure. It seems the animal's body just needs to learn how to process that particular protein. (17) My vet says raw diets are dangerous / complicated / bad. There are a couple of things to keep in mind here. One is that just as human GPs are not experts in human nutrition, most vets are not experts in animal nutrition. Second, most veterinary training schools get a majority of their funding from pet food manufacturers, therefore, the curriculum is geared toward the idea that manufactured pet food is the best there is. This continues after the vets open their practice and the manufacturers pay them to stock certain brands of pet food in the clinic, giving clients the impression that this must be the best food since the vet sells it, when in fact it's just an economics thing. Unless a vet student makes a determined effort to specialize in nutrition, they generally get just a few hours of training on the subject. It's not their fault, it's just the way it is. Perhaps in the future, both human and animal doctors will appreciate the fact that nutrition is an integral and monumentally important aspect of overall health. They will learn that without proper nutrition, nothing else can function at optimum levels. Right now the bottom line is that most vets know next to nothing about how or why to feed a raw diet. That will likely change as they see more and more incredibly healthy raw-fed patients. | |