The B.A.R.F. Diet

Diet is the building block of health.

We all know this fact.  We have been told since we were small children that good nutrition is important and will help us to stay healthy.  Fresh food with lots of proteins, vitamins, minerals, calcium, disease fighting elements, etc. are all important ingredients in our diet.  Our bodies need these things to keep strong, build the immune system and keep it healthy to fight off colds and more serious ailments. Makes sense.

Does this same principle not apply to our pets?  A dog is a natural scavenger and so would satisfy their dietary needs in several ways, if THEY  controlled their eating habits.  I live in an area that has a good coyote population and I find it very interesting to watch how the coyotes balance their diet in the wild.  First they live near the rivers and streams, thus giving them a good menu of wild ducks and geese to feed on.  They eat ALL of these birds, except for the feathers.  So they are providing a fresh meat source for protein, with bones  for needed calcium, organ meat for the many minerals and vitamins necessary for good health AND the herbivore stomach contents of the birds provide necessary plant and vegetation nutrients.  Second, they hunt the small rodents and critters that live in the area.  Third, they will also eat grasses and berries and whatever else they can scrounge, to provide themselves with a wide range of different foods.  This is a healthy bunch of coyotes, with good coats and strong bodies, so they must be doing something right.  Despite what we might be told, genetically there is very little difference between our backyard companion and their wild coyote cousins, and as such their dietary needs are also similar.  The benefit our dogs have is that we are here to help them achieve health through proper nutrition and they don't have to eat whatever they can scrounge for themselves.

If we agree that proper nutrition is as important for our animals, as it is for ourselves, and that access to fresh sources of nutrients is vital, then why are we feeding them cooked, processed, dried, chemical and preservative laced commercial products?  Don't get me wrong.  For many many years I checked out brand after brand of commercial dry and canned dog food, looking for the perfect one. I read labels and educated myself on which ones were better than others. I felt like I was doing everything I could to provide the best diet for my animals.

Slowly the realization came that what I was trying to find was the best quality ingredients, the best combination of nutrients, and the proper sources of those foods.  What I was finding was unknown food quality from unknown food sources that were rendered until all potential nutrition was gone, loaded with fillers (rice, corn, cheap grain products, and yes even sawdust)  to make the product cheaper to produce, preservatives to make it safe to sit on the shelf for months (how long will fresh meat last in your cupboard?), artificial nutrients to make it healthy AND artificial flavourings to make it palatable to the dogs.  How gross!!!!  Now I have nothing against eating processed foods BUT would I feed my kids a diet exclusively made up of hotdogs?  Not if I wanted them to be healthy long term.  As consumer awareness to this issue grows, many pet food companies have begun promoting "natural" foods.  If you read labels, these products contain many of the items that I have mentioned as being necessary to the health of dogs.  However, the bottom line is that WHAT you do with those ingredients is just as important as the ingredients themselves.  Taking a chicken carcass and rendering it until there is nothing left but a boiled broth - and then basing your food product on that (and don't forget all the preservatives to give it a long shelf life) certainly isn't as healthy as eating the fresh chicken.  We as humans cannot consume fresh raw meat without worrying about parasites, bacteria and contamination.  Dogs however, have the benefit of a stomach with a much different pH level.  This and their ability to process food more quickly, gives them little concern over issues like salmonella and e.coli.  Both of these bacteria are found everywhere in our environment.  Because they are found in relatively small quantities and we practise proper hygiene and hand washing methods, we rarely get sick from them.  The same applies when we feed our pets.  When we handle raw meat, we wash our hands and all surfaces with hot soapy water.  I have been told by critics that our pets COULD possibly have these bacteria in their feces, thus creating a health hazard to humans.  Well, I don't know about everyone else but I don't handle dog poop with my bare hands or put it in my mouth.  And for more trivia; many brands of commercial dog food, dog treats, and raw hide chews have tested positive for salmonella.  You shouldn't handle those without washing your hands afterwards either.  Bottom line is that our pets have just as much of a chance of ingesting these bacteria from their environment and commercial food/treats, as they do from eating their food raw.  Proper storage and cleanliness keeps us humans safe too.

The B.A.R.F. Diet (Bones and Raw Food OR Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) is simply taking all the necessary elements in a good canine diet, feeding them from reliable, quality sources and controlling what is fed.  Many natural dog food manufacturing companies are now cropping up around North America.  These companies provide fresh meat with bone ground-in products that can be frozen and served - to make your quest for the right food easier. Many owners/breeders choose to find their own sources (ie; local butcher, area farms and ranches) for their food and/or use the local grocery store to supplement.  It is possible to make feeding raw as easy to manage or time consuming as you want.  Many people grind their own fruit/veggies to add to the diet.  You can also buy these mixtures from the numerous natural dog food companies, if grinding food is not something that appeals to you.

The diet is roughly based upon a 80% raw meat/bones (any kind of protein source: fish, poultry, beef, ostrich, lamb etc.), 20% fruit/veggies (must be pureed to allow for proper digestion of nutrients), with added organ meat, eggs and maybe a few supplements.  It is balanced over the course of a two week period, rather than on a daily basis.  A great thing about this type of feeding is that you can fine tune and change the diet to meet the individual needs of each pet.  Older dogs might do better on a diet that has a 50%-50% meat to veggie ratio.  If your dog has food allergies (and these are very common now) you can work the diet around these concerns.  And IT IS EASY!  For more information on feeding a raw diet, check out some of the website links on our web page and/or search the many many other websites out there on the subject. 

Cheryl