Yes, I know the thread title looks like an invitation to Anorexics Anonymous. But I'm referring to the Bones And Raw Food / Biologically Adjusted Raw Food diet for dogs.
I'm thinking of experimenting with this stuff for my French bulldog/pug mix. She suffers from an allergy and the vet recommended a poultry-only diet. I bought chicken/turkey dog food, but her toes still swelled up and exploded.
I realised so-called Truthahn/Huhn dog food contains only 4% poultry and the rest is presumably slaughterhouse sweepings. So I purchased a pack of 100% Geflugel 'BARF and More'.
But Internet research threw up (see what I did there?) some strong opinions against. Not least as it contains bones.
Does anyone have experiences, especially with smaller dogs? I plan a combination of dry kibble and BARF (God, I feel queasy just typing that), simply to ensure she consumes 95% poultry.
My vet told me that dogs who hadn't been used to eating bones from puppyhood could get terribly sick with them, from extreme constipation to awful runs, including bowel blockage because of little pieces of bones.
I would be very careful and ask for a vet's advice before trying it.
We have a pug who has exactly the same issue. (Interdigital cysts) They are horrible as they sometimes swell really big and do sometimes open and weep. He also gets (More rarely) scabby sores on his head and his fold is quite dry. We took him to a specialist vet in Lucern, who diagnosed, also an allergy. He took blood samples to find exactly what type of allergy and after concluded it was an allergy to dust mites. We now have two options, either treat with steroids for the rest of his life, which will cause damage to his kidneys/liver etc or live with the cysts, that seem to come and go. Nothing we can do about dust mites, as these can be anywhere. Let me know how the diet goes, but be aware that any changes will take at least 6-8 weeks to become apparent. (According to my vet) Good luck to you.
I've looked into it, but ultimately decided it would be wrong for my dogs, and I was uncomfortable with the risks. But I know plenty of people who do feed raw, and are happy with the results.
If you do give it a go, be sure you research the nutrition thoroughly .
Hello! I have fed 5 dogs on a raw diet with success, of course you would have to introduce the diet slowly. I am a vegetarian, feed me an egg or a steak and guess what? you would find me in the bathroom too!!!
I presently own a toy poodle who does great on a combination diet , she is 12yrs old and has perfect teeth! She still plays with other dogs and i keep her in a puppy cut, everyone is surprise when i tell them she is 12.. My other dogs past away from cancers(5yrs.old,rottweiler & 8yrs.min.sch), heart failure(13,whippet) & bloat at 4yrs.old(great pyr.). All of them came from kibble fed parents but the older one. She came from a raw breeder and had bad genetic of heart murmur which we notice when she was 3.
I was a pet groomer for 15yrs and worked for a vet. 3 of those yrs. HE once told me "if i feed this diet i will never need a vet" and he has been right. He would never tell people that because there is always the liability side of this. And they make SO much more money selling there food, the animals get sick, allergies, diabetes ,ears infections, teeth problem ect...the vet. cashes in!! its a big business!
Kibbles are much faster and easier and this his the society we are in...Study the diet first, inform yourself. Even thou its a good diet, its could easily be dangerous to feed your animal too much muscle meat or only tripe.
I hope it helps make your decision..i also raised 2 kids in the middle of all this, my youngest crawling and finding old bones here and there. They are still alive and never had e-coli or salmonella LOL
Very helpful comments, thank you. Yes, I already checked previous EF threads, and also with with my vet. His view is that a combination of raw food and her usual diet (kibble, rice) shouldn't be a problem. He also used to have pugs so is tuned into their specific problems.
Nick, that's exactly what she gets - interdigital cysts - and they're a real problem for such an active dog.
I've decided to give BARF a go, introducing it slowly, (I take your point MeĢlusine) and making absolutely sure I pick up all the poop to avoid risk of salmonella to others.
Julieyogini, I think you're right about the commercial side of animal food. Bit like humans I guess. Is it good for you? No. Can we make a profit? Yes. Bring it on!
I'll give it a month and report back. In the meantime, hope your little pug fella improves, Nick, whatever you decide.