Raw deal? Some feed their pets uncooked diet

Maximillian — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:07:15 +0000

BARF.
It’s what’s for dinner. Your dog’s dinner, that is. The acronym stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, which is not so much a diet as it is a movement among pet owners who believe their pets will benefit from eating the same kinds of food their furry ancestors gobbled: bones, raw meats and veggies. Just as a raw food trend has turned more mainstream among people, a small but vocal community of pet owners is using the same quality ingredients they buy for themselves to create homemade raw meals for their critters.

But most veterinarians are wary about the trend toward raw food, or even meals that are cooked, but homemade. The idea of feeding pets raw meat, which has the potential to be contaminated with salmonella or E. coli bacteria, or a home-cooked meal that may not be properly balanced, gives them the shudders. “So many of these people are just trying to make their pets happy and have no concept of nutrition,” says Dr. Patty Khuly, who practices in Miami.

Although no studies have been conducted to assess the benefits of a raw food diet for cats and dogs, believers in the raw pet food movement say the evidence speaks for itself: Their pets have shinier coats, stronger teeth, fewer ear infections and improved weight control.

Bob Kurtz, who was already feeding his retrievers a high-quality dry food, recently turned to a commercial raw diet to solve a young Labrador’s skin allergies.

“Since switching to raw, we have found several major benefits,” he says. “Our dogs’ weights have stabilized perfectly. They now rarely change weight by more than a pound between checkups. They are lean and muscular, with coats that are even more beautiful and glossy than before. The ground bone in the diet does a great job of scouring their teeth, and all signs of plaque and tartar buildup have disappeared.”

Should I Feed my Dog BARF?

Contributor — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:30:34 +0000

BARF stands for Bones and Raw Food. It is a diet for dogs that has received a lot of attention over the past few years, but should you feed it to your dogs?

The BARF feeding regimen actually consists of throwing a raw carcass (usually chicken) to your dog and letting him eat it bones and all. The thinking behind this concept is that dogs used to eat raw food like this for thousands of years in the wild. Many are praising the multitude of benefits that the BARF diet provides.

The problem that I have with the BARF diet is that dogs have also been domesticated for thousands of years. They have not had to feed themselves in packs such as wolves and coyotes do for a long time because of the relationships that they have established with man. Man has traditionally fed their dogs leftover scraps from dinner that has been cooked long before the commercialization of bagged dog food.

Dog’s bodies have adapted over time to a convenient lifestyle of being given cooked foods. Today’s dogs can get Salmonella and E. coli poisoning it’s just that they are more resistant to these bacteria than their human counterparts. However, the corn and wheat that are added to bagged dog food have not ever been a source of a dog’s natural diet in history. These ingredients can be triggers for allergies and other ailments.

If you decide that the BARF diet is right for your dog please take caution. Dogs that have weakened immune systems will be much more likely to become ill when eating raw meat. Try to find raw meat that is fresh and comes from a source that you can trust. Also small fragments of bone can be swallowed and their sharp ends can pierce the stomach or intestinal walls. Too much bone may also cause constipation.

Dog Hospital » raw food

Raw deal? Some feed their pets uncooked diet

Should I Feed my Dog BARF?