Dragon and his BARF diet

What does BARF involve?

The principles of this diet are basically simple – we mimic the natural diet of our dogs' wild ancestors. By providing meat, meaty bones, vegetables and fruit in raw form. Dragon, as a puppy, received one of the dry kibbles available on the market. One day, he decided he wouldn't eat it anymore, so I bought a bag of a different one. To make it more appealing to him, I added salmon oil and other things to his bowl. One day, an article about the BARF diet came into my hands. I completely stopped giving dry kibble and started feeding raw meat. From that point on, his bowl is always licked clean :). In this diet, it is very important that the food is varied, without the addition of carbohydrates like cereal or pasta. The more types of meat and offal, the better. We cannot feed our dog turkey or beef all the time. Personally, I believe this is a great way to feed our four-legged friends. I use it myself, although it requires quite a bit of effort from me.

Advantages of the BARF diet

• shiny coat
• no unpleasant odour from the mouth
• lower costs!
• significantly smaller stools
• excellent condition
• bowl always empty
• cleaner teeth
• less frequent worming
• no grain products
• very good source of protein

We provide our dog with the freshest ingredients, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. A dog, consuming raw meat, gets enzymes, antioxidants and bacteria necessary for the proper functioning of the body. When buying meat from a reliable source, I am certain that it is healthy, free of chemicals, unprocessed and without grain products, and above all, I know what I am feeding. In the case of, for example, dry kibble, I have to trust the manufacturer that what is written in the composition actually is in the dry kibble.

Disadvantages of the BARF diet

• it is not as convenient as pouring kibble into a bowl
• to follow this diet, we first need to educate ourselves a bit on the subject
• depending on the size of the dog, it is worth having a fairly large freezer
• it takes significantly more time than buying a bag of dry kibble

Dragon's menu

The basis of Dragon's diet, that is the BARF diet, is practically every type of meat: turkey, beef, veal, game, lamb, mutton, goat, horse, goose, duck, rabbit, guinea fowl, salmon, etc. He also receives, but definitely in smaller quantities, offal of various animal species: liver, kidneys, spleen, thymus, brains, heart, with the exception of pork offal. Offal contains large amounts of vitamins including vitamins A, C, E, D, K, B vitamins, especially B1, B2, B3, B5, B12 and folic acid, biotin, selenium, zinc. Bones are also part of the diet, but they must be meaty bones, not bare ones. His diet often includes duck legs, turkey neck, calf tail, calf cartilage. BARF also includes vegetables and fruit, but in my dog's diet they are served sporadically.

Difficult beginnings

The beginning of following this diet was not simple for me. I had to balance each meal properly. The right amount of meat to the right amount of bone to maintain the correct ratio of calcium to phosphorus. I didn't always succeed. In this diet, which I didn't know about at first, it is also important to provide the right amount of fat, otherwise urea can come out of its normal range in tests. That happened to us. However, a change in diet, which involved increasing the addition of fat to the meal, led to the normalisation of urea.

I believe that regardless of what we feed our dog, it is worth doing blood tests for our pets once a year or once every six months. Then we can be sure that nothing is going wrong.

Currently, there is a lot of literature on this subject on the market. Personally, I can recommend the book by Małgorzata Olejnik "Pies na diecie Barf" published by Helion. There are also calculators that will help you compose a meal so that it is well-balanced.

Nutritional dose

In the case of this diet, it is not the same as when feeding dry kibble. We know the specific amount of kibble that should be given to a dog and we pour it into the bowl. In the BARF diet, there is no predetermined division of how much of what to give. The daily nutritional dose is on average 2 to 4% of the expected weight of an adult dog. We will feed puppies differently, an older dog differently, or an active dog differently than a couch potato. Dragon is a German Shepherd, according to the breed standard he can weigh 43 kg. If I were to relate this to that weight, he should receive 1.30 kg of meat daily. In my dog's case, this is far too much and after a while he would become obese. Therefore, when choosing the right portion, we must observe our pet. If the amount of food provided causes our dog to lose weight, then we increase the percentage. If, on the other hand, he gains weight, we reduce it. It also depends on the breed and activity level of the dog. Currently, Dragon weighs 37 kg and receives about 500g of meat once a day, so it is less than the average percentage. In the BARF diet, it is assumed that 50% is meat, offal 20%, bones 15%, vegetables 10% and fruit 5%. Various additional supplements can also be added, such as algae, yeast, MSM, milk thistle, salmon oil, egg yolk, cleaver, yeast. It all depends on what the dog needs. Of the supplements that I gave my dog, it was primarily salmon oil, algae and MSM. MSM is nothing other than a biogenic sulphur compound, which has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. It also affects the regeneration of cartilage tissue in the joint, supports the immune system, alleviates reflux and food allergy symptoms. It also contributes to improved skin and coat condition. Honestly, I never paid that much attention to these percentages. I prepare the meal by eye, observing Dragon. Because who, if not the owner, knows their dog so well?

Sourcing meat!

At the beginning of my journey, I bought meat from an ordinary butcher's shop, but it turned out to be very expensive. Later, I found a company from which I bought ready-made frozen mixes for a while. After some time, my dog no longer wanted to eat it. The fact is, that often the meat after thawing was terribly dry. One day, I threw some pieces of regular shop-bought beef into the bowl with the ready-made mix. To my surprise, the beef was eaten, and the rest remained in the bowl. From that point on, I buy and prepare the food myself. The prices for ready-made mixes were lower than meat from the shop, but it still added up. I started reading, checking and searching. Group purchases on Facebook worked brilliantly, with a group of people feeding their dogs BARF. I remember when, together with a friend, under cover of night, that is around two in the morning, we were re-packaging meat from her car boot into mine. Only because the abattoir had a delay :). Unfortunately, when buying fresh meat yourself, you need to portion it quickly, pack it in small bags and into the freezer. I won't deny it, it requires some time and dedication. But we do a lot for our beloved dog. Recently I found a nice company dealing with BARF. I order from them, and the courier delivers me ready-made, frozen, various types of meat and offal to my door. Price-wise it is much less, on average I pay around 120 to 150 PLN per month for a dog weighing 37 kg.