So began the changeover in food....

For the first couple of weeks on B.A.R.F., the dogs' would happily gobble their food...and then promptly throw it back up, their coats began to become very dull, and dandruffy...nd although, the dogs loved their new food, I was very close in changing back to kibble.  Thankfully, I stuck with it!  I can only compare kibble with those pre-packaged pasta dinners (Kraft Dinners, etc.)...it would be like US eating Kraft Dinner for years, and then suddenly switch over to a diet, rich in veggies, vitamins, fresh food, and raw meat.  I contacted several B.A.R.F. experts, who assured me that although my dogs were throwing up, etc, this was quite normal detoxification.

Although I notice that B.A.R.F. fed puppies mature a bit slower...they all grow into their genetically pre-disposed size at adulthood, with less growing pain problems (pano, limps, etc).  

A B.A.R.F. fed Rottweiler...

DONNIE (left) at 7-weeks old, and right, winning a Group 2nd at 15-months old!

A natural raw diet has been shown in many cases to eliminate MANY dogfood-related problems such as: 

• Problems with anal glands 
• Skin problems 
• Allergy problems 
• Weight problems 
• Stinky Dog Breath

You are not feeding your dog the artificial preservatives and colors contained in many dog foods. 

• The raw diet does not expand, and stay in the gut as dry kibble can. 
• Palatability is excellent. 
• There are no rancid or questionable fats. 
• Dogs who "wolf" their food SLOW DOWN. 
• Picky eaters SPEED UP. 
• Condition of dogs on a proper BARF (Bones and Raw Food) diet is amazing. Muscle mass, coat condition, energy levels, are all greatly improved on a raw diet. 
• Dogs on a BARF diet do not require veterinary dental care. The chicken bones and the larger knuckle bones clean the teeth and stimulate the gums naturally. 
• I also find my personal dogs more relaxed and happier on this diet. They get to spend a much larger amount of time processing with their jaws natural food items. This obviously is very mentally satisfying to the dogs. 
• WHITE Teeth
• No foul smelling poop, and the poop turns white after a couple of days, and disintegrates, because of the calcium and phospherus.
• B.A.R.F. fed Mom's have tons of milk for their babies, have easier whelpings, in addition to stronger puppies.  For pregnant bitches, I also increase Vitamin C, protein, calcium, in addition to adding raspberry leave powder to their diet, which helps in uterine fluid.  May be gross to some, but I have had puppies whelped smelling of raspberries!

• TIME - you must pureé the veggies, fruit and have enough storage space for bulk purchases of meat, and veggies.
• Can be a hassle when going to dog shows - although a cooler, and a close grocery store will solve this.

Large flake baking oats.  (Not the quick oats)  I purchase a 50-lb bag of oats through my local health food/bulk store.  I go through about 2-bags a year.  Some B.A.R.F.'ers do not use oats, although they seem to work well with my dogs.
The oats provide vitamins, protein and roughage.  
When I feed 4-Rottweilers, I soak 2 cups of DRY oats in water and ½ cup apple cider vinegar.  I leave this to expand overnight and in the morning, it swells to about 4 cups of soaked oats.
The apple cider vinegar provides a tonic of sorts for the gut and is wonderful for the skin and coat.

Go to your local GNC Health Store or any health food store to purchase the following:

• Vitamin E Capsules 400 iu
• Vitamin C Powder or Ester C Powder  (1/2 teaspoon per dog, per day)
• Biotin Capsules
• Flax Seed Oil (should be in a black bottle in the refrigerator section)
• Wheat germ flakes
• Angivida yeast or brewers yeast
• Lecithin granules (or can be purchased in liquid or pill form)
• Liquid Calcium or bone meal powder
• Kelp (Powdered)
• Plain Organic Yogurt
• Raisins
• Alfalfa Leaves
• Tahitian Noni Juice

• raw beef..I use human-grade hamburger, but you can use ground chicken, hamburger or lamb.  The requirements for each dog depend on weight, metabolism, etc.
• On some days, I will also use fish as an alternative.

Donnie (110 lb. 3-year male) gets about 1 – 1.5 lbs of meat.
PDQ (80-lb.  7-year female) gets about ½ lb of meat
 

• soaked oats

Again this depends on the dog:

Donnie (110 lb. 3 year male) gets about 1 cup of soaked oats.
PDQ gets about ½ cup soaked oats

Each dog gets:
 

• 1 tbsp. Organic yogurt   
• 1 tbsp. un-pasteurized, raw honey 
• handful chopped sultana raisins 
• raw farm eggs (2x per dog, weekly) ~ Keep the eggshells to grind them in the food processor for extra calcium! 
• 1 heaping tbsp of The Veggie Mix* See Below 
• 1 tsp. Brewers yeast 
• 1 tsp. kelp 
• ½ tsp. Vitamin C Powder 
• 1 Vitamin E Capsule (1000 IU)
• 1 Biotin Capsule
• 1 tsp Liquid Calcium can be found at any drug store, or 1 tsp bone meal powder (can be found at health food store)
• 1 tsp wheat germ 
• 1 tbsp cold-pressed flax seed oil
• handful dried alfalfa leaves
• 1 tsp lecithin 

I purchase bulk items whenever I can..and I will use just about every fruit or vegetable that the dogs love to eat. Every 4-5 days, I throw the following into my food processor. Ideally..you should be be doing this daily especially if you have a small dog population <HA!>...I don't have the time to puree daily.  The mix should you last you at least 7-days.  I try to use a 2:2 ratio of 2 underground veggies (carrots, sweet potato, etc) to 2 above ground veggies (broccolli, spinach, etc.)  When I am on the road with my dogs, I use pre-made veggie juice.

The Veggie Mix is as follows: 

• 12 carrots, chopped 
• 2 containers fresh alfalfa sprouts 
• 1 heads of fresh garlic - peeled ~ approx. 6 cloves 
• 1 bag of cello spinach 
• sweet potatoes 
• cabbage (only occasionally) 

I also make a fruit puree, usually used for snacks, that can contain anything from: 

• apples 
• blueberries 
• bananas 
• raw yogurt

At night, our dogs are fed raw chicken backs.  You can use chicken quarters, necks, wings and don’t worry, the dogs won’t choke on them.  If you are unsure, start out with small chicken thighs, or wings, and give them to your dog.  I purchase 60-lbs. of chicken backs from the local grocery store..  The chicken backs are large, lots of meat and weigh approximately ½ to 1 lb each.

Don’t worry if you run out or do not have any of the above ingredients daily, it’s not going to harm your dog!  Mix and serve!