BARF Experts...Need Help

[concreterose]

I know a lot of people on this board have knowledge of, or do a BARF diet for their pigs. I feed Solid Gold, which has a low fat content. I want to start supplementing with raw meat to add more fat to their diet. I want to use fish (salmon, tuna) I also want to gradually add chicken gizzards, hearts and livers. They also get a lot of fruit and veggies, and cottage cheese and plain yogurt on occasion.

Can you guys tell me (or give me some links) as to how much I should supplement their kibbles? They get 2 cups per day (twice a day) of kibble. How much meat should I add to it? They are 34 lbs (puppy) and 43 lbs. (11 yr. old)
Thanks!

[moto1320]

I add a half to a whole can of tuna to the kibble depending on the amount of walking we will do that day- when I supplement. But I remove some of the kibble when adding meat to keep weight in check. 2 cups twice a day is over feeding as it is for any dog food, judging by the weight of your dogs. That is the recommend feeding for 60 lb dog for nutro and for 120 lb dog with an active life for Innova. Very much meat added in here would probably cause them to pork out. For the fat you could just add fish oils to get them shiny with nice skin and not too many calories. IMO

[concreterose]

Thanks moto
They eat 2 cups per day...not two cups at each feeding. I gave them salmon today...reduced the kibble by 1/3 a cup.

[moto1320]

Cool, that's what I figured since they weren't rolly-pollies. How'd they like the salmon, that's what Jmann recommended to me (which I think would be better due to it's oil content) but I have only used tuna since I usually keep alot around for me.

[concreterose]

They LOVE the salmon. There's this chain called ALDI's that sells alaskan pink salmon (and it's NOT farm raised) for 99 cents a can. That's a steal for canned salmon. So I'll probably give them that once or twice a week. I'm gonna get fish oil too, like you suggested. That should be enough fat
I'm really not comfortable with the whole raw meat thing, and I like the Solid Gold, they do too, so I don't want to switch foods right now. The furthest I'm willing to go is the salmon, the occasional chicken livers and gizzards because they're really high in protein.

[moto1320]

That is a good price, I'd do the fish sometimes and the oil sometimes- but with as oily as Salmon is it might be too fatty to do both at the same time. I know what you mean with the raw meat, I finally tried the raw meat the other night and she loved it but it was uber gross. Happy as a clam with meat hanging out of her mouth and the sound of crunching bones . It went very well though.

[concreterose]

olol....I actually looked at some raw meat in the grocery store and considered trying to do it. I am just to paranoid about bacteria, e-coli, etc. I know people say that dogs can combat all of that, but I just can't do it!
Plus I don't eat right...I cant' see myself making sure my dogs food is nutritionally balanced and my own meals aren't

[barbponys]

One word or warning here, I know this thread is a little old but I'm new and I'm trying to read back. DON'T use raw salmon! It has a fluke that if the dog gets one it causes severe liver damage. That and if you feed raw fish you must make sure it's deboned, they are so fine that they can cause problems. Mine get raw fish I'm just really careful with it. Salmon is always cooked, they get what we don't eat.

Feeding raw has potential risks but they are worth it. As long as you keep the dishes and prep areas clean I think they are minimal. I have never had any kind of problems with germs, bacteria etc. The benefits to the dogs and the way they look makes it worth the time and effort. If you don't want to take the plunge and do full on......... once or twice a week makes a huge difference.

Pat

[Annie]

So far, cautiously, Crosbie's managed fine with tiny amounts of kibble in a buster cube when I leave for work (California Natural or Wellness), but also small meals consisting of "real food" -- canned salmon or mackerel, yogurt, veggies, the occasional turkey neck or wing. He's a small dog, just under 40 pounds, and it took me a while to convince myself just how little food he actually needs. What I thought was difficulty adjusting was just a bad reaction to overfeeding.

Now that I've figured out his actual capacity, the only food he hasn't done well with so far is raw chicken liver -- instant diarrhea!

[barbponys]

Outstanding. I'm glad it's going well for you and Crosbie.
My cat can handle chicken livers but beef?? he throws that up in about 30 seconds flat. Naturally he LOVES it. .

Pat