My dogs are on a Biologically Appropriate Raw Diet (the acronym is BARF). By design, dogs are meant to eat food that is raw. Eating a proper diet promotes optimal health. It is relatively costly, but I can’t count the number of dog owners who spent a fortune on vets to address health issues that were cleared up after they switched their diets. The vets only made the symptoms less visible, but they neglected to address the actual issue. My dogs have healthy skin and nails. They don’t have a typical “doggie odor” and their coats are healthy. When we eat properly, our poop doesn’t stink up the bathroom. By the same token, my dogs eat a biologically correct diet for their species. Their poop does not have an offensive odor and it is never messy. Their organs are in top condition and their eyes are clear. They are fit and thriving. Here is a video that shows you how I feed my dogs.
For more advanced raw feeders who want to add their own supplements and veggies I recommend Raw Paws. I have also used this food for my dogs as I have become more confident with feeding raw. Although Barfwold has everything and is easy, I like to mix things up a bit and throw in this and that like. Not everybody considers that to be fun, but I do LOL. Raw Paws has a much larger assortment of products. You can read more about their food in my article The BEST Dog Food for the Advanced. In the article I discuss the Raw Paws diet which requires more work because of preparation. Barfworld comes in the convenient form of patties and nuggets or small 2 pound chubs. While some of Raw Paws food is available in the form of patties, the price (pound per pound) is quite higher than the bulk (which takes some time to portion out). Some advanced raw feeders prefer to add their own whole food supplements.
Adding additional nutrients is important especially if it doesn’t contain green tripe.
You can give Excellent natural supplements formulated by the well-known Canadian holistic veterinarian. Dr. Dobias’s supplements are packed with whole green superfoods.
You can also give a little bit of fruit from time to time as a snack. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and melons are packed with nutrients. He also carries whole food supplements including multi-vitamins, gut health, Superfoods, probiotics, his exclusive Hair-Q Test which provides you with a sensitive indicator of long-term effects of diet and toxic metal exposure, an e-book (providing holistic healing tips), and many more innovative health product.
You can also give a little bit of fruit from time to time as a snack. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and melons are packed with nutrients.
The Barfworld diet already contains whole food supplements. I recommend the Barfworld diet first because it is an excellent food and very simple to work with and there is no need to add fruits or veggies because it already contains everything.
I did not add any supplement in order to simplify the video. I will do that at a later date. So now you are thinking that if the food is so perfect, why would they need supplements? The answer is, although their diet comes close to the diet that would be available in the wild, it falls short because their diet does not consist of fresh kill. The intestines of freshly killed animals contain partially digested food which is one of the healthiest part of a wild animal’s diet. The meat has exponentially more nutrients and enzymes when the meat is so fresh. Therefore food can’t really replicate wild freshly killed meat. In this video, I wanted to just give viewers a basic view of how easy a raw food diet could be. I have fed my dogs the Barfworld diet when I began to feed raw. My article The BEST Dog Food for Beginners discusses Barfworld which is a very simple diet to feed your dog.
I was able to negotiate a promotion for my blog community. Just call Barfworld at 1-866-282-2273 (BARF) and mention my website essentiallydogs.com and ask about my promotion. Feel free to share this with your family and friends.
The Barfworld team is VERY knowledgeable about nutrition and health. They provide free telephone consultations so you can gain a better understanding of raw diets and products that are appropriate for your dog. They will guide you with portions for your dog’s size and weight as well making the transition from your dog’s current food. Barfworld also carries excellent supplements. At Barfworld the staff members are trustworthy and very competent. They are my choice for a nutritious diet for my dogs. They wolf it down like wild beasts! They LOVE it!
13 thoughts on “My Dogs & Their Raw Diet”
I’m a huge fan of any kind of raw/fresh/homemade diet, and love seeing others spread the word about it!
Hi Rebekah-
Thank you so much for checking out my blog and for your support. Feel free to connect stay connected. If you like an article, please share and tweet to others. It is important for people to learn the best ways to take care of their dogs.
Hi, I am intrigued by this raw diet. I give my two dogs cooked chicken breasts along with a small amount of good kibble as I know the chicken does not provide all their essential dietary needs. Would it be better to just cut up the raw chicken and give it to them? I realize that most people cannot afford to feed their dogs chicken breast (boneless) but since my two are relatively small 35 and 15 pounds, I do rather than canned dog food. What do you think of this diet?
Hi Joan-
By cooking the chicken, you are removing all the important nutrients including enzymes witch assist in digestion and are excellent for the teeth. In fact, raw chicken bones do wonders for the teeth. It is a good idea to monitor dogs when you give them things to chew on (whether raw or not). You can cut up the raw chicken. It is a lot better for them. Also, avoid kibble like the plague. Feeding a raw diet can be very complicated if you create the diet on your own. The reason is that dogs require certain proportions of nutrients. You need to add a certain amount of meat, a certain amount of organs (heart, liver…), and veggies. Also because it is not freshly killed prey, it is good to add some supplements. I am not a mathematician nor a scientist so I avoid preparing meals that I need to balance myself. In the following articles you can get a better idea of why most commercial food (kibble & canned) are so undesireable:
Shocking Dog Food Research Study
What’s REALLY in Dog Food
Thank you so much for visiting my website and reading my articles. Please feel free to connect with me on social media.
Janie
why is the dog food called Barf like puke that makes me sceptical but anyway i have a pitbull lab more pitbull 40-50 pounds and want to buy a good dog food for her ive been using purina pro plan wet and dry and latley the wet food has been tasting wierd (yes i taste the foods but that was before i knew they used roadkill) can u recommend me a good dog food and good treats too thank you God bless you
Hi Justin-
Thank you so much for visiting my website. Ok… BARF… It stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. Raw food is what the species is biologically designed to consume. Please read my article What’s REALLY in Dog Food? to get a better idea of why I am so opposed to dry and canned commercial food. Do NOT taste your dog’s food. It is incredibly toxic. STAY AWAY FROM PURINA!!! PLEASE!!! So many health issues can be avoided by feeding food that is appropriate for a dog.
Thanks again
Janie
Whats your take on stella and chewys freezed dried, patties? My dog tend to like those better than the frozen raw
Hi L otis-
Thank you for visiting my website and for commenting. I am not a fan of Stella & Chewys. Although it is much better than the other products out there, I don’t like the extensive vitamin premix. I have seen some dogs who are on that food and I have been disappointed (dry nails, dry hair, full anal glands…). If it is so healthy, there should not be a need for all those vitamins, minerals and other ingredients? I can accept around 10 or fewer, but more than that is not ok.
Janie
It is interesting that you would draw attention to your $$$$$$ product by criticizing another’s attempt to help. Nothing is perfect, but that site you are criticizing does list ingredients of so many dog foods in one easy to read place.
I am a beginning dog owner an I found that site and others very helpful as there are so many dog foods and so many ingredients.
I am interested in your newsletter. A neighbor has german shepard with liver cancer (survivor due to surgery) the dog food he feeds and has highly recommended to me shows an ingredient that is known to cause liver distress. That ingredient is not in other foods on the list. I would not have recognized that if I had not read it on the site you are criticizing. I think I will pass on that particular brand.
We need all the help we can get.
Just sayin’
Dear Gemma-
Thank you for writing. I am happy to hear that your neighbor’s dog is doing well. I am curious about the ingredient you were referring to. I work between 2 and 7 hours a day on my website to inform others. It would be so much easier to endorse products that are mainstream and unhealthy. It would provide a tremendous amount of profit for me being that I put in so many hours without being paid. I add an affiliate disclosure statement when I am endorsing a product. I have very high standards when it comes to products and I feel that it is important to state facts. Products that I recommend are far superior to the massed produced products that you will find all over the internet. I don’t know why that would be interesting to you that I endorse products that I like. There are several products that I receive no commission on that I write about because those products are unique and very high in quality. I hope that you will do some more research as facts are important to gather. Check out Poisoned Pets and Truth About Pet Food. They are excellent websites that help inform consumers.
I do not charge for my newsletter. I do not receive donations. I don’t know too many people who are willing to devote time to a mission without receiving any compensation whatsoever. It costs me over $1,000 each year for me to maintain my website and to pay the company that hosts my website in order for it to appear on the internet. I think that most people are understanding that I need to pay rent and feed myself. You might not have been aware of all the work and cost of doing what I do. In any case, most people I have spoken with are very happy to invest in products that are healthy for their dogs as opposed to toxic and synthetic food and products put manufactured by ruthless companies. It is very difficult for consumers to navigate through all the rubbish and unethical practices of companies and many vets.
Thank you for reading my article and to I hope you continue to enjoy my articles. I also appreciate the time you took to write your comment. I hope you now can see things in a different light.
All the best.
Janie
I forgot to mention something. Most of the products that I mention are carried by affiliates. If I feel that a product is unacceptable and does not meet my high standards I refuse to include links to those products. I refuse to accept commission based upon the sale of such products. In the article Beware of New Tick & Flea Products, I state that I express my refusal to promote such products to earn commission for.
Dogs aren’t wolves. ♀️
Hi Leslie-
I discussed this in a different comment. I’m sorry, but I’m just a little disorganized.
Janie