4) How long have you been feeding BARF, and how soon did you notice the health effects/benefits?
We have first time BARF'ers (a few days) to seasoned veterans (feeding the BARF diet for many years) and everything in between. Some effects were noticed quickly, such as solving a diarrhea or vomiting problem, other effects took a few months to notice, such as shiny coats and clean teeth.
"I noticed visible health benefits --shiny coat, bright eyes, small, less odoriferous poops -- within a couple of weeks. Long-range, he has not had his monthly diarrhea since starting BARF, and has visited the vet only for shots, another ligament problem and a small abrasion on a pad." SCHAFERHUND
Read More...
5) Is the BARF diet a lot of work to prepare?
General consensus is yes, but it is usually described as a "labor of love" preparing the meals. Most people prepare a week's or month's worth of meals and freeze them, so it reduces the amount of time spent each day on meal preparation. A few noted the importance of having lots of freezer space!
"OK, so its a little harder than pouring kibble from a bag. However, if you have a food processor and make things in advance it is not that bad. Watching the anticipation on the dog's face as you prepare the meal is definitely worth it!" MALVOLIO8
Read More...
"You definitely need an extra freezer for the dogs. One tends to buy large quantities of low-priced or on-sale food when one finds them ( 20-40 lbs.), and one needs storage room." KKAY10
Read More...
6) What are the (if any) negative aspects of this method of feeding?
The main negative noted was feeding this diet and traveling. Whether taking your pet with you, or finding a kennel or petsitter who would be able to feed the diet, extra preparations must be made in advance to ensure that your pet stays on an appropriate and safe diet.
"We were concerned about traveling with this diet, but have found that with just a little preparation and a nice ice chest, we have no problems being gone for a week or more." PAINTEDSKYFA
Read More...
"The time and handling the meat. I am a vegetarian. Traveling and boarding the dogs is trickier because the food is less portable. I use a commercial BARF product for this purpose." NICKELSMUM
Read More...
7) Was your pet not able to handle BARF? If so, why (if known), what was the previous diet, and how old is your pet?
The vast majority had no problems handling the BARF diet, and many went "cold turkey" from kibble. Ages of pets ranged from a few weeks old to several years old when started on BARF.
It is important to note that the viewers who added their comments on this thread had studied various diets, actively participate in nutrition mailing lists, etc., before starting this diet. Nutrition is a complicated subject, and changing a pet's diet is notto be taken lightly. Some viewers mentioned having a "mentor" to help them learn this feeding regime.
"It takes a huge amount of reading and researching different diets, most of them at odds with each other, and a fair amount of trying things out to find what worked for my dogs. It is a never-ending learning process and your life can be consumed by all the different sources of information there are about BARF if you let it." GOLDENGURL4
Read More...
- POLL -
Do you feed a raw diet?
Cast your vote!
