Dog Care Frenzy

You are almost ready to jump in and start feeding your dog the BARF diet, but you still have some questions. So let us take a look at some common questions about feeding the BARF diet.

Keep in mind that your vet is probably the best person to ask  your questions. Even if they not well versed in the details of the BARF diet, they will likely have some suggestions or tips for you. They might also have ideas about how you can be sure that your dog’s diet is well balanced. But for now, let’s stick with the basics and the issues that we can address.

Won’t my dog be at risk for salmonella?

Worrying about the risk of salmonella is valid, considering your dog will be eating raw meat. However, it’s been proven that salmonella is of little risk to dogs.

Some studies have shown that most dogs are not at risk from salmonella at all, while other pet experts say that dogs can be at risk from salmonella, but they rarely, if ever, get very sick from salmonella.

The greater risk, it seems, is from the dog’s feces when she’s eating a raw diet. So take care when you’re cleaning your dog’s areas of feces.

In addition, be careful when you are preparing your dog’s food. Clean all surfaces well and wash your hands well after handling raw meat. If you take these basic precautions, everyone should be well and healthy.

How can I afford to feed the BARF diet?

Of course, feeding your dog fresh, natural foods will be more expensive than feeding her kibble, but there are ways to keep the cost down.

Many followers of the BARF diet pull their dog’s meals from the family’s meals. That is, if you are having whole chicken for dinner, save the neck and innards for the dog. If you’re having hamburgers, save a few ounces for your dog. If you plan ahead, it might not cost you too much.

You can also sometimes get some parts and pieces from your local grocer’s butcher. Simply tell the butcher that you will take some raw bones off his hands for him. You can sometimes get these for free, or at least for a very low cost.

Buy vegetables you and the family normally eat and simply save some for the dog.

If you do feed the dog the same foods you and the family eat, be sure to put the dog’s portion aside before you cook the family’s portion. The food should always stay raw when given to your dog.

I travel with my dog. How can I feed her a BARF diet on the road?

It is a little tougher than at home, but you can feed your dog a BARF diet even when traveling. Here are some options:

• Freeze daily portions of RMB and bring a cooler with you that contains the RMB meals.
• If you don’t have room for a cooler, you can always go shopping when you arrive at your destination (though this can be much more costly than shopping ahead of time at home in your usual way).
• You can always feed your dog a simple version of RMB – feed canned fish like mackerel, salmon or tuna, and good foods like cottage cheese, natural applesauce and even canned vegetables.

Try not to fret over how your dog eats when you’re on the road. Remember that you should consider your dog’s diet over time, and not each day. As long as you stick with the basic premise of the diet while you’re traveling (and don’t give in by feeding your dog canned dog food or kibble), you and your dog will be just fine.

Does feeding my dog raw bones and meat make her bloodthirsty and mean?

There is no evidence that eating this diet makes a dog more bloodthirsty. In fact, most evidence points to the reality that some dogs are more prey driven and others less. Some are more aggressive and some less aggressive. Rarely do these qualities have anything to do with what the dog is fed.

The reality is that kibble hasn’t been a common way to feed dogs for very long. Long before kibble was invented and became the common food of choice for dogs, the common diet was raw meat, bones and vegetables. Dogs were given the castoffs of their owners.

If that diet made dogs bloodthirsty, it is unlikely that dogs would be considered the domestic pets they are now.

Instead, it’s important to remember that some dogs are just socialized to be more aggressive, or are naturally more aggressive, or were trained to be more aggressive. But aggressiveness, or the tendency to be bloodthirsty, is rarely a product of what a dog is eating.

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