BARF for dog weight loss.

[katchmoleen]

I found the formula online for how much raw meaty bones and raw veggies to feed your dog according to her weight here
but what I am wondering is, if my dog needs to lose weight, do I feed according to the goal weight, the current weight, or somewhere in between? Thanks for your help.

[ruffsongraw]

Fed for the GOAL weight. if youy feed for the current weight, she will maintian that weight, not lose.
if you want more info also try www.leerburg.com

GREAT raw pet feeding info!!!

jen

[Ilse W.]

You might want to consider feeding the dog his NATURAL diet, all raw meat, bones, and organ meat. My golden retriever lives on raw meat and has never been this healthy. Google raw meat diet for dogs or check out the yahoo groups for the same, they have loads of information.

[Aleesha Sattva]

I've had my dogs on BARF for a long time now... when I want my chubby daxi to release a little weight I just give her less. :) I don't bother with "they should have this much" - I just feed them and watch how they react to the amount weight-wise. Cause honestly... I eat WAY more than other people sometimes and less at other times so I allow my dogs to do the same. :)

[Aleesha Sattva]

oh and emma... BARF is raw :)

[Ilse W.]

Oh, I know that BARF is raw, but it includes a lot of raw vegetables, which are not really that great or natural for dogs. My Max does get a piece of banana when I make my GS and loves to "help" me taste test veggies when I make a salad, but it's not a regular part of his diet. I did a LOT of reading on the subject a year ago and came to the conclusion, that all raw meat is really healthier for dogs than the mixed up stuff. (The proof is in the poop, lol)

[katchmoleen]

Barf doesn't include a LOT of veggies, only 30% by weight. I see my dog eating grass all the time so I figure it is a natural thing. I blend them in the vitamix to break down the cellulose.

[Eva]

My dog is on BARF. He eats mostly meat. I tried at one point to get him off of it, because I hated giving him meat. But dang, he's a trim and energetic youth on BARF, and you give him anything but that... he turns chubby and lazy. LOL, when I was in Budapest... my mom had him off BARF. I came back to what felt like DOUBLE the dog I left.

And I feed him plenty. It's just the natural thing kicking in, from what I can tell. :)

[ruffsongraw]

Yay!! BARF is great but also there are other raw diets for sogs (meat ones). a GREAT site for infgo on raw pets (cats too!) is
www.leerburg.com
i posted it above, but really, check it out if you have time. great guide lines for what to feed & when to rotate/add/swap and also great sources if you want to buy the pre-made stuff (i dont). & great training info as well.
Tweeking amounts by asessing the dog's weight daily is best for them. my chihuahua's teeth have improved so much and he LOVES crunching up the chicken wings. it iskinda yucky for me to handle, but it's what they are supposed to eat.

jen

[katchmoleen]

I went to the Leerburg site but could not find the diet info, just a lot of training stuff. Could you send a more specific link to the diet info? Thanks. And BTW my Meggie is just LOVING barf. After only 3 days I can see a noticeable difference, and it is so great. We take her for a walk around our country block, which is a mile. Usually by 1/2 mile she is pooping out and lies down at every opportunity. Last night she had much more pep and finished the mile only getting tired the last block or so. She always was picky about kibble, only eating a bite here and there (to the point that I could never figure out why she was so fat!) but she eats her BARF food right down. Also, the first two days she did not want the evening meal. but now she is Johnny on the Spot to get it, so I figure her body is really using it. She is getting groomed right now (first time in her life, poor thing she was terrified) and I will take a BEFORE picture of her so that hopefully in a few months we will see the wonderful changes BARF brings her.

[Green_Woman]

I'm plotting out a plan for putting my two little guys (12 lb Yorkie-Poo, 3 lb Pomeranian) on BARF.

Followed this link posted by Katchmoleen and it seems really jam-packed with the basics. I can't afford the pre-packaged meals from Dr. B's website but I am eager to get them started come January (and my yearly chunk of funding ;) ).


But I'm still a little scared. I know - me - the fearless one, scared. Because honestly I don't know ANYTHING about preparing raw meat! I'm a Vegan!!! I haven't even handled meat in a couple years and even before I went veggie, I was NOT allowed in my family's kitchen. My mother used to tell me that I was more liable to burn down our house than cook a good meal!

I need help.

Ha!!!

[katchmoleen]

Your butcher is your friend.

I have found a butcher who saves his beef rib bones for me on butchering day and I get a box of about 15-20 pounds for $10. He saws them into reasonable lengths so I just have to hack them apart according to how many bones I think she needs for that meal, usually 2-3 as they do not have a lot of meat on them. He also saves me the kidneys (for free!) and I usually feed my dog 1/2 of a kidney for a meal, but for your peanut a kidney could be divided into about 8 meals. I also buy liver at $1.65/lb. My dog is a lot bigger than you so I give her a full pound for a meal, but liver slices up very easy, especially when it is still frozen.

You could get a special cutting board and sharp knife just for the meat. Or pay your butcher to prepackage the stuff in serving sizes for you.

[prohytri]

That is so nice collection.Well after finding your this comment there is no need for any book reading search of last few years.I like your idea for distributing the books by years.

[Green_Woman]

Katchmoleen - Thank you for the suggestion! I will find a Butcher. I've also been thinking that finding a source of organic or locally-produced meat would be best for the dogs and of course, in keeping with our lifestyle.

You could get a special cutting board and sharp knife just for the meat. Or pay your butcher to prepackage the stuff in serving sizes for you.

Ah ha! I LIKE the latter suggestion.

I've also considered that if I do have to prepare the meat myself, I'll wear gloves and a mask. Sounds silly, but I literally get quite nauseas around raw meat... and have for YEARS -- long before going Vegan, even.

But I want my puppies to have the best. They're both still very young and I'd like to get them started out strong for long, healthy lives.

Okay... off to find more info and work up a plan for getting them started. Looks like time-wise I won't be able to start them on BARF until February due to the road trip and finances, but that's soon enough. Gives me more time to prepare.