The BARF diet refers to a diet fed to dogs, which totally excludes all types of commercial dog food.  It premises itself on:

1.       A dog’s food should never be cooked.  It should be fed in a raw natural state like nature intended.  Cooking a dog’s food ruins most of the nutritional value.

2.       Dogs should have access to raw meaty bones.  These clean their teeth, work and develop their neck and jaw muscles and the chewing action prepares their stomach for the incoming food mass.  Chewing bones also slows down the eating process considerably, making it far harder for a dog to overeat.

3.       Dog foods have cereals as their main ingredient.  The main ingredient your dog should be eating is raw meaty bones.  It is these cereals that cause a range of problems such as allergies.

4.       Commercial dog foods are laden with preservatives, food colours and salt.  They have additives so that the food will taste better so that the dogs will overeat.

BARF diet advocates will tell you that their experience has indicated:

1.       No doggy odour.

2.       Naturally clean teeth – no need for toothbrushes, de- scaling or gum disease.

3.         The time it takes for a dog to chew a raw meaty bone gives their stomach adequate time to get the acids moving.

        4.       Much less stool is produced and they are firm.

5.       Decreased or non-existent vet bills…your dogs are healthier.

6.       Less cost for dog food – commercial dog foods, especially the ones claiming to be all natural can be expensive.

7.       Mirrors what a dog would be getting in the wild -  even the modern day dog has the same digestive system as his ancestors.

8.       Puppies develop at a more even rate – and quick growth spurts are avoided.

9.       The ripping and chewing involved in eating raw meaty bones develops the jaw, neck, and shoulders muscles.

For more information read “Give your Dog a Bone” by Dr. Ian Billinghurst or “The Ultimate Diet: Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats” by Kymythy Schultze.

Links to BARF Sites

Have a look at these sites for some basic advice:

http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm - All the frequently asked questions answered

http://www.4loveofdog.com/menu.htm 

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/barf.html

http://www.naturalrearing.com/J_In_Learning/Intro.htm

http://www3.sympatico.ca/glenamadda/BARFIntro.html