BARF diet

[mide]

Hi guys, I am new with the BARF diet, my question is what kind of raw meat are good for my dog,do I include beef and what kind of supplements should I use.
Also with poultry, should I be concerned about salmonella?

[Marco]

Hello Mide!  A healthy raw diet is one of the greatest things you can do for your boerboel.  I would first recommend joining the Raw Feeding group here, and looking over everything that has been posted already.  I am fairly new to raw feeding myself, and will try to help in anyway I can.  Take a look at the RAW FAQ which is also listed in the group mentioned.  Once you have a look over those things, if you have more questions please let us know.  We are here if you need us, good luck!

[mide]

Thank you, Marco.

[Sweet Pea]

Mide, 

I feed raw, but not BARF. I'm fairly new to it too, I've only been feeding raw since January. I like to follow prey model raw because I don't believe carnivores have much use for fruits and veggies that are part of BARF.  With prey model raw my dogs get 80% muscle meat, 10% organs (5% of this must be liver) and 10% bone.  The idea is balance over time, so they don't have to get these proportions in one meal. Chicken is a good thing to start with.  But eventually you want to make sure your dog gets plenty of red meat. With prey model there is no need to supplement anything, although many just add extra omega 3s.  This is an example of what my dogs will eat today: AM-Chicken leg quarter, PM-beef heart (heart is considered muscle meat). Tomorrow they'll eat the same but I'll throw in their bi-weekly portion of liver. 

These are a few good sites with plenty of info to get started: 

http://rawlearning.com/

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html

There is also a great Yahoo group called "rawfeeding". Everyone there is really helpful at guiding you through starting your dogs on raw food. 

[mide]

Thanks Kimberly.