The Healthy Bark: Raw Feeding-Switching and Sourcing

The Healthy Bark

Today in the Raw Feeding series. How to switch over to Raw and if doing the "Prey Model" or "BARF" diet, how to source your meats to make them as healthy as you can. Switching to raw is really not that hard. First thing you have to do is have the product ready to go. That always seems to be what people stress about the first few times.

Sourcing

To source meats look for local farms that may have "extra parts" available. Grass fed beef, free range chicken, duck, or turkey. Look at co-ops, they usually have some great resources. Butcher shops are another way to get the meats, bones, and organs you wants. I will cover how much of which items you need in the next part of the series.

If doing the BARF diet than look for sales on a few veggies and use organic when possible. The cleaner the diet the better. Lastly you can use grocery store meats, however not my favorite. If you are using grocery meat then freeze for 72 hours before feeding. Once you get the amounts down sourcing for a month or a few weeks is easy and more cost effective.

For pet store bought diets, check cost, what programs they may offer from the vendor, and that they may offer. Some stores offer bigger discounts if you can place a larger order ahead of time. Figure out your cost per ounce and then decide what is best for you and the dog. People with small breeds may want to use a little of both, while people with larger dogs will find sourcing is a better way to go.

I have done both ways and can say each has its advantages and disadvantages. My dogs and cats ate about 1/2 their diet from store bought and 1/2 from sourced. When doing prey model/BARF you may want to keep a little of the store bought on hand in case you run into a bind.

If you are sourcing your own however, you may want to invest in a freezer for their food. It makes it much easier. Just like anything new, once you figure out your system, it becomes very easy.

Switching to Raw

Switching your dog over to a raw diet can be done a few different ways. I personally went home, fasted my dogs for the night, and fed them 1/2 of their raw for breakfast the next morning. I used a store bought to transition them over. I started off feeding 1/2 the amount recommended for the first day, than the next day increased to 2/3 the amount, and on day three they were at full amounts.

Now with what is available I usually suggest starting them with Answers raw goats milk or the newest in their line raw Kefir. This would be done by pouring the raw goat milk or raw Kefir over their current food for a week. These will help boost all the good bacteria in the gut, and set it up to for healthy flora. Also this helps with digestion, stomach upset, and diarrhea.

The day before the switch I would feed only half their amount of morning meal and make up the rest of their calories with the raw Kefir or goat milk. For dinner I would feed (2) small meals of the raw Kefir or goat milk to equal the calories of their night time meal. The next morning I would give them some raw milk or Kefir, and an hour later give them their raw food.

Dogs at first may not understand the new food and just look at it. Others may gulp it down so fast you blinked and it was gone. Some do not like the food being cold. For those I would warm the bowl and than push the food into the bowl to warm it that way. NEVER microwave raw food. Or could also add more raw milk over the food and make it a little soupy. If they do not go to it right away, leave it down for 15-20 minutes, and if still not eaten put in refrigerator and try again a little later. Do not get discouraged if this happens. I have worked with many people and have managed to get 95% of the dogs to eat raw. Sometimes you just have to get creative. This is not only new to you, but them as well. It is like trying to get someone addicted to junk food to eat healthy all of a sudden. Other tricks I have used are adding a little broth to the raw meal, some parmesan cheese, or even a little high quality canned food. There is always a way to get them to start eating it. Had one lady make meatballs out of it for her dog until he became used to the texture.