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Post new topic   Reply to topic    Cumbernauld Dog Forums Forum Index -> Feeding & Nutrition
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Laura
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Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 130
Location: Cumbernauld.

PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 12:13 am    Post subject: BARF Reply with quote

Would be interested to find out other folks experiences and feeding regimes.

We went in a bit blind but after a long while the dogs are looking better than ever. We don't supplement and we dont feed any veg or fruit at all. The main basis is chicken wings, lamb, beef, offal (heart, tripe, liver, kidney etc) and raw fish once a week (everything attached) with a fasting day every Sunday (they only get water), we feed once a day around 9pm after all their exercise. We were discussing it tonight while picking up food and it's amazing how many variations folk have, some feed veg some don't, some supplement some don't, some still feed kibble, some once a day some twice etc.

Would love to hear others experiences. On another note since starting a bitch of ours who had terrible skin issues has had less severe skin and its much easier to treat now also healing times for injuries is less. Our vet remarks how well our dogs look but still thinks the diet is not appropriate (go figure). I have noticed that they hold less fat, Kips breath is FAR better they are easier to condition however they always seem to be hungry Laughing
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John Thomson
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Joined: 07 Apr 2007
Posts: 4780
Location: Cumbernauld

PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 12:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good thread Laura,

I feed twice a day....around 9AM then again around 7PM but this is not fixed in stone!

Basis of most meals is chicken backs or wings.....supplemented with mince ( with offal) , dirty tripe, shin of beef. liver and daily bones ( meaty ribs or marrow)....what ever I can get my hands on!
I occasionally feed veg......with tuna and egg ( including shells).

If the dogs are too lean I feed more.....to heavy I cut back........I don't have a fast day but do have days when they eat less.

When I started to feed raw.......I worried too much......not now!
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Laura
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Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 130
Location: Cumbernauld.

PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 1:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes I know the feeling John, you panic they are not getting the right vitamins and minerals after all dog food comes in packs where it is all in the right amounts and you don't have to worry about it. I know some folk supplement but my thoughts were always - why bother? You feed a natural diet to replicate as close as possible a natural canine diet if your supplementing you would be as well feeding a dry food etc.

I remember speaking to my grandfather about this, he's now 89 and has raised and trained working collies since he was 15 (he still has two and a king Charles and works on his croft daily), he said when you feed yourself or your children each night do you panic that they/you are not getting the right amount of calcium or vitamins or minerals, he said if you fed only microwave meals for the next 30 years would you be satisfied because they list the content and values? I said no, he said why should dogs be any different. You feed a variety of foods that are fresh and natural and you cannot go far wrong. It all sounds so confusing but really it is not, you feed a variety of foods and the dog will thrive.

If you compare what you feed to wild dogs our dogs will always be getting a better diet and variety. Interesting re: veg I know some folk who feed it daily and pulp it down. I read a study on wolves which said they rarely ever eat the stomach content they usually just scatter it around and the first thing they go for is offal - heart/liver/kidneys etc then what is left like bone/meat the others will feast on.
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kirsty
I don't have a life ...I'm always here!


Joined: 30 May 2007
Posts: 2712
Location: Cumbernauld

PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 4:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know the feeling of panic about getting in right - I always feel worse everytime I read an article or advice on the internet.

I would say my main diet is beef chicken or lamb mince or beef chunks, heart or liver (once a week only for the liver). I feed them about 3 chicken backs or just a handful of wings as a treat when I walk them in the afternoon.

I feed mine twice a day. (the chicken carcus is as a treat - I read somewhere that going out for a walk to a dog is the same as going on a hunt so I tend to feed them a small bit whenever they come in) Shepherds can be prone to weak stomaches and my experience in the past and with my current two is that unless they are fed by around 9.30 to 10am they start to bring up bile.

I do add veg at times but only when I notice either of them having difficulty having a poo.

A friend of mine purees veg and makes it into ice cubes and adds 3 cubes a day to food - her theory is that wolves and wild dogs in the past got nutrients they needed as the grazing animals had a healthy natural diet but she feels that the diet of the grazers is deficient therefore adds her own nutrients to meals - but this is the lady who uses a dog homeopath!

When you read some of the articles they say dogs need carbs? - I dont feed mine any but tend to fret a bit about this.
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John Thomson
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Joined: 07 Apr 2007
Posts: 4780
Location: Cumbernauld

PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 8:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My two will be sick if they are not fed in the morning as well........I have always fed my dogs twice a day.
Deep chested dogs are more prone to gastric torsion if fed one large meal a day.

It is far better to feed after exercise as you correctly say Kirsty


Everyone has an opinion of what is correct..........but even if you get it wrong sometimes it is still FAR better than any commercial food. Very Happy
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