What is the BARF diet for dogs?
The BARF diet is a diet for dogs that is made up of only raw food ingredients. BARF originally stood for “Born Again Raw Feeders”, but the person who came up with that acronym (Debra Tripp) changed it to “Bones And Raw Food” after she'd tried the diet on her own dogs. Officially, it stands for “Biologically Appropriate Raw Food”. The diet, created by Dr. Billinghurst, consists of raw, meaty bones, fruits, vegetables, dairy foods, and offal. Typically, the BARF diet will be made up of about 60 to 80% of raw bones which are around 50% meat. Fruits and vegetables should be a further 20 to 40%, and the rest can be made up from other meat, eggs, or other dairy products. In addition to this, anyone putting their dog on a BARF diet needs to remember the need for supplements, which aren't necessary for dogs eating commercially produced dog foods as all the essential nutrients are included in these. But dogs on the BARF diet are likely to need at a minimum vitamin supplements and fatty acids in the form of olive oil or cod liver oil.
If you're feeding your dog a good quality “complete” dog food, then what you have to remember is that he's already receiving the right amount of nutrients that his body will need for nutritional purposes. If the food is from a reputable manufacturer, then it's probably going to be of good quality, and has been formulated with great precision to ensure that it includes everything that your dog needs in his diet. Now, imagine that in addition to this “complete” diet you're feeding him, you're also giving him treats in the form of food. The last sausage from the dinner table, chips that you're munching as he lays beside you on the couch, some dog biscuits throughout the day, a few scraps of meat that you've trimmed off before cooking... this all mounts up, particularly if you're not the only person in the house. It's likely that every other family member is doing the same thing! This really should be discouraged. Remember that a “complete” food is called “complete” for a very good reason. Simply put, the dog will be perfectly well fed, healthy, and happy through eating nothing else but the correct amount of “complete” food. If he's then consuming lots of scraps, leftovers, and other treats in between meals, all the nutrients in those are surplus to requirements. And when those treats contain a lot of fat, it means bad news. The dog is very likely to gain weight, and obesity in dogs can have serious consequences. They can also develop allergies from it, or digestive problems.
If you really do want to offer your dog treats, then you should limit the number you give. And cut out those table scraps and other fatty snacks, for a start! Don't feed your dog food that was really intended for humans. Find a good, healthy snack at your pet store, and only offer it to him in small quantities – break biscuits into smaller pieces, for example, so that you're reducing the amount of “extra” food he receives on top of his regular diet. If you include doggy treats in the daily routine, then take it into account as part of the dog's diet – you could reduce the amount of food he receives at meal times in order to allow for the extra fats and other nutrients he's getting from the snacks. However, the “complete” dog food should always, always make up the main part of what your dog eats in a day. Snacks should be small, healthy, and not constant. And believe it or not, your dog will enjoy licking and chasing an ice cube around the floor just as much as he likes wolfing down the leftovers from your dinner – and it'll be much better for him in the long run!
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