The Bones and Raw Food Diet is a great way to have a healthier, happier dog. Many people turn to the Bones and Raw Food Diet for their dog in search of a way to cure skin problems and long-term health problems. We choose to feed Bones and Raw Food because our Spaniel Poodle cross-breed was very fussy with dry dog food. He easily tired of the flavours and we were always adding expensive canned varieties as the 'icing on the top' to get him to eat enough. The vet suggested that I left dry food out for him all of the time so that he could snack for himself. But when a family of mice moved into the laundry living on the endless supply of dry dog food, I had enough.
The best way to purchase Bones and Raw Food for we 'city' folk is through a supplier. Suppliers provide the food frozen and this adds a longer shelf life to the food and also cleanliness and convenience. So, here are my top recommendations:
1. Freezer space. Depending on the size of your dog and also your proximity to the supplier, you will want ample freezer space. I don't have a problem with allocating one part of our chest freezer to the dog food. My mother has allocated a small tucker box sized chest freezer to the dog food - simply because if you sniff the packaging close up, it does smell like dog food. You most definitely will struggle with this if you don't have freezer space and the small freezer box in the fridge is going to be a juggle.
2. Find a supplier. Depending on where you live, work out where your suppliers are and how you are going to collect the food or if you might pay freight. If you are living rurally, it is almost certainly going to pay to have a chest freezer for the dog food. However, if you feed dry food and you live rurally you will know that you also need somewhere air tight to store your dog food as many different wild animals like to snack on dog food.
3. Follow a menu planner. If you have a choice of supplier, you want to get the supplier that has a recommended menu planner. This ensures variety throughout the period. I follow a 5 week planner and I buy 5 weeks' worth of BARF at one time.
4. Defrost each meal as you go. Use the menu planner to work out what you will feed and after I feed the meal for the night, I check the menu planner and then fish out the meal for the next night to put in the bottom of the fridge. I remove the food from the plastic bag while it is frozen and put it into a container with a seal (less mess). If I remember, I take it out of the fridge as I am preparing dinner the next night so that the meal is at room temperature. I don't recommend microwave defrosting. The smell of the half cooking organ meat and tripe is fairly disgusting for humans.
In case you are wondering, eating tripe does not make the dogs breath smell. Some dogs do have problems if they have only ever eaten commercial meals with some regurgitation of the meal and sometimes extra breaking of wind for the first week. I buy my BARF through a veterinarian outlet and the vet can advise on how to swap over the food. Also be careful not to over feed the dog. If the dog becomes lethargic about the meal after 5 weeks or so, then you are feeding too much. Our Spaniel Poodle cross-breed does not like to tackle whole fish. He loves canned pilchards in spring water though - so it is just a matter of tailoring it a little bit.
Overall, enjoy your healthy dog. Your dog is going to appreciate you a lot more for their yummy new diet.
I am enjoying spending more quality time doing things I love thanks to a new system that I have discovered. To find out more visit my website: [http://www.seachangetoday.com] Judith A Symonds PhD
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