Feeding Naturally
BelMar Great Danes are powered by BARF!

Here are a few good Internet sites for good information on feeding naturally:

bulletTiffani Marie Beckman has written an Introduction to Feeding Naturally
bulletBree Prive has written The Top 50 Most Frequently Asked BARF Questions Newcomers Ask!

This article first appeared in Let's Live Magazine, May 1992, it was written by Dr Belfield, who is the co-author of The Very Healthy Cat Book and How to Have a Healthier Dog.

bullet Food Not Fit For A Pet

In my desire to learn more about proper natural canine nutrition, I have read each of the books listed below.  If you too want to know pretty much everything there is to know about BARF then buy, borrow or try to check all of them out at your local library.  If you know you want to feed BARF but just need some basic how-to information then get the Kymythy Schultze and Carina Beth MacDonald books.  Get both, read them, they are wonderful, easy reading and packed full of information.  For the most detail from a veterinarians perspective, I recommend Tom Lonsdale over Ian Billinghurst, although it is really dry reading in places.  Buy it, read it, give it to your vet.

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Give Your Dog A Bone by Ian Billinghurst

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Grow Your Pups with Bones by Ian Billinghurst

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The Barf Diet by Ian Billinghurst

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Raw Meaty Bones by Tom Lonsdale

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Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy R Schultze (1st printing of Ultimate Diet)

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Ultimate Diet: Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy Schultze

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Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy for You and Your Dog by Carina Beth MacDonald

What I Currently Feed

I feed two times per day.  Typical meals include:

bulletA course ground beef product that contains beef heart, kidney, tripe and muscle meat with vegetables
bulletChicken backs

For variety I also feed turkey necks, beef neck bones, and canned Mackerel. I try for one of each, each week for variety.

In addition to turkey necks and beef neck bones, fish, duck, rabbit, goat, and deer are all great if you can find them affordably. Still I would not substitute more than 1-2 meals a week.

I used to purchase and process my own vegetables into veggie cubes, but now I just get mine from Sam's. I buy a giant can of green beans and mix it with a 4lb bag of mixed vegetables. Over that I add three ginormous spoonfuls of garlic and mix it all up. I use a 1/3 cup measurer and feed one heaping measurement, once a day.

Eggs (organic or free-range) can be added to the diet. I have chickens, so add raw eggs 2-3 times per week. They are an excellent source of protein and vitamins. I mix them with their veggies and beef meal. Always include the shell when you feed eggs, you may have to crush it up into little bits and mix it in. Contrary to the 'old wives tale', raw eggs are very good for your dog as long as fed whole! Egg white does contain avidin, which binds up biotin.....but the yolk contains a ton of biotin which more than offsets the avidin. So the only way you would produce a biotin deficiency from feeding eggs would be to feed egg white only for a long period of time. It makes their coats gleam!

I do not feed pork. I would if I had enough freezer space to store it for six months, but I do not.

If you want a supplement use Wholistic Pets, Canine Complete.  It has everything you could want to give them. Do not give more than one level tablespoon, 2-3 times per week (no matter what the instructions say) as a little goes a long way.

I am always happy to talk about raw feeding so feel free to contact me if you have any questions

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