BelMar Great Danes are powered by BARF!

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

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.

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.

What I Currently Feed

I feed two times per day.  Typical meals include:

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