# Barf diet???



## rachelrobbo89 (Sep 26, 2011)

Hiya i am after a little advice on the BARF diet! is it expensive? can you mix it with dry biscuit food and where can you get it from?? any info would be great!


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

You have come to the right place.....Lots of Barf experts are on here....I am not one...but I am sure people will have lots of info to tell you.


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

You can make it yourself, but a lot of us use Natural Instinct, easily googled. They do a balanced meal that takes all the guesswork out of it. Give them a call they are so helpful and knowledgeable.


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## Janev1000 (Oct 4, 2011)

Hi Rachel Many of us use Natural Instinct - just google their website - and find it a very easy way to feed a BARF diet. It's a bit more expensive - but worth it for the convenience of having a complete food with the correct ration of meat/bone/veg, etc but you can replace some of the meals with supermarket foods such as chicken wings. There are other convenient ranges too such as Raw To Go and Nature's Menu. It's not advisable to mix it with any dry foods as they both digest at different rates. Some people feed BARF for one meal and kibble for another but not together.


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## Jukee Doodles (Apr 5, 2011)

rachelrobbo89 said:


> Hiya i am after a little advice on the BARF diet! is it expensive? can you mix it with dry biscuit food and where can you get it from?? any info would be great!


There are a few versions on here - just type BARF into the search panel on the side and take a peek !

Here are a couple:

http://ilovemycockapoo.com/showthread.php?t=3122&highlight=BARF

http://ilovemycockapoo.com/showthread.php?t=1513&highlight=BARF

Stephen x


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## rachelrobbo89 (Sep 26, 2011)

thanks guys ill have a gander on google  can you buy it it bulk,and does it come in sachets ? ive been told that the recognisable dog meats you can buy in supermarkets arent good for your dog and it makes them go to the toilet far more than they need to is this true?


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## lola24 (Aug 14, 2011)

I use rawtogo, they get raw/wet/dry food but never in the same meal- i change it a bit depending on whether i have got anything out of the freezer!
A bag from rawtogo (454g i think) does my 3 (lab/cocker/cockapoo) 1 meal- they are aroung 60-80p each, varying on what meat you get.
Depends on your dogs weight and age to how much they will need (adults 2-3% of bodyweight per day, puppies are more- upto 8%). Natural instinct or rawtogo would advise you on this.


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

rachelrobbo89 said:


> thanks guys ill have a gander on google  can you buy it it bulk,and does it come in sachets ? ive been told that the recognisable dog meats you can buy in supermarkets arent good for your dog and it makes them go to the toilet far more than they need to is this true?


It's more cost effective to buy it in bulk. Because it is raw food, it arrives frozen in tubs very similar to ice cream tubs. Either 450g or 1kg. The 1kg is approx 4 days food. Once defrosted keep it in the fridge. Or if mega organised, part defrost and divide it up into portions before freezing again. 

As for toilet, we've spoken many times on the raw diet giving them 1970's poo. Small, firm and dries to a White chalking substance if left out for a few day  low odour too.


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

Hi Rachel, I have some info about the way I raw feed just here http://www.embees-cockapoos.co.uk/1/category/raw feeding/1.html


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## Sezra (May 20, 2011)

I also use www.rawtogo.co.uk and can highly reccomend them. If you are a member of the Cockapoo Owners Club you are entitled to get 10% discount off your first order 

Cockapoo Diet


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

Sezra said:


> I also use www.rawtogo.co.uk and can highly reccomend them. If you are a member of the Cockapoo Owners Club you are entitled to get 10% discount off your first order  Cockapoo Diet


Ohhhh - I didn't realise that. I'm going to give that a go then as I expect it will be cheaper than NI.


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## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

embee said:


> Ohhhh - I didn't realise that. I'm going to give that a go then as I expect it will be cheaper than NI.


It does look cheaper, but doesn't include any veggies or supplements and there is no information on the site about these. I think that it would be good for someone who is already into BARF, has done lots of research and knows what they are doing, but I still would recommend Natural Instinct for a beginner as it is a complete food and the people there are so knowledgeable and helpful. NI is a really good, easy starting point.


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## rachelrobbo89 (Sep 26, 2011)

Thanks for the info guys. Could I use collards senior food for am and then barf for the pm meal? Or would you guys just stick completely to raw food? 
X


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

Dylansmum said:


> It does look cheaper, but doesn't include any veggies or supplements and there is no information on the site about these. I think that it would be good for someone who is already into BARF, has done lots of research and knows what they are doing, but I still would recommend Natural Instinct for a beginner as it is a complete food and the people there are so knowledgeable and helpful. NI is a really good, easy starting point.


I would only use it to replace some meals not in place of NI. When I talked to NI they said replacing up to 5 meals a week with carcass, wings etc would not leave the dog short of the veg and supplements. At the moment Flo has around 4 carcass meals and 1 mackerel meal a week so R2G would just be another NI meal replacement option to keep the cost down. Maybe I'll also have a go at making a veg mix. There's good info here http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-health-nutrition/111437-raw-feeding-everything-you-need-know.html


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

rachelrobbo89 said:


> Thanks for the info guys. Could I use collards senior food for am and then barf for the pm meal? Or would you guys just stick completely to raw food?
> X


I don't see why you couldn't do this although you'll only get the benefits of raw - like small, odourless poo - if you go completely raw. I think I might tend to do manufactured as the pm meal so it can be digested overnight when resting then raw as the am meal as it is more easily digested.


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## Jeanie (Jan 23, 2012)

Is there anyone on this forum that has a 5month old and feed them NI? 
I'm just wondering do u know roughly how much it costs you per month. 

I'm just trying to do my maths cause if I go ahead with the NI diet I will have to pay shipment from the uk to Ireland 

Thanks 


Jeanie 😉
http://pdgm.pitapata.com/xfpV.png?Q1pT6eHd


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

Jeanie said:


> Is there anyone on this forum that has a 5month old and feed them NI?
> I'm just wondering do u know roughly how much it costs you per month.
> 
> I'm just trying to do my maths cause if I go ahead with the NI diet I will have to pay shipment from the uk to Ireland
> ...


Remy is 6 months old and was weaned onto NI. She currently has 1/3 kg per day. That would work out at 10 x 1kg tubs a month which for NI adult chicken would be £28.50 per month. If you replace some meals with carcass, sprats or mackerel then this brings the cost down a bit.

If you do buy from NI I can also recommend their frozen tripe. It takes Remy a good while to chew through and I feed a chunk as a treat or a meal replacement now and again too. It comes frozen so is natural with no additives and doesn't smell (stink!) like the dehydrated version http://www.naturalinstinct.com/products/Green-Tripe-Sticks.html


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## Jeanie (Jan 23, 2012)

embee said:


> Remy is 6 months old and was weaned onto NI. She currently has 1/3 kg per day. That would work out at 10 x 1kg tubs a month which for NI adult chicken would be £28.50 per month. If you replace some meals with carcass, sprats or mackerel then this brings the cost down a bit.
> 
> If you do buy from NI I can also recommend their frozen tripe. It takes Remy a good while to chew through and I feed a chunk as a treat or a meal replacement now and again too. It comes frozen so is natural with no additives and doesn't smell (stink!) like the dehydrated version http://www.naturalinstinct.com/products/Green-Tripe-Sticks.html


Thanks for that. Sounds reasonable,must check out the shipping cost. 
Thanks again. 
I love your profile pic, so cute x 


Jeanie 😉
http://pdgm.pitapata.com/xfpV.png?Q1pT6eHd


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## rachelrobbo89 (Sep 26, 2011)

If you buy the raw meet from the local butchers would I have to freeze the meet bfore feeding or can I give it him straight away?


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## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

You can feed straight away. The only meat/bones recommended to freeze first are pork as there is an organism that may be in pork that is killed by freezing. Most of us don't tend to feed pork anyway.


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

Dylansmum said:


> You can feed straight away. The only meat/bones recommended to freeze first are pork as there is an organism that may be in pork that is killed by freezing. Most of us don't tend to feed pork anyway.


Some salmon and trout from certain areas can carry parasites so should also be frozen for 24 hours before feeding.


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