Schlagwortarchiv für: barf

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The successful conversion to BARF feeding

Don't worry. You do not need a calculator and also no study, in order to convert your dog to a BARF feeding. For ourselves, we do not weigh every day whether we take enough calcium, iron, fat or protein to us!

It is important that the food is varied and fresh! This is true for the dog, as well as for ourselves!

In our previous blog posts, you will find detailed information on which vegetables/fruits and meats are suitable for feeding, what composition of muscle meat, fat, offal, bones, vegetables/fruits and oils the rations should have, and many other useful tips.

Ready to go?
To prepare, all you need to do is create some space in the freezer, get yourself a sharp knife with which you can easily cut meat and have a way to grate vegetables and fruit or chop them with a food processor, for example. A blender and a kitchen scale are also good helpers!

You can easily make the switch from one day to the next for a healthy dog. Do not mix dry food and fresh meat in any case!

It is important not to overload the digestive tract during the changeover. The stomach, pancreas and intestines must first adjust to the new food and nutrient composition. Introduce different types of meat gradually and also start initially without bones, offal and with only one type of vegetable.

Get started.
For the first week, start with an easily digestible muscle meat like turkey or chicken. You should also choose only one type of vegetable at first. Carrots or zucchini are best for this.

Natural food tip: Mix the best directly the sufficient amount for a whole week together! Then simply portion, freeze and defrost as needed!

As a source of fat add to the lean meat a little goose fat, lard, butter fat or coconut fat.

Ready for the next step?
If meat and vegetables are well tolerated, you can now add chicken necks or wings as a supplementary bone portion. If you do not want to or cannot feed bones, algae lime, deer horn meal or eggshell powder should be added as a calcium source. Offal such as chicken liver can now also be added to the feed bowl.

Give your dog 1-2 weeks until you introduce the next protein source, e.g. beef. If this is well tolerated, now also feed animal by-products such as rumen, leaf stomach, cartilage, etc. to.

Observe your dog's digestion and always take the next step only when there are certainly no digestive problems. Otherwise, take a step back and wait until everything has normalized.

What you can do to support your dog during the transition?
Diarrhea or even vomiting may occur during the first few days. However, these symptoms should subside after 2-3 days at the latest. You can support your dog by giving him intestinal bacteria (probiotics such as Probiotic or Basis-Damaufbau) to build up the intestinal flora. To calm the stomach, flaxseed mucilage can be given about 15 minutes before feeding in case of vomiting and occasional spitting.

After the conversion
It is sufficient to feed about 3 different types of meat (protein sources) in alternation after the successful conversion. For fruits, vegetables and herbs, alternate as you see fit based on season and availability. The more varied the vitamin sources, the better.

You will see the positive effect of the change of feed:

  • the amount of stool becomes smaller
  • the chair becomes firmer
  • the dog drinks less
  • Better defined muscles
  • Shiny coat
  • more pleasure from eating

 

Food refusal?
If your dog refuses the new food, try one of the following tricks:

  • Pour warm broth over meat and vegetables
  • Lightly fry meat in coconut fat
  • Sauté the vegetables, puree and mix into the meat

Some dogs are spoiled due to the flavor enhancers in the ready-made foods and must first learn to classify and accept the new food as "edible"! The dog can do without food for 2 days as long as there is always enough fresh water available. So stay consistent 🙂 You will see! Once tried, the industrial food is quickly forgotten.

If you have any questions or problems, feel free to contact us!

If the effort is too great or you are unsure, ready-mixed Barf menus are also excellent. These already have a good mix ratio of marbled muscle meat, offal, minced bones, vegetables / fruit and oil.

Get started! It's never too late to eat healthy!

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Festive roast for dog and cat?

Christmas is just around the corner and one or the other of us is looking forward to the holiday roast or Christmas goose! And of course we also want our dogs and cats to get a special treat for Christmas!

Unfortunately, this often backfires. Because some dogs and cats react rather with vomiting or diarrhea to the unfamiliar food. And a well-intentioned feeding of the strongly spiced sauce or the leftover bones of our tasty Christmas dinner, ends in the worst case for our dog in the veterinary hospital.

Rather surprise your four-legged friend with a tasty chew item such as dried beef or rabbit ears or delicious dried or fresh chicken necks. Chicken necks are also a great Christmas snack for cats.

So that it can be a merry Christmas for all, here again an overview of the types of meat that you can basically feed and what to consider when feeding bones! Even if Christmas is beautifully long gone!

 

The animal portion of the ration should be about 70% for the dog and about 95% for the cat! No matter whether you feed barfen, dry food or wet food.

To keep your pet healthy, it is important to bring variety into the bowl. The variety ensures that he or she regularly gets all the necessary vitamins, minerals, trace elements and vital substances! However, 2-3 different protein sources in alternation are completely sufficient!
It applies: in principle, all types of meat can be fed!

Attention. The following list applies to healthy animals that do not have to do without certain foods due to illness!

 

Beef, sheep, goat, lamb:

  • Muscle meat such as head meat, cheek meat, diaphragm meat (crown meat), stab meat (neck), mouth meat, tongue meat, leg meat, tail meat, heart, etc.
  • Offal like liver, kidney, rumen (green), lung
  • Hooves, teeth, ears, horns to gnaw and chew on

 

Poultry: ducks, chickens, turkeys, pheasants

  • whole, minced or in cuts
  • Meat, cartilage, bones (only raw!!!), offal, necks.
  • WARNING! Goose necks are very fat
  • Day-old chicks represent a complete prey animal

 

Game: excellent source of meat if you have a good source of game meat

 

Horse: all parts as for cattle

  • is often used in case of allergies, as far as the animal has never been given this protein source before

 

Pig:

  • only from organic farmers, or from a reliable source, since pork can contain the Aujeszky virus, which is dangerous and usually fatal for dogs and cats.

 

Fish: Bones can be fed with raw fish without any problems

  • Fish can be fed as a whole or as a fillet
  • Saltwater fish: redfish, herring, tuna, cod, salmon, mackerel, dorade
  • Freshwater fish: catfish, pike-perch, trout, carp, pike...
  • because of the heavy metal pollution in the sea please pay attention to the origin or switch to freshwater fish
  • No Pacific salmon due to rickettsiae contamination -> 4-6 weeks freezing at -18°C renders the pathogens harmless
  • ATTENTION: when feeding whole fish in front of fishhook

 

Bones: always feedraw

  • Feed raw meaty bones (RFK) with a meat content of 50%.
  • Do not leave especially inexperienced dogs unattended in the process
  • for small, young or old dogs are suitable softer RFK such as chicken necks, chicken carcasses, rabbit carcasses, or the like (be careful with bones from old chickens! These bones can be brittle and break off sharp parts).
  • experienced and larger dogs can also get harder bones like: Turkey necks, duck necks, lamb ribs, venison ribs, veal breast bone or beef breast bone.
  • Bones can be replaced by adding eggshells (powder), deer horn meal or algal lime.

 

Offal: 

  • Liver, kidney, spleen, lung, heart ( heart strictly speaking counts as muscle meat).
  • Offal can alternatively be replaced by the addition of brewer's yeast, cod liver oil and egg yolk

 

Fat: To supplement the fat content of the ration, fats such as lamb fat, lard, goose fat or coconut fat can be added. This is also recommended for Barf menus whose raw fat content is less than 10%.

 

We wish you happy holidays! 

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BARF basic rules for dogs

In our consultations, we always find that BARF still scares off many dog and cat owners! Many fear it is too complicated or are afraid to make mistakes. And that is certainly not entirely unjustified!

But a biologically species-appropriateraw feedingcan be quite simple, if you follow a few basic rules!

  • BARF does not simply mean feeding pure muscle meat!
  • For dogs, the BARF meal should consist of about 70% animal ingredients and about 30% vegetable ingredients.
  • animal components: Important for the supply of all nutrients is a mixture of approx. 50% marbled muscle meat (with fatcontent), 15% offal such as liver, kidney, lung or similar, 15% rumen or leafy stomach and approx. 20% bones (minced or raw).
  • vegetable components: Vegetables, herbs and fruit can be fed grated raw or steamed and pureed. The proportion of vegetables should predominate and fruit should only make up about 1/4.
  • In addition, carbohydrates in the form of pseudocereals (swollen millet, buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth) can be incorporated into the 30% vegetable portion. Cooked potatoes or sweet potatoes are also possible.
  • In addition, the addition of fats/oils is important for the utilization of fat-soluble vitamins and for the supply of omega 3,6 and 9 fatty acids. Salmon oil or linseed oil are particularly suitable. As a fat supplement to a lean meal, lamb fat, goose fat or coconut oil are suitable.
  • It is not necessary to always cover all components in every meal. What is important is a regular supply of everything throughout the week.

Play it safe with BARF menus, which already have the right mixing ratio of all important animal ingredients and you no longer have to put together anything yourself. Please pay attention to a sufficient fat content. If this is below 8-10%, you should add coconut fat, goose fat, lamb fat or butter fat.

  • For the Feeding amount is always based on the target weight of the dog.
    • Young dogs: 4-5% of body weight in g
    • adult dogs: approx. 2-3% of the body weight depending on the activity level
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BARF basic rules for cats

Free-rangers eat up to 12 meals a day in the form of mice, birds, etc.! So they take their food periodically in smaller quantities. Unlike the dog, whose digestion is designed to take very large amounts of food at one time and then sometimes nothing for a long time.

From their prey, cats eat mainly meat and bones, heart and brain. Unlike dogs, cats usually leave the digestive tract of their prey lying around. They apparently do not need the plant nutrients it contains. Cats also cannot utilize carbohydrates for lack of the carbohydrate-splitting enzyme needed for digestion. They are pure carnivores!

What does this mean for the feeding of domestic cats? After all, their nutritional needs are the same as those of their free-roaming friends?
The best food you can offer your cat is a meal consisting of 95% fresh raw meat, fat, cartilage and bone and 5% fiber.

BARF for cats

  • The meat content may well include 25-30% whole or ground bones in addition to marbled muscle meat, liver, heart meat.
  • If the cat refuses them or you can not feed them, calcium must be added in the form of eggshell powder.
  • You can feed fiber in the form of coconut flakes, rice flakes, spelt flakes or sesame flakes. These fibers replace the fur of the prey animal and they stimulate intestinal activity.
  • Suitable herbs are parsley, catnip or cat grass.
  • Ideally, like the outdoor cats, your house cat will have the opportunity to eat its meals in several portions throughout the day.

Additives

  • Salmon oil is an important source of omega 3 fatty acids and arachidonic acid
  • the amino acid taurine, which is essential for the cat, should be supplemented daily e.g. by green-lipped mussel powder if the requirement is not covered by feeding e.g. chicken hearts (heart meat in general), lamb, fish (cod, fresh tuna) or shrimps/seafood with the meal.

The feeding quantity is always based on the target weight of the cat.

  • 2 - 6 months: 4 -5% of body weight in g
  • from 6 months: 3 to 3.5% of body weight in g
  • Seniors: 2 - 2.5% of body weight in g

There are now also BARF menus for cats with an optimal, ready mix. As an alternative, cold-filled wet foods are available. Since they are not heated to high temperatures, heat-labile nutrients such as taurine are also preserved and no synthetic vitamins or other nutrients need to be added again afterwards.

 

Fluid requirements
Cats cover their fluid needs in nature by the blood of prey animals and drink otherwise quite little. Therefore, feeding dry food is strongly discouraged, as cats will not automatically drink more. Lack of fluids and highly concentrated urine stresses the kidneys and can lead to urinary stones.

 

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