Is BARF right for us and our puppy?

[alp]

We have a 8 month old springer pup who has always been on the skinny side - she is currently on Burns food and we moved her from Burns Mini Bites to Burns High Energy Lamb about 8 weeks ago and in that time she has put on about 1kg so she has put on weight but not masses. (Shes currently 8.5kg up from 7.3kg)

She looks a bit better but we can still see her ribs - especially when she is runnign about.

Her poops are inconsistent - somewhere between solid and soft with the occasional runny day.

we don't feed her any human food and all her treats are homemade (spoilt) she does have some dried tripe sticks everynow and then.

So, as we still seem to have a skinny pup do I - keep on the same food or change to BARF - Natural Instincts shop is local to us and yesterday they did a good sales job on me and i came away with a free sample of puppy food and a lambs spine!

So wise MNetters - would BARF be good for pup? I don't really want bones being chewed all over the place and would prefer to keep her food in her bowl!

Im afraid to say my vision of BARF is a little like feeding the lions - especially as Natural Instinct mentioned half a lambs head!

If its not right then I have a pack of defrosting puppy food which I will happily give to a local MNetter!

UptownAbbie - I too get a bit obsessive about stuff like this - I have no such worries about what I feed my kids but pup....here I am worried about bone/meat ratios

Pup has had natural instinct breakfast - lamb spine for lunch (whole thing got eaten) and will have kibble for tea.
Will prob repeat that tomorrow (2raw meals) and then move 100% raw from Monday.

Then I'll worry about what I am serving for Xmas day

(as a note the lambs spine was part of the sample given by natural instinct-didn't want you all to think I am worrying one minute and then serving up spine the next! )

Excellent alp sounds like alp-pup is well on the way to being part of the Raw Food Club.

The thing that stopped me getting obsessed worrying overmuch was to remember that the whole point of this diet was to get back to natural eating, what their bodies were designed for. In the wild they'd not get a balanced diet every day, just what was available. Therefore if you are a bit heavier on bones one day/week due to supplies, don't worry it'll balance out.

I'm considering giving Millie more whole meats occasionally rather than minced to encourage her chewing.

this was interesting

I'm avoiding minced meats because my dog would just inhale it in seconds like he did with kibble, can't be good for digestion.

You can give minces frozen or partly frozen to make them last a bit longer!

uptown I serve the mince in a lump so it can't be inhaled, she has to chew it, just don't break it up too much.

Doesn't last long but it still gets digested the same.

Potty Yes I fed it partly icy to cool her down in the summer...seems a bit cruel at the moment though!

I've just found out that its best not to mix meats at a meal - gave dog chicken leg with small amount of beef mince yesterday and he had very smelly wind after, which hasn't happened with just chicken or tripe meals. Then got first email from the Yahoo group Britbarf this morning which says to stick to one one kind of meat at a meal. Will try the mince on its own to find out if it was giving it with chicken that caused the problem, or just that beef gives him wind.

It's a learning curve uptown that's for sure....smelly wind not good!

Thunderbolt you can go straight on to the raw diet, some converts say it's less upsetting for the dogs stomach than a gradual change, seemed to work for mine. I use her leftover kibble as training treats or for our doggie friends-always have a pocket full for when we get mobbed at doggy rush hour!

Thunderbolt - I thought that might be the case but I chicken wing seems so scrawny! Have yet to get chicken wings - have stocked up as much as my freezer will allow with natural instinct - which should help with the Xmas madness - I might lop a bit off the turkey on Xmas day if I remember!

Lots of people swear by it, but I decided against it on a number of grounds

A) DDog comes into contact with a very elderly relative, and sometimes tries to lick her face. I don't want to add in salmonella or e coli to that mix

B) I run a food business from home, and while DDog isn't allowed in the kitchen for that reason, I doubt the environmental health officer would be best pleased

C) freezer space - I just don't have the space in my cramped flat for another freezer dedicated to DDog's dinners

It's all an entirely logistical decision. He has good quality kibble instead.