What is barf food?
The acronym BARF stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. It consists mainly of raw meat, edible bones and offal, which are accompanied by a variety of vegetables, cereals, fruits, oils and nuts, in order to achieve a complete and balanced nutritional result. The main advantage of raw food is that, due to the absence of heat treatment, it retains all its nutrients unchanged.
Should I choose cooked food or raw (barf) food for my dog?
Both types of food (raw/cooked) belong to the category of natural nutrition, therefore they have the corresponding benefits for the animal's body, such as high nutrient absorption ingredients and the absence of additives or artificial preservatives. The basic difference of the two types of food lies in heat treatment, which also determines the maximum allowable percentage of meat in the recipe. Cooked meat, due to its fat, cannot be present in a large percentage in the diet. The reason is that the animal's body does not metabolize cooked fat adequately, resulting in the possibility of causing pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), if meat constitutes a large percentage of the diet. On the contrary, the fat in raw meat is more easily digestible and does not pose a corresponding risk. For this reason, the recommended meat in a cooked food is up to 50% of the total ingredients, while in one raw it can reach 80%. Therefore, if we have a pet that should not consume a lot of meat (e.g. an animal with kidney disease), then we will choose cooked food. On the contrary, if we have a pet that should not consume a lot of carbohydrates (e.g. an obese animal) or an animal that prefers meat in its diet, we will choose raw food.
Does my dog get the necessary nutrients from barf food?
If the food recipe is properly designed, yes. A proper raw food recipe must have around 70% meat, 10-15% bone, 10-15% vegetables, 3-5% fruits and 5% oils, fruits and herbs. The balance of red and white meat is essential to ensure a balance of vitamins, fatty acids and minerals. The variety of vegetables and fruits is equally important to achieve a balance of urine acidity and avoid the appearance of crystals in the bladder. Finally, oils and fruits are sources of essential fatty acids, Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, which are beneficial only when given in the correct proportion to each other. The individual proportions vary depending on the nutritional needs and health history of each animal. A recipe ideal for one animal may be disastrous for another animal, for this reason It is very important that recipes are designed by appropriately qualified personnel..
Why should I prefer barf food for my dog?
Proper raw food is an excellent way to provide your dog with all the necessary nutrients, without the presence of artificial additives or processed ingredients. The intense processing of dry food ingredients is often cause of food allergies or intolerances in pets, since the body of many does not "recognize" the processed ingredient of the food and reacts to it. Due to its high absorption (95% compared to 70% of dry food), Raw food is utilized to the fullest by the body and results in the production of a much smaller volume of stool. Also, due to the low percentage of carbohydrates, it contributes to increase in muscle mass and the reducing excess fat, which makes it ideal for cases of overweight or obese animals. Finally, due to its high moisture content (75-90% compared to 10% of dry food), it ensures adequate hydration of the body, which is the key to the good health of our animal.
Is barf food suitable for every dog?
For healthy dogs, yes. The most common cases where raw food may not be ideal for our pet are: liver disease, the kidney disease and the presence of uric acid crystals in the urine. In liver disease and in the context of liver “detoxification”, it is often necessary to reduce meat in the diet in order to reduce the levels of dioxins ingested by the body. In kidney disease, it is usually necessary to reduce total protein intake, since the kidneys cannot adequately process its metabolic products, such as urea. Uric acid crystals usually appear in animals undergoing treatment for leishmaniasis and, in order to eliminate them, it is necessary for the food to be low in purines. The purines They are substances found in meat, especially in the viscera, and, by extension, are found in large quantities in a typical raw food diet.
Can I make barf food for my dog?
There are many companies in the trade, properly licensed, that prepare raw foods. In case the guardian of an animal wishes to prepare the food himself/herself, this it is possible provided that the food is complete in terms of all nutrients and safe in terms of microbial suitability. In order for the food, and by extension, the animal's diet, to be complete and balanced, the ingredients must be in the correct proportions between them and the total amount consumed daily by the animal should be appropriate for their caloric needs. Regarding food safety, special attention is needed because it is a thermally unprocessed product. In raw food the risks regarding security is the presence of pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic parasites and many bone or large bones. With the proper freezing of food we eliminate the risk of parasites and with the correct recipe we ensure the correct proportion of bones of appropriate size. Excluding the presence of pathogenic bacteria is more difficult, due to the absence of heat treatment, but if the meat comes from a reliable source and hygienic conditions have been carefully observed during the preparation of the food, the risk is reduced to a minimum.
2 Raw Food Tips, from the petfoodologist
- Many raw foods, especially commercial ones, contain an excessively high percentage of bone, due to incorrect recipe design or an attempt to reduce manufacturing costs. presence of bone at a rate of more than 20% involves risks such as constipation, the intestinal rupture and disproportionate calcium absorption, phosphorus and vitamin D, resulting in significant metabolic disruption and the development of metabolic diseases.
- Raw meat from the butcher shop, no matter how high quality it is, is designed for human consumption, not for companion animals. This means that it is intended to be eaten cooked, so there is no need to sanitize it for parasites beforehand. For this reason, If we are making homemade raw food and purchasing meat from a butcher, we should freeze it for 3-4 days (at least), before administering it to our pet.
