Should i feed my puppy BARF?

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Dogs fed on a natural diet appear to work longer and harder.

By Paul Rawlings

Saturday, 10 November 2007

I have recently acquired a 12-week-old springer pup. I'm currently feeding James Wellbeloved dry food, but after reading about BARF am somewhat confused. What is the best diet for a puppy at this age, what food should I move on to and at what age?

A: Using high-quality prepared pet foods, especially those developed for the different breeds and life stages will provide a correctly balanced diet and the same, of course, is true using raw materials.

However, it is far more difficult to get the exact balance right with raw foods and there is also the issue of supply and storage.

In a busy kennel, feeding an all-in-one diet is more convenient, but I still have reservations about the stamina levels of some gundogs fed solely on dry food. Dogs fed either way appear the same on the outside, but the real test is stamina.

In my experience, dogs I have owned that were fed a natural diet appeared to work longer and harder. The recovery rate also seems quicker when fed raw foods.

If your puppy is doing well on its present diet and its motions are firm and regular, don't change to something different, but research canine nutrition more fully before considering changing to a natural diet.

The Doglopaedia, by Evans and White, is a good place to begin

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Comments

ROB MUELLER

January 29 15:59

I read your comments on using raw food. I have been advocating the use of raw diets for over 32 years. I am currently one of the owners of BARF World, Inc. We supply several raw meat formulas for sporting dogs. You are totally right about the stamina building features that a raw diet provides. There is a night and day difference in the performance of the sporting dogs. I have been involved in the feeding of our nations Greyhound racing dogs for over 15 years. There are reasons why a racing dog can only win if fed a raw meat base diet. Your suggestions to feed the raw diet is a good one. Keep up the good advice.

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