Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog food forum > Feeding raw food to dogs & cats - B.A.R.F - RMB - Homecooked diet

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old May 7th, 2008, 06:18 PM
brandikiss's Avatar
brandikiss brandikiss is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Iowa
Posts: 13
BARF Diet Newbie: How much Meaty Bones do I feed?

I recently adopted a 2 year old male Bichon Frise. He is sooo picky about kibble!! In searching for kibble that he might like, I read a lot of things about the bad stuff that gets put into most kibble.

So I found a great one called "Now!" from www.petcuren.com But he barely will eat kibble, so I started giving him Deli Fresh brand Chicken and vegetables meat during the day and "Now!" kibble at night. Then I read that Deli Fresh puts a synthetic vitamin K that can be toxic, so I don't want to give him that anymore.

Then after a lot of research I found that the BARF diet might work out well for him. Of course he LOVES meat, so he likes the taste but then I read a lot about BARF diets not having enough vitamins. So what I do is give him Nature's Variety frozen medallions during the day and "Now" kibble at night. So far it's working well. But, I wondered, with a BARF diet, how many meaty bones are you supposed to feed your dog each day? One? Or do you only give it to them once or twice a week? Is it going to add a lot of calories? Because I don't want him to gain weight.

The frozen medallions say to give him 4 a day for complete feeding, I do 2 a day and half the kibble he needs a day. But now, where do the raw meaty bones come in?

Please help. I want my doggie to be healthy. He's the first pet I ever had and I love him so much.

Thanks.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old May 8th, 2008, 07:15 AM
want4rain's Avatar
want4rain want4rain is offline
Swift Tribe
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: NC, USA
Posts: 2,445
its not really about how MANY meaty bones you feed (since bones come in all shapes, sizes and species) but how much you feed in relation to how much meat you feed.

-ashley
__________________
Pastafarians Unite!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z1buym2xUM

Swift Tribe-
Chris- Husband, 04/30/77
Cailyn- Daughter, 07/05/99
Jeffrey- Son, 03/24/06
Alex- Son, 03/25/09
Mister- Black LabX, M, 08/06(?)
The Shadow Stalker- Gray Tux DSH, M, 04/04
The Mighty Hunter- Black Tux DSH, M, 04/04
Baby Girl- Tabby DMH, F, 12/03(?)
Frances- Tortie, DSH, F, 2007(?)
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old May 8th, 2008, 09:55 AM
pitgrrl's Avatar
pitgrrl pitgrrl is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: MTL
Posts: 1,199
Quote:
Originally Posted by brandikiss View Post
Then after a lot of research I found that the BARF diet might work out well for him. Of course he LOVES meat, so he likes the taste but then I read a lot about BARF diets not having enough vitamins. So what I do is give him Nature's Variety frozen medallions during the day and "Now" kibble at night.
If you're feeding Nature's Variety it's formulated to meet the guidelines set out by the AFFCO, which is the same minimum standards used by most kibble. Personally that isn't what I would use to judge a food, but if you're worried about it in relation to kibble that might make you feel better.

Quote:
Originally Posted by brandikiss View Post
So far it's working well. But, I wondered, with a BARF diet, how many meaty bones are you supposed to feed your dog each day? One? Or do you only give it to them once or twice a week? Is it going to add a lot of calories? Because I don't want him to gain weight.

The frozen medallions say to give him 4 a day for complete feeding, I do 2 a day and half the kibble he needs a day. But now, where do the raw meaty bones come in?
Like want4rain mentioned, it's about proportions. Nature's Variety already has bone in in the patties (quite a bit actually), so if you're feeding that you don't actually need to add anything more. You could give recreational bones for the dog to chew on to take advantage of the tooth cleaning benefits, but if anything Nature's Variety patties are pretty bone heavy, so no need to supplement with more edible bone.

That said, if you want to feed a raw diet that you assemble yourself, you'll probably want to do some reading to figure out what you're doing before diving in.

ETA: in terms of portion size, each dog is different. What is marked on the bag is only a starting point. For example, my dogs need to eat about 3% of their body weight a day to maintain their current weight (a bit less in the summer). Some dogs each only 1-2% a day, others more than my two. I would just keep an eye on your dog's weight and adjust how much you feed accordingly.

Last edited by pitgrrl; May 8th, 2008 at 09:59 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old July 15th, 2008, 01:11 AM
brandikiss's Avatar
brandikiss brandikiss is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Iowa
Posts: 13
Thanks

Hey thanks Pitgrrl! I just saw your response now.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:46 PM.