Pros & Cons to Feeding a Raw Diet      

Pros:

Teeth.  If you are feeding raw bones,  the teeth stay significantly cleaner.  So white in fact that people continually comment on them!   As a result, breath is better, and we never have to clean teeth.

Variety.  The diet allows us to "tweak" each dog's diet to suit their individual needs.  An intact male in training for Schutzhund or Agility trials for instance will have dramatically different dietary needs than a 12 year old spayed bitch.

Digestability.  The raw diet does not expand in their stomach the way kibble can,  resulting in less chance of bloat.  The fact that the dog "uses" more of the nutrients in their food results in smaller stools.

Palatability.  Dogs love this diet.  If you're not convinced, swing by our place at dinner time to see the "Chicken Dance".  Even picky eaters will scarf down their food with gusto.

Condition.  BARF fed dogs generally have superior muscle mass, proper coat, and appropriate energy levels.  Pups grow more slowly, eliminating problems like Pano and the like.  Eyes are bright and we rarely see problems like ear infections, hot spots or allergies.

 

Cons:

Time and Space.   As you can imagine, it takes additonal time and lots of freezer space to feed a raw diet to eight Rottweilers.   The additional time will be frustrating at first, but you will eventually find a system that works for you (see "Food Care/Prep" at left).  As for space, a large freezer will pay for itself quickly in money that you save purchasing your meat in bulk.

Buying.  In some areas, it is difficult to locate good meat sources at reasonable prices.  You may have to hunt around.  Talk to other BARF'ers in your area to see where they find their RMB's. 

Detoxification.  You may see some undesirable changes in your dog immediately after switching over to raw such as vomiting, diarrhea or poor coat condition.  This is due to normal detoxification and is discussed further on our "Getting Started" page (link at left).

Your vet, friends, family & co-workers.  Most veterinarians receive only a few days of nutritional education during all their years in vet school.  And that education is usually sponsored by the major dog food companies.  You will likely find that, unless yours is a holistic vet, you wil receive some resistance from your veterinarian.  Listen to what they have to say, but also expect them to listen to you.   You're friends, family and co-workers will be even worse.  Their sole education in most cases is what they've heard through the grapevine.  Nonetheless, they will be instant experts, telling you that you should never feed your dog people food, that dogs choke on chicken bones and even that dog will become vicious if they taste raw blood.  Smile and remind them that this is your dog and that you know what is best for him/her.   If they are willing to listen, have them do a "Google" search on BARF Dog and read a bit.