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.