Is it OK to feed BARF diet to puppies?

[em&ollie]

I have wanted to feed my dog a BARF diet ever since I heard about it. I was planning to feed chicken necks, human grade mince, vegetables, fish, eggs etc. But I just got an email from my breeder regarding this:

Thepuppies
will need a puppy growth biscuit for at least six
months - DONT skimp on cheap foods at this stage - you
mentioned the BARF diet previously - many vets do not
recommend this for growing pups - how do you know what
vitamins are lacking n what you are feeding. Puppy
bikkies are formulated so pups dont lack anything. if
you want to had some homecooked food the recommended
mix is 3/4 dry formula and no more than 1/4
meat,chicken - scraps etc. NEVER feed only meat this
will encourage a picky eater.
My cavs are eating Purina small breed bikkies
currently. My advice to you is BARF diets require
careful planning every week, whilst you will rely on
your parents to help, feeding with a good quality
commerical food takes the worry out of this planning
and has all the nutritional needs of your growig pup.

Do you think it's ok to feed BARF to a puppy? And with the dry food I would prefer to feed Innova or supercoat, well really anything other than Purina. What do you think?

Thanks in advance

Emily

 

[RD]

I know many people who have raised puppies on raw, and they do just fine. I'm not sure if I would do it with a giant breed pup, just because they're prone to growth problems as it is. If you've done your research and know what will go into your dog's diet, I don't see why you couldn't raise a pup on raw.

 

[em&ollie]

Thanks Grace I wouldn't call cavvies giant so I think I'm safe there

 

[Danegirl2208]

I know many people who have raised puppies on raw, and they do just fine. I'm not sure if I would do it with a giant breed pup, just because they're prone to growth problems as it is. If you've done your research and know what will go into your dog's diet, I don't see why you couldn't raise a pup on raw.

Giant Breed puppies do absolutly fine on a raw diet actually

 

[PWCorgi]

My cavs are eating Purina

Well, I wouldn't really take their advice on anything regarding diet, to be perfectly honest.

I think if you do a lot of research and know what you are doing it should be fine.

FYI- I think there might be a Yahoo! Group just for raising raw puppies, you could check that out.

 

[em&ollie]

Thanks for the advice PWcorgi and yeah I mostly agree. This breeder is great in every other way though and I guess most people know how hard it is to find a 'perfect' breeder. I'll check out the yahoo group thanks

 

[DanL]

Actually, feeding raw to a large breed is good, it lets them grow at a slower rate. Most "puppy" foods let them grow too fast.

I don't see a problem with feeding raw to pups, but you need to make sure you are hitting all the required vitamins/minerals and ratios. I fed Gunnar raw from 5 months, would have started him sooner if I'd done my research sooner.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

Raw fed from 10 weeks.....

1)Penny

2) Odessa

raw fed for a lifetime....pictured at 10 years old
3) Roxy

Raw fed for a lifetime as well, pictured at 8 years old

4) Fenja

 

[papillon806]

A raw diet is perfectly fine for growing puppies ONLY IF you balance it correctly (regarding calcium/phosphorus) and make sure adequate vitamins are there (supplement may be necessary).

 

[Saje]

I agree with all. You'll definitely want to get as many books and other sources on the diet as possible to make sure you know how to balance things. Ask questions. Mordy is a great resource. And I was going to make the Purina comment too. It doesn't sound like she knows much about nutrition. Go with your gut!

 

[em&ollie]

Thanks for all the advice evryone, taking it all in! I will start looking around for nutrition books now and ask all the questions humanly possible I think you've created a monster lol

 

[whatszmatter]

my puppy started being introduced to raw by the breeder at about 5 or 6 weeks and she still gets it. We didn't start adding bones till about 9 and a half weeks cause of the transition of being taken from the breeder to my place, but she showed zero signs of distress and we probably could have started earlier.