Raw Food (B.A.R.F.)

Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (B.A.R.F.)

Your domesticated dog is less then 1% removed from the DNA of the North American Grey Wolf!
Increasing the health, well-being, longevity, and reproductive capacity are the four most important reasons for feeding your dogs a raw dog food diet.  A raw dog food diet may also minimize trips to the vet, something your pet and wallet will thank you for.

What constitutes a raw dog food diet?  

Feeding your dogs what they are designed to eat.  Dogs are designed to eat what they’ve been eating for millions of years: raw, fresh foods.  A raw dog food diet resembles what their ancestors ate.  This closely resembles what wolves eat still today. They are hunters and scavengers, requiring a diet heavily based on meat and bone.  Notice how happy your dog gets when you give him a bone? Your dogs are simply reacting according to their instincts and genetic programming.  This is the basic philosophy behind feeding your dogs a raw dog food diet.  You’re simply providing your dogs a diet that they’re supposed to be eating.  Of course, you won’t hear any of the major dog food corporations embrace this philosophy or many vets.  Major dog food corporations are like most corporations today, where their utmost concern is their bottom line, not the health and well-being of their clients.

Major dog food corporations make their food out of a slew of rejected grains and meat, not to mention the addition of preservatives and other harmful chemical agents.  What’s happening in the major dog food suppliers is paralleled in the fast food industry today.  Both are providing sub-standard food that is cheap to make, filled with preservatives and toxic chemicals, but convenient to buy and eat.  We all know the dangers we face as humans if we were to eat nothing but fast food.  Why would you treat your dogs any different?  Eating a raw dog food diet is just as important for your dogs as eating a well-balanced diet is for you.

A raw dog food diet consists of many natural, uncooked foods of both animal and plant origin.  A raw dog food diet will include such things as muscle meat, bone, fat, organ meat, and vegetable materials.  Modern dogs are not only capable of eating the same food their wild ancestors ate, but they actually require such a raw dog food diet to ensure optimal health and to thrive.  The canine’s basic physiology has changed very little with domestication, despite the obvious differences in their modern physical appearances and behaviors.  Many zoologists embrace this rationale and follow such a regimen to preserve an animal species.

A raw dog food diet must be, above all things, biologically appropriate.  It is with this philosophy in mind that we at Ben’s Bark Ave Bistro carry Nature’s Variety and Stella & Chewies brand dog foods.  For example, B.A.R.F. Diets include the following natural ingredients: beef hearts, lamb hearts, chicken, pork, finely ground beef bones, beef liver, egg, broccoli, spinach, ground flax seed, beef kidney, etc.  Nature’s Variety brand dog food includes many different varieties such as beef, chicken and turkey, lamb, venison, and more.

At Ben’s Bark Ave Bistro, we embrace a mission that places your dog’s health and well-being at the forefront of all we do.  This is the driving vision behind the raw dog food diets that we endorse.

B.A.R.F. Diet Frequently Asked Questions

Does the BARF diet return our pets to nature?

No, definitely not.  Such a return is not possible and also unnecessary.  Instead, the BARF diet mimics the natural or evolutionary diet by using appropriate foods.  The natural environment is disastrous.  It includes lack of shelter, starvation and attack by potential food, attack by other predators and the complete lack of medical and surgical intervention.  This is not what we want for our pets.  We want an environment that maximizes health.  That includes a Biologically Appropriate Raw Food Diet.  A B.A.R.F diet.

Should I cook the RAW?

Cooking would render the food biologically inappropriate in a fundamental way.  Cooked food loses much nutritional value, including enzymes and biologically active essential fatty acids.  The latter, being damaged by heat and oxygen, become slow poisons, doing irreparable damage.  Cooking causes complexes to form between proteins and starches, between vitamins and trace minerals, and between minerals and minerals.  Cooking produces carcinogens and anti-immunogens.  Many minerals, essential amino acids and vitamins also become indigestible.

How much should I feed my adult dog?

Adult dogs can be fed between 2-3% of their body weight.  We recommend starting with 1/2 pound of food per 25 lbs of body weight daily and make adjustments according to your dog’s age and activity.  Remember that a healthy dog is not overweight.

How much do I feed my puppy?

It is recommended that B.A.R.F be feed to puppies up to 10 % of their body weight.  Therefore, if your pup weighs 10 lbs you should feed 1 lb of food divided between 3 or 4 feedings per day.  Growing puppies, especially the large breeds, should be kept lean so adjustments to feeding amounts will have to be monitored closely.

Do I need to supplement B.A.R.F ?

B.A.R.F contains all of the nutrients required. It is our aim – as much as is humanly possible – to source and use evolutionary foods.  That is why we insist that a wide variety of foodstuffs make up the components of this diet.

Can I feed processed foods with the B.A.R.F?

We do NOT recommend combining a raw food diet with processed foods.  The digestive rate for dry processed food is much longer than for raw foods which can cause digestive disturbances.  While acknowledging wholesome foods as basic to their own health, many people still believe their pets will be healthiest when fed processed junk food.  Not surprisingly, this simply isn’t so.

 What about bacteria in raw foods?

The presence of bacteria in raw food often worries pet owners and vets.  They assume these bacteria will make pets sick.  However, dogs, being scavengers, have evolved to eat and thrive on bacteria laden food, requiring them for immune system maturity.  Wild dogs eat the gut contents of their prey, and the feces of many different animals. They eat soil, contaminated meat, buried bones, and infected meat and so on.  These are all a source of microbes and any toxins they might produce.  That is why the bacteria in raw meat are of no consequence to ninety-nine plus percent of dogs.  This does not mean we recommend bacteria laden food for our pets.  What it does mean is that pets that have eaten commercial pet food for most of their life are safe eating raw food from clean sources.  Our B.A.R.F diets have been formulated through the HPP process. (High Pressure Pasteurization)  These diets are bacteria free. In fact, these diets, being meant to be fed RAW, are cleaner than our meats in the grocery store.  Our meats are meant to be cooked.

Are there safe handling procedures for the B.A.R.F?

Commonsense must prevail when handling any raw meat.  You do this all the time when you prepare a meal for your family.  After handling raw meat for your pets, do wash your hands before eating your own food.  Sterilize any knives, surfaces or utensils used in the preparation or handling of your pets’ food.  We recommend using a stainless steel dish which is washed thoroughly with soap and hot water after every meal.  Discard any uneaten food and store raw pet food in such a way it does not contaminate human food.  After thawing the food, we recommend it is only kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.  It’s that simple!

How is B.A.R.F  packaged?

Medallions ( 1 oz.), Patties (8oz.) Chubs (2lb. & 5lb) for Natures Variety. 1.5 oz. medallions for Stella & Chewies and BRAVO. All varieties have patties.  A patty weighs either 4 oz. (BRAVO) or 8 oz. (Stella & Chewies / Natures Variety) each bag contains 12 patties.  Sturdy, freezer-friendly poly packaging is utilized that reduces environmental waste.  Packages are date coded to comply with extensive trace back system which allows complete tracking of all raw materials from sourcing to finished product.

There are bones in the B.A.R.F. !

It is natural for both dogs and cats to eat bones.  Both a dog’s body and a cat’s body are designed to use bones as its main source of minerals – including calcium and phosphorus.  Our pets’ bodies have been doing this for millions of years.  Your pet cannot, suffer mineral deficiencies, imbalances or excesses, when raw meaty bones make up the bulk of its diet.  This applies to all ages, and all breeds, including puppies and kittens.  This is because bones are the storehouse of all the minerals your pet requires in perfect balance, and in the perfect form for optimal absorption. The bones in BARF products are very finely minced making them very safe to feed to your pets.

Why so many fruits & vegetables?

Domestic pets should be getting their carbohydrate in a similar manner and balance to their wild ancestors.  That means feeding fresh, raw (non starchy-low glycemic) vegetables (and some fruit).  The green vegetables contain only small amounts of starch and some simple sugars.  More importantly they are chock full of enzymes, nutraceuticals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids.

With no grains or starchy vegetables, where does my dog get its energy requirements from?

When our pets eat inferior dry pet food, most of their energy comes from carbohydrates.   That is, from starch, and also, from added sugar.  Both sugar and starch are damaging forms of carbohydrate that are biologically inappropriate for pet animals.  Together, these two carbohydrates make an enormous contribution to the degenerative diseases in our pets.  When pet animals eat their evolutionary diet (B.A.R.F) their energy comes principally from protein and fat, very little from carbohydrate.  Deriving their energy principally from fats and proteins is health promoting for our pets.  Grains can cause sugar levels to rise and then quickly fall causing highs and lows in insulin levels.  Grains contain very few vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals in comparison to vegetables.

Will B.A.R.F keep my dog’s teeth clean?

The results are in and it’s obvious that dog’s fed a raw diet have much cleaner teeth.  The processed or cooked foods eaten by dogs today are high in two substances; soluble carbohydrates and soluble calcium.  These two nutrients attack a dog’s mouth at every meal.  In addition, processed foods do not contain the naturally occurring enzymes found in raw foods so necessary for clean teeth.  Through the use of raw bones and a healthy BARF diet, your dog can have a sparkling smile!

Can I expect a change in stool volume?

Depending on what your dog has presently been eating, stool size is generally much more compact and odorless than when a dog has been fed processed pet foods.  This is because our B.A.R.F diet contains no extra or unnecessary fillers or grains.  The stool color may vary somewhat depending on which protein source is being fed.