Re: [PyrNet-L] feeding

["Tracy Bassett" <espinay@dynamite.com.au>]

<<I am curious as to what the BARF diet is. I had two people mention it, but
not really explain what it is.     Thanks again: CHarlie>>

Hi Charlie,

A BARF diet is short for a 'Bones and Raw Food' or 'Biologically Appropriate
Raw Foods' diet.  Basically it is what it says :-), a diet based a closely
as possible on what a dog/canid would eat naturally.  Think of what a wolf
or other wild canid (such as the Australian Dingo) eats in its natural
state.  It eats raw meat and bones, whole small animals eg lizards and
rodents, small birds, eggs it can steal, berries and other ripe fruit, the
stomach contents of its kill, sometimes whole raw fish, etc etc.  They don't
cook their food (nor do they heat treat it, render it and turn it into hard
brown lumps! LOL!). A BARF diet seeks to mimic a dogs natural diet as much
as possible.  Of course we don't go about giving them whole lizards and
rodents etc LOL!

The best idea if you want to learn more about this method of feeding is to
get a hold of Ian Billinghurst's book "Give Your Dog a Bone", or Kymthy
Shultz's "The Ultimate Diet".  There is also plenty of info in the web about
it (including some on my webpage).  Here are a few sites which will start
you off with info on the basic concepts:

http://www.critterhaven.org/critterchat/feedingnat.htm

http://minden.com/barf.htm

http://www.ipass.net/~wrweber/barf.html

http://www.price-pottenger.org/Articles/potscat.html

http://www.naturopathic.org/articles.lay/EK.RawvsCooked.html

Feel free to e-mail me privately too if you want more info.

Tracy Bassett
Canberra, Australia
espinay@dynamite.com.au
visit my webpage at http://members.dynamite.com.au/espinay/index.htm