Re: [pyrnet] BARF?/Abady???

[Steelmoment@aol.com]

In a message dated 5/30/01 2:46:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time, rene1@sprint.ca 
writes:


> Although I was under the impression that the BARF diet also contained
> grains and rice. 


Hello again Sariena,

Some people add grains to the diet - personally I do not.   

Boy, I feel so out of the loop on all this new and improved way to dog
ownership. Not just the diets, but I hadn't even heard of clicker training,
prong collars(yikes!) and the like, till I got the internet 3 months ago!

LOL!   Like everything in life we keep learning and learning!   I think when 
someone feels they have nothing left to learn then there's a problem!

The Abady Diet is a wonderful diet - My dogs would not continually eat it and 
some of the problems that my dogs had did not disappear - i.e., ear 
infections (which were gone after one week on the BARF diet).    Abady does 
contain corn and we suspect that was the culprit.     Barb will correct me if 
I am wrong here but I believe it may also contain brown rice.    

I was wondering if it was also OK to mix the BARF diet with the kibble(Iams
Large breed) just to ease my mind, that he's getting enough of what he
needs. Or rather incase I'm not doing it right

This is not recommended due to the fact that many kibbles contain fillers, 
dyes, and sugars.    Once you have read the info on the Barf diet and get the 
answers to your concerns you cannot do it wrong.    Raw Meaty Bones (RMBs) 
are the primary ingredient of the diet - they can include chicken necks/backs 
- turkey necks/backs - beef ribs/lamb shanks etc., many people use deer or 
emu rmbs too.   This makes up for 60% of the diet.    Veggies such as romaine 
lettuce, dandelion root, carrots, celery, and many of the green leafy veggies 
are crushed thru a juicer to break the cellulose wall in order to release the 
nutrients/minerals in them, as well as making them easier to digest.    The 
basis for this is because if your dog were to say eat a rabbit - it would eat 
the meat and bones and the stomach.   The stomach contents contain broken 
down veggies which the dog can utilize and digest.    In the veggie mix we 
add offal (liver -- hearts -- kidney) along with some ground / minced meat, 
another addition is supplements of flax seed oil and/or fish oil, vitamins e, 
c & b complex.    This is done because of the lack of nutrients in the soil 
in which the veggies are grown in.   Most people do not supplement daily or 
feed veggies daily.

I could go on but will not waste the lists time on this.   As I suggested 
check out the lists and read -- then make your own decision for what is best 
for you and your dogs.
IMHO if it's not broke then don't fix it.    If a certain food works for your 
dog by all means stay with it.   

Take care and if you have further? Please email me!
Dianne Migas - Jersey Shore
Steel Moment Great Pyrenees
EMAIL:    Steelmoment@aol.com