Did You Say BARF Diet for Dogs?   by Frank Eshelman

in Other    (submitted 2011-02-17)

What is the BARF Diet for dogs? Frankly, I find the BARF acronym unpalatable; even so, it has a certain zing to it, thus I will go with it in this article. BARF is short for Biologically Appropriate RAW Food. Some buyers make reference to BARF as Bones and Raw Food. That also works.

BARF supporters are the ones who hold to the attitude that dogs together with cats should really be provided for based on their evolutionary requirements. Basically, a BARF diet plan consists of whole grain products, high quality meats, organ meat, bone, fat, vegetables plus fruits--foods that the forebears of cats and dogs would definitely have discovered normally in the wild.

That doesn’t sound terribly groundbreaking, does it? So what the heck is all this commotion about the BARF Diet regime? Certainly, the BARF Diet is flying in the face of Big Bag Refined Dog Food Manufacturers. I won’t call out any particular corporation, because that isn't advantageous to anyone. Suffice it to say, these companies have a corner on the marketplace.

It won’t surprise you to find out that before 1930 most dogs were being provided a BARF Diet program because that was readily accessible from the family farm dinner table. Additionally, mass produced processed dog food had not become common as it is nowadays. It generally looks to me that this BARF Diet movement with regard to dogs closely parallels our revelation that McDonald’s french fries are in no way health food. If a processed food diet is unhealthy for humans, then it follows that a highly processed food diet is harmful to our canine companions also.

Even if my supposition in this article appears to be accurate, the jury is still out. There are few studies up to now validating the merits of the BARF Diet and numerous reports by Dog Food Companies proving the benefits of manufactured kibble. To be fair, Commercial Dog Food Manufacturers are usually hard at work attempting to make upgrades to large bag canine foods. For instance, it is much easier these days to find Omega-3 added or whole grain and meat based pet foods on pet retailer shelves. On the other hand, we have seen some findings of E. Coli as well as Salmonella in BARF Diet goods. Like I said, the proverbial jury remains out.

Nevertheless, if your dog has a hypersensitive stomach, diarrhea, foul smelling feces, tooth rot, itchy hot places, and/or ear microbial infections, we suggest choosing a natural and organic, chemical free, hypoallergenic dog food, rich with whole grain, healthy proteins, nutritional vitamins, digestive enzymes, minerals, and Omega-3 fish oils. BARF, Organic, Hypoallergenic, or big bag refined pet food: the key to a long living, healthy canine is the excellence of the food given. Read the labeling and pick the least processed food. It can and likely will strengthen the overall health of your best buddy.

You can find more information about hypoallergenic dog food choices at http://www.hypoallergenicdogfoodhome.com. This site is the best place to learn about hypoallergenic dog food.

About the Author

Frank is a dog lover and dog food test researcher.