Is Barff Diet ok for 3 month old pups?

I have always been interested in the Barff diet. I have been feeding Ruby my 3 month old pup on James Wellbeloved Puppy performance complete biscuits and have added chicken, fish and rice ... all cooked. I went to our local pet shop yesterday and bought some tripe mince etc and noticed that it says to feed raw ie Barff diet.

Therefore, my question is can i feed a 3 month old this mince raw along with the performance biscuits or shall i cook the mince first? Presumably if so i must introduce it gradually?

Thanks guys
x

Many pups are weaned on BARF so it is safe to feed from a young age. My pup was having raw chicken wings from 8 weeks of age. Frozen blocks from the pet shop are intended to be fed raw and I wouldn't recommend that you cook anything containing tripe as the smell will not make you popular among family and neighbours Some pet shops sell Natures Menu raw mince which is formulated to be a 'complete' food (contains veg etc) so doesn't require anything added.

If you are going to go go down the BARF route, I would strongly advise that you read up on the subeject before embarking on it as you will want to ensure that your growing pup gets the right balance of nutrients. I can highly recommend 'Natural Nutrition for Cats and Dogs' by Kymythy Schultz (available from Amazon) as a very good starting point but there are scores of books available on the subject.

Yes it's totally safe my Cassie was weaned from birth on raw and she loves it she's having white fish today little thing eats better than me

HEAR HEAR !

I fed my (now 6month old) 5 week old pup on raw chicken wings and lamb ribs, she mostly chewed at the meat but I tell you I was very emotional when I saw it; they know what to do at such a young age, there is no other proof for me that this is what dogs are supposed to be eating.

I would not worry about doing the whole 'gradual' thing either too much, there are no additives in fresh real food that can upset a tummy, and the best time to start feeding properly is now.

I've had 3 week old pups chewing on raw chicken wings!

Done right, I think it would be great

Like someone mentioned, with the minces (that include the bone all ground down) you could wean them on those until they are able to tackle something like a chicken wing etc.

My two (adults) are having breast of lamb today

Sorry, just noticed you have a 3 month old...In that case there will be no problem at all.

Don't cook the meat though, the whole point of raw feeding is that it's raw and especially no cooked bones.

Also why not ditch the biscuits and do all raw. Some people find if they feed kibble at the same time as raw it can cause stomach upsets because of the vast difference in the rate of digesting kibble as opposed to raw, kibble tends to sit in the gut for ever and swells up and the raw is digested very fast.

At least if you would like to continue with the kibble, then do try to feed it opposite ends of the day, in separate meals.

You will do very well to search for specialized lists on raw feeding in a search engine and join them to ask lots of questions about what to include in the diet and how much. I find Britbarf really helpful, they made alot of things seem really clear to me.

my two girls went onto Barf at 4 months, the breeder originally had them on raw meat but weaned them onto an all in one before they went to their new homes as she felt it was safer if people didn't understand barf.
Mys and Sansorella are the acknowledged experts on this and I have loads of info from them which has been a lifesaver. Today my girls have had some ox heart mixed with pet mince from my butcher and broccoli. The are 6 months on May 23. They look really well and have grown loads and have far too much energy for my liking, so obviously the barf diet really suits them. When I read that it takes 14 hours for dried food to leave their system as opposed to 4 hours with barf it was obvious which route to take.

Yes its perfectly safe to feed pups a raw food diet, I weaned a litter of 10 on to it

You will need to understand the basics tho so heres a few links that might help, I`d suggest you get some books as well

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html
http://www.rawlearning.com/index.html
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.co...raw.htm#sample

probiotic yoghurt and cottage cheese can help aid the digestion of kibbles or oaty/corn based feed, if you wanted to continue with this...