There are many ways to feed raw, our philosophy is based on the fact that we, in a figurative sense, serve the whole prey in every meal, as we prefer to have vitamins and minerals delivered as naturally as possible. There are many vitamins and minerals in the different elements that need each other for the body to metabolize them. For example, calcium and vitamin D are closely linked when it comes to bone health. Consuming calcium without vitamin D is like serving soup without a spoon - you don't get much out of it. Calcium is poorly absorbed from the intestine when vitamin D is lacking. However, there are no foods that contain both in large quantities. Calcium is obtained almost only from bones and cartilage, while vitamin D is obtained from the so-called fatty fish (herring, mackerel, salmon, etc.) and offal. The whole prey is therefore based on the following building blocks:
- Meat,
- Bones and cartilage (necks, wings, tails, throats, fish heads)
- Offal (liver, kidney, heart, lung, spleen)
- Tripe (stomach)
These parts can come from different animals, which helps ensure natural variation.
A meal at our house may consist of the following.
- Sardines, chicken breast
- Chicken thighs/necks
- Egg, liver, lung
- Tripe
- Spirulina and blueberries
Fortunately, the BARF industry has come a long way since the days when you had to sit and carve tripe yourself. Today, most products are available as what is called loose frost, meaning you can easily get the grams you need out of the bag without having to thaw a whole lump. This makes it undeniably easier to collect the entire prey.
It's very easy to get into nerdy details when you really go into depth with putting together meals for your dog, and I'll spare you that here, but I want to talk a little about vitamins and minerals, which I know is a big concern for many. If you're really worried, you can add a vitamin powder to the meal, but we can also take a look at which vitamins are actually found in meat, bones/cartilage and offal.
MEAT is a good source of various vitamins and minerals such as B vitamins, phosphorus, iron, zinc and selenium. Meat is also a good source of protein. The protein is of particularly high quality, containing all the essential amino acids. The content of most vitamins and minerals is almost the same, regardless of which animal the meat comes from, except for iron, where pork contains less than beef and lamb. Fish and egg yolk also count as meat, these also provide the important vitamin D.
OFFAL such as heart, liver and kidney is lean and has a high content of vitamins and minerals, for example vitamin A, B vitamins and the minerals iron and zinc. It is important not to overdose on liver in particular, due to the high content of vitamin A - it can cause an upset stomach in the short term, but in the long term it can cause other imbalances. The vital vitamin D is also found in offal, and is, if possible, the biggest reason why offal should always be included in your dog's diet.
CARTILAGE AND BONES provide vital calcium and help balance the phosphorus content in the body. Good sources of this are, for example, turkey and chicken necks, beef throats, wings, lamb ribs, lamb necks, breast bones and tails. It is also possible to get bone/cartilage products that are chopped, this can be an advantage for small puppies, small breeds and senior dogs. You will see that cartilage and bones are listed with 40% in the model, this is because there is usually also meat on these parts, and the total calcium value is therefore not 40%, but ends up at approx. 20-25%.
TRICOL is the stomach of prey and is a gift to your dog's immune system, filled with healthy bacteria that act as pure probiotics and help with healthy digestion.
You can combine the different parts from different animals, depending on what works best for your dog, variety is good, and most BARF shops carry a large selection of fish, game, lamb, beef, chicken and even kangaroo. There is no need to panic just because your percentages do not match 100%. What is most important is that all groups are represented, so that the body has access to the different vitamins and minerals. A one-sided diet of e.g. only bones and meat or only meat and tripe is far more harmful than whether you strictly hit 35% meat and 40% bones and cartilage every day.
When choosing BARF for your dog, look for producers who openly state where they get their meat from, how they have treated it and whether they are subject to veterinary control. The products you buy for your dog must not smell bad, meaning that tripe, for example, smells like tripe now, but fresh meat of proper quality, which is frozen immediately, should not smell disgusting when you serve it to your dog.
Usually, thawed BARF can be kept for 2-3 days in the refrigerator, but we recommend using the loose frozen products, as this way you don't have to thaw more than your dog will eat per day. This greatly reduces the risk of bacteria developing.
For me personally, there is no doubt that my dogs enjoy being fed raw, but I am not fanatical about it. There are definitely dogs that don't like raw because of the smell and texture, there are dogs that simply can't stand it, and there are dogs that are only fed raw occasionally.
But there are also dogs that are not fed raw, because unfortunately there are a lot of myths that make caring dog owners unnecessarily worried, so let's take a look at a few of these - in the last part of the topic about raw feeding.
This is the second part of the TOPIC VIEW on raw feeding. The other posts can also be found here on the DogCoaches website.
Author: Camilla Brøgger, Barks n Bones
We have just changed our name from Trenddog, which has been selling quality products to Danish dog owners since 2005. We have been selling BARF since 2010 and place great emphasis on the quality of the raw materials, including origin, handling and veterinary certification. In addition to our selection of BARF, we also carry the brands Orijen, Acana and Ziwipeak within dry food. The common denominator between the two categories is a high content of meat of proper quality. We believe that food should be as natural as possible, we believe this gives the healthiest body, and therefore there should be no artificial or unfavorable ingredients in the products that we choose to offer our customers. You are always welcome in our store in Østerbro for a chat about what we can offer your dog
The Complete Meal - PART 2 of 3
There are many ways to feed raw, our philosophy is based on the fact that we, in a figurative sense, serve the whole prey in every meal, as we prefer to have vitamins and minerals delivered as naturally as possible. There are many vitamins and minerals in the different elements that need each other for the body to metabolize them. For example, calcium and vitamin D are closely linked when it comes to bone health. Consuming calcium without vitamin D is like serving soup without a spoon - you don't get much out of it. Calcium is poorly absorbed from the intestine when vitamin D is lacking. However, there are no foods that contain both in large quantities. Calcium is obtained almost only from bones and cartilage, while vitamin D is obtained from the so-called fatty fish (herring, mackerel, salmon, etc.) and offal. The whole prey is therefore based on the following building blocks:
These parts can come from different animals, which helps ensure natural variation.
A meal at our house may consist of the following.
Fortunately, the BARF industry has come a long way since the days when you had to sit and carve tripe yourself. Today, most products are available as what is called loose frost, meaning you can easily get the grams you need out of the bag without having to thaw a whole lump. This makes it undeniably easier to collect the entire prey.
It's very easy to get into nerdy details when you really go into depth with putting together meals for your dog, and I'll spare you that here, but I want to talk a little about vitamins and minerals, which I know is a big concern for many. If you're really worried, you can add a vitamin powder to the meal, but we can also take a look at which vitamins are actually found in meat, bones/cartilage and offal.
MEAT is a good source of various vitamins and minerals such as B vitamins, phosphorus, iron, zinc and selenium. Meat is also a good source of protein. The protein is of particularly high quality, containing all the essential amino acids. The content of most vitamins and minerals is almost the same, regardless of which animal the meat comes from, except for iron, where pork contains less than beef and lamb. Fish and egg yolk also count as meat, these also provide the important vitamin D.
OFFAL such as heart, liver and kidney is lean and has a high content of vitamins and minerals, for example vitamin A, B vitamins and the minerals iron and zinc. It is important not to overdose on liver in particular, due to the high content of vitamin A - it can cause an upset stomach in the short term, but in the long term it can cause other imbalances. The vital vitamin D is also found in offal, and is, if possible, the biggest reason why offal should always be included in your dog's diet.
CARTILAGE AND BONES provide vital calcium and help balance the phosphorus content in the body. Good sources of this are, for example, turkey and chicken necks, beef throats, wings, lamb ribs, lamb necks, breast bones and tails. It is also possible to get bone/cartilage products that are chopped, this can be an advantage for small puppies, small breeds and senior dogs. You will see that cartilage and bones are listed with 40% in the model, this is because there is usually also meat on these parts, and the total calcium value is therefore not 40%, but ends up at approx. 20-25%.
TRICOL is the stomach of prey and is a gift to your dog's immune system, filled with healthy bacteria that act as pure probiotics and help with healthy digestion.
You can combine the different parts from different animals, depending on what works best for your dog, variety is good, and most BARF shops carry a large selection of fish, game, lamb, beef, chicken and even kangaroo. There is no need to panic just because your percentages do not match 100%. What is most important is that all groups are represented, so that the body has access to the different vitamins and minerals. A one-sided diet of e.g. only bones and meat or only meat and tripe is far more harmful than whether you strictly hit 35% meat and 40% bones and cartilage every day.
When choosing BARF for your dog, look for producers who openly state where they get their meat from, how they have treated it and whether they are subject to veterinary control. The products you buy for your dog must not smell bad, meaning that tripe, for example, smells like tripe now, but fresh meat of proper quality, which is frozen immediately, should not smell disgusting when you serve it to your dog.
Usually, thawed BARF can be kept for 2-3 days in the refrigerator, but we recommend using the loose frozen products, as this way you don't have to thaw more than your dog will eat per day. This greatly reduces the risk of bacteria developing.
For me personally, there is no doubt that my dogs enjoy being fed raw, but I am not fanatical about it. There are definitely dogs that don't like raw because of the smell and texture, there are dogs that simply can't stand it, and there are dogs that are only fed raw occasionally.
But there are also dogs that are not fed raw, because unfortunately there are a lot of myths that make caring dog owners unnecessarily worried, so let's take a look at a few of these - in the last part of the topic about raw feeding.
This is the second part of the TOPIC VIEW on raw feeding. The other posts can also be found here on the DogCoaches website.
Author: Camilla Brøgger, Barks n Bones
We have just changed our name from Trenddog, which has been selling quality products to Danish dog owners since 2005. We have been selling BARF since 2010 and place great emphasis on the quality of the raw materials, including origin, handling and veterinary certification. In addition to our selection of BARF, we also carry the brands Orijen, Acana and Ziwipeak within dry food. The common denominator between the two categories is a high content of meat of proper quality. We believe that food should be as natural as possible, we believe this gives the healthiest body, and therefore there should be no artificial or unfavorable ingredients in the products that we choose to offer our customers. You are always welcome in our store in Østerbro for a chat about what we can offer your dog