Jools Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Just make sure you freeze ALL meat and bones that you intend to feed raw for at least 24 hours before you use it. No matter what your source is. You sound like a girl after my own heart Maxhen! I'm a raving veggie married to a meat-eater, but provided he only eats "proper/real" meat, there are no problems. I haven't been freezing the bones for my dogs so I just wondered why it's recommended? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffie Posted July 25, 2006 Author Share Posted July 25, 2006 I wouldn't feed pork bones at all not even after freezing for simple digestive reasons and freezing I guess is due to bacteria Helen:? but as far as I am aware if there is bacteria then it lies dormant if frozen and then multiplies once defrosting. I work on the theory if the source is good then the product will be fine. Now daisie is well her immune system is dealing with natural bacteria and she is fine. Mikey has just started to eat meat again after many years BUT also only if it comes from a source that he can trace and that is from our farmers market or such like. This thread has many interesting views and bits of info. BBx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley-Jean Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Freezing is to make sure any tapeworm in the mucle (especially pork) is killed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Good idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffie Posted July 25, 2006 Author Share Posted July 25, 2006 Freezing is to make sure any tapeworm in the mucle (especially pork) is killed Yuk! It comes frozen anyway so no probs but you never see pork pet food for some reason Chris just says poorly digested I have another order coming on friday it's like a butchers here! BBx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I'm just trying to take this all in - having had a puppy for just 24 hours she's on Burns at the moment and the vet seemed pleased about this even though he did give us a Science Plan goodie bag - he looked almost apologetic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Just one question relating to bones, may sound a bit stupid how long do you let the dogs chew on them for? Smoked bones can last for quite a while but its best to keep your eye on them as they can begin to spliter and shards do come off. Once all the marrow is out of them i always stuff the insides with cheese or other nice goodies as a treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxhen Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 The bones that the BARF diet recommends are raw MEATY bones ie rib bones, neck, raw chicken wings (sorry), bones that have meaty,fatty qualities as well as boney sections. I get three enormous bags of bones from my supplier every two weeks and we sort them - the most boney ones are chucked out and the meatiest.faty ones are chopped up to suitable sizes for my dogs and bagged and frozen.... The dogs eat the whole thing. Mine have these sorts of bones every day as part of their evening meal - after the mince/offal/herbs/fish/fruit/veg/yoghurt/hempoil combis - to clean their teeth as they would in the wild. This is quite different from marrowbones which just sit around the garden until you can;t stand them anymore! They just get gnawed and slurped. Both sorts of bones are useful but the former ones form the basis of the BARf diet as set out in the books by Dr Ian Billingshurst - the originator of the diet for dogs and cats. The freezing is to kill off bacteris - again - I had info through a doggy forum about a dog that died because th mince it was given raw had just come from a supermarket chiller cabinet but had never been frozen. Everyone I know who does BARF with their dog packs folows this advice. Pork is the most risky to feed raw becasue of a parasite that needs so long frozen to kill off I seem to recall and I remember getting feedback from a parasite specialist when I asked the questions........The main risk in all these things is cheap imported meat - another reason to buy local and fully traceable! But freeze anyway to be on safe side. As for dry food - Burns really is very very good Leslie. Just make sure pup is on the puppy version and the right type for her eventual size (small/medium/large breed) as they have different nutirional needs becasue of this - to do with growth rates.... Lots of people raise pups on BARF - I have never done so.If I have another hound at the end of the year as kind of planned I'll have to think about it ! Helen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffie Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 Yes Burns are the best of the packaged foods as far as I am concerned and Burns have a good help line Lesley. With labs you want to protect their hips so Burns approach is 'lower' protein' for a slower growth helping protect dogs like jazz so that's a good idea. I tried everything they suggested for daisie it just became clear she wasn't thriving on any of the packaged foods. The higher protein or lower protein weren't staying put long enough to help her grow and maintain weight. That's when the vets were pressuring us so we got the second opinion, they were suggesting that she had an absorbtion problem but that isn't the case. BBx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Thanks Helen and Jayne. Strangely, last night I had a phone call from my Auntie - I only speak to her about twice a year. She had heard about the farm but not about the puppy. My Mum has two sisters - both doggy people who have bred dogs and shown at Crufts. I take after my Mother I asked her about the feeding and she said exactly what you are all saying about a more natural diet.. She did say, that even with a good dry food like Burns you would probably find after 5 years or so that niggly problems such as skin and ear problems and digestive change etc. would result in higher vet bills. I was going to be reading up about sheep but it looks like I'll have to read up on this BARF diet. Are there any good sources for reading about it? (apart from on here of course!) Would bones from our own pigs be suitable? We have just had their dung tested for worms in case they needed any treatment before slaughter and they don't have any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffie Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 Pig is harder to digest lesley and if you look on amazon you'll get all the books you could ned as sugested by helen. Chrisday has a great book and that's what I am using and the rest really is common sense. The dried foods no matter waht will encourage tooth and gum probs. The chewing and tearing of flesh means they clean their teeth naturally. Let us know what you decide and ask anyone who's posted on here for advice. If I can do it you can lesley. It is new to me and I was very unsure but it's simple if a bit messy at times BBx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Sorry - I missed the reference Helen made to books Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 I think the parasite is the pork tapeworm wwhich lives as a cyst in the muscle which can't be seen but the meat has a marbley (sp?) look which is called measly and the meat inspectors in abatoirs in the uk look for it If you are feeding pork the UK stuff should be okay (this is danerous for humans too by the way) It migrates to the brain and can cause death I think I have just put every meat eater off pork now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 ...and what are going to do with 5 pigs now Louise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Sorry Lesley Fortunately is is very uncommon in the UK I have never seen infected pork but I am told it is obvious to the trained eye but you do have to be aware of imported meat which may be an issue for animal feed If your pigs had tapeworm they would look very sick as it drains all the nutrients and they wouldn't be growing very well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley-Jean Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 I think the parasite is the pork tapeworm wwhich lives as a cyst in the muscle which can't be seen but the meat has a marbley (sp?) look which is called measly and the meat inspectors in abatoirs in the uk look for it If you are feeding pork the UK stuff should be okay (this is danerous for humans too by the way) It migrates to the brain and can cause death I think I have just put every meat eater off pork now You are absolutly right Louise aboput the tapeworm cysts and migrating to the brain if eaten, UK pork is quite safe and the practice of freezing all pork meat before sale was stopped some years ago. Meat from other countries who do not check their animals for tapeworm is less safe and should be frozen for a couple of days. Freezing meat DOES NOT kill bacteria however. It just preserves the bacteria in the meat until defrosted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Last time I saw them, they apeared to be growing fine The only pork I eat is bacon or ham - I just don't like the taste of roast pork or other cuts. This diet would've been brilliant for our lurcher - she was a rescue dog, so didn't have the best of starts healthwise and always had bad breath and digestive problems (mainly due to eating poo!). I wish I'd known about htis then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Its amazing what I remember from college 20 years ago Only problem is ask me something I need to know now and my facxe goes blank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffie Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 Yes Clare I wish I'd known more about it before . Have a friend who has been doing this for a couple of years popping over on friday so we will talk raw meaty bones no doubt Katie would have benefitted and our puss kits but it's no good regretting. BBx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 might be completely worng here but I 'm sure I read somewhere that pork is bad for kitties because the fat molecules in it are large in comparison to other meats and can cause problems. Basically the book I got my info from said with a barf diet we are trying to mimic a cat's prey so rabbit, chicken (sorry) and lamb (at a stretch) are fine as they are small animals and similar meat qualities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Mine seem to catch enough mice and birds to keep their diet healthy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 If they eat them then they will have nice clean teeth, we call them "takeaways". Standing on leftovers at 6am is not so nice for us though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 One of my cats leaves hers by the side of my bed or under Rosie's bed The other cat eats everything then sicks up the undigestible bits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 I once pulled wet washing out of the washing machine and a mouse head came out with it I doesn't bear thinking about how it got there. I do still think cats are great animals and companions, you may just need a strong stomach if they are hunters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Ugh. Luckily I'm not squeamish at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
