Ok, I know that the title of this page doesn't sound particularly wonderful, but the BARF diet has saved our lives in some cases here at Mayhem and our wallets in others. The BARF diet was created a long time before the idea of kibble ever came to some scientist's mind. Before World War II, most people who owned dogs kept them for working as well as companionship, doing anything from herding the farmer's sheep and cattle to pulling carts filled with goods to local markets. At the end of the day, whatever the farmer and his family ate, so did the dog. This, compiled with the idea of "what would our domesticated animals eat if they were not yet domesticated, is the foundation for the BARF (stands for Bones And Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods) diet came from. The concept is simple, really. What would our wonderful pets eat if they lived in the wild?

The answer to this question is quite simple also. When was the last time that you saw a dog foraging for veggies or grazing through a wheat/oat field? Now look at your bag of kibble. I would guess that within the first five ingredients either corn or wheat is listed.

The other thought is do you know what goes into processed dog food? Please keep in mind how lax the USDA is with food made for human consumption and then consider whether you think that they would be more or less stringent with dog food. What you will find (should you decide to research what types of meats are in your dog's processed food) will SHOCK YOU. The types of food that the dog food companies generally falls into one of the four "Ds": Decaying, Dying, Diseased or Deformed. Some dog food companies even go so far as picking up road kill. Some have even been caught using animals that were put to sleep (either for health reasons or because of over population).

It is important to note however, that this is not what led Mayhem to using a BARF diet. When Xena came to live with us at 4 months old, she ate pretty well until she reached 7 months. At this time she began with a somewhat normal stage for beardies which is the "living on air" phase. She virtually refused to eat. We tried approximately 12 different brands of kibble and she would eat all for a few days and then, forget about it. During this time we had also gotten Buster, who was starting to go through the same thing. We tried EVERYTHING and Xena was still weighing in at an incredibly thin 26 lbs. I had both of their blood checked (multiple times) to rule out disease and parasites, and the doctor pronounced both of them in great shape, just thin.

This was when I started researching the BARF diet. After months of research, I went out and bought the beardies their first BARF meal. Jeff thought I had completely lost my mind. I watched them eat to make sure that they were not choking and when I was satisfied (as were they) I left the room. Jeff went to check on the beardies, but was still a bit upset that they hadn't left the bones from the chicken! He also wasn't letting me give the chicken to his dogs at that time. This lasted less than 1 week because I could hardly get the beardies fed as the bassets wouldn't let me pass them by with "the good stuff".

Another wonderful reason for the BARF diet is that your dog has allergies. We have had several dogs come in for rescue with allergies and after one to two months of the BARF diet, they were showing no signs of allergies. OF course this would change if they were put back on kibble. The reason for this is that dogs digestive systems are not meant to digest most carbohydrates and the wheats, oats and corn over time will cause the dog to become allergic.

Please understand that should you decide to talk to your regular vet about the BARF diet, there is a good chance that he/she will not be thrilled. This is because if you check with most vet schools, the nutrition portion of our vets' schooling is generally provided by the dog food companies and therefore they are more than a bit hesitant about a diet that is so against the grain (pardon the pun!).

For more information on the BARF diet, please go to www.barfers.com and remember, just because this is how we feed doesn't mean that it is right for everyone. Do as much research as you can and then do what you are most comfortable with.

The following is a picture of a rescue that we had picked up (a 4 lb. Chihuahua) enjoying his dinner along with someone else's dinner!  :)