BARF: The Raw Food Diet for Dogs

. I came across the 'theory' or movement if you will, of raw food diets for dogs, after the recent massive pet food recall. I began to look for alternatives to store bought dog food. I came across the controversial BARF diet. BARF stands for: Bones And Raw Food. An Australian veterinarian, Ian Billinghurst 'founded' this diet for dogs in his 1993 book "BARF: Give Your Dog A Bone". Barf is a raw food diet for dogs consisting of; raw meat, raw bones, and raw vegetables.

After visiting many 'pro' raw dog food websites and forums, I almost started to feel guilty, as if I had been intentionally poisoning my dog by feeding her kibble. They talked about major dog food companies adding huge loads of grain to bulk up the dog food. They talked about preservatives, additives, carbohydrates. Honestly it was a topic I never really gave much thought to. Upon closer investigation, I discovered that like the Atkins diet for humans, Dr.Billinghurst has cashed in on his 'diet'. I am sure there are a lot of people who will be persuaded to try the raw dog food diet, due to the toxic dog food hysteria sweeping the nation. Before I explain what I mean by this, let me give you a quick description of the raw food diet for dogs.

The raw food diet claims that a dogs system can't handle cooked grains. Dogs can't cook, probably for a good reason. (Or process grain, their paws don't allow for the use of technology.) The enzyme 'amylase' is needed to break down and digest grain. This is a different enzyme that breaks down animal proteins (in raw foods). Over time, this enzyme overwhelms the immune system leading to allergies, and other immune problems. The raw food diet claims the ideal food for dogs would be a diet similar to that of their ancestors. This would be muscle meat, bone, fat, organ meat and vegetable materials. Throughout history, dogs survived on raw food Commercial "dog food" has only been around for about 60 years. Dogs never went extinct after a mass exposure to salmonella or any other bacteria. Dogs are supposedly better equipped biologically to handle bacterium that enters their digestive system.

At first glance, this theory made sense to me. However, the problem with this theory is that dogs today live in a very different environment than their ancestors did. Dogs as pets live indoors, with heat and if they are one of the lucky ones, air conditioning. Most are certainly not hunters, and dogs eat everyday in contrast to their foraging ancestors. A raw meat diet, is high in fat, may not be appropriate for the pampered modern dog.

In all the paranoia over the recall of pet foods, I fear people may also be looking for an alternative to store bought pet foods. Instead of finding a healthy balanced food for their pets, they may rush into what appears to be the latest craze: the raw food diet. This whole theory reminds me of the Atkins Diet craze of a few years back. Let us not overlook the fact that Dr. Atkins suffered a heart attack, congestive heart failure and hypertension shortly before his death. That does not stop all the dieters looking for an alternative to healthy eating from 'doing Atkins' and buying the official Atkins products. In my opinion Dr. Billinhurst is the 'Atkins' of the pet food world.

The official Barf website called "Barfworld" is not what I expected. After visiting forums on the topic, and reading numerous testimonial of die hard raw food diet advocates, I expected to find an informative website. The first thing on this site that sent up a red flag, was the fact that they are selling supplements. If this was the perfect diet, why would there be a need for supplements. And what is even more confusing, is this description taken directly from the advertisement for one of the supplements:

"Dr. Billinghurst's Certified Organic Icelandic Kelp Powder :Dr. Billinghurst's Organic Icelandic Kelp is harvested from the clean, mineral rich waters of Iceland's fjords from the Ascophyllum seaplant beds..."

My confusion stems from the question, "How did the ancestors of dogs get fresh kelp to wash down their dinner of liver, and heart?" I am seeing a contradiction, at $10.00 a bottle. And that's the regular supplement; the "Barfplus" is $39.00, but free shipping of course.

After reading all the conspiracy theories about the 'evil dog food companies', 'not caring about the dogs', just feeding them bulk grain to keep production costs low and income high... I wonder if the raw food diet is not jumping on the same bandwagon. Who loves their dog most? Buy this product if you do! There is nothing more effective than the marketing ploy of guilt.

As for my seven year old dog, she is perfectly happy, and healthy. She has been eating pretty much the same few brands of dog food her whole life. I admit, she eats the occasional cookie here and there. She has eaten thousands of Cheerios that my kids have dropped over the years. She gets a piece of birthday cake every year. Either she is a mutant breed of dog that can handle grain, or she is just enjoying a dogs' life.