I've been BARFing

No, not barfing as in being sick, I've begun eating a BARF diet! This is a raw meat & meaty bones diet. Ever since I came to live with mum & dad at 15 weeks, I have not had the greatest digestion. Sorry to be a bit gross, but I have frequently had very bad wind (think people having to leave the room) & lots of tummy upsets. Mum & dad changed me from the food I was on when I came to live with them to a high quality complete dry food, but I was still having problems once or twice a week, & eating anything much apart from that brand of dry biscuits & treats gave me a very bad tummy. Because I got bored of dried biscuits & more dried biscuits I was frequently scavenging for food, which just gave me even more tummy problems.

Mum & dad spoke to the vet, but she didn't really offer much help, so they just carried on with the dry food, giving me boiled rice & chicken when I was really bad, whilst looking into alternatives.

They did a lot of research & reading on BARF feeding, and also got advice from a couple of people who are feeding their dogs this way. A lady at the Wheaten Terrier Health Initiative gave them lots of help. They have been feeding their dogs this way for over 10 years. Mum also got help from a lady with an Airedale just a little older than me who has been fed this way since 8 weeks old (just like Jaffa has been).

I have now been eating raw for a week, & I have to say I'm feeling pretty good on it. I have had no smelly windies, my poops have been much smaller & firmer, I am getting a GREAT variety of foods so mealtimes are something to REALLY look forward to. Mum & dad have noticed that I seem more calm & relaxed already.

My first BARF meal was some lamb, as mum knows that the lamb kibble was the best one for me tummy wise. It smelt sooooooooooooo good as soon as the packet was opened & tasted even better. Mum thought I would gobble it up as I tend to hoover up my biscuits, but I actually ate it slowly, enjoying each mouthful.

Mmm, how tasty does that look? Mum has also been giving me a couple of tablespoons of natural yogurt & some blitzed up fruit or veggies as part of this meal each day, as well as a teaspoon of garlic powder & some kelp. I have also tried rabbit, chicken, beef, tripe (stinky but oh so yummy) raw eggs with the shell & mackerel.

Can you seem my tongue in this photo? That's a sign of how delicious I was finding my meal. I used to drink LOTS of water as my biscuits were so dry, but now I am drinking a lot less as my food is naturally full of moisture.

For my other meal in the day, I am getting raw meaty bones. This means things like chicken wings, turkey necks, rabbit portions, lamb neck, lamb flank. These bones are about 50/50 meat & bone. I have to crunch it all up with my teeth, so I get nice clean teeth as well as tasty food. Mum says once a week I can have some lambs heart, liver or some other offal.

Here I am trying out my first ever chicken wings. At first I did not have a clue what to do with them. I kept licking & licking but knew there must be more to it than that.

After a few minutes I tried picking it up & crunching it between my back teeth. Much better. I was able to break it down & eat it all up. Yummy!

I am loving my new food. I know it isn't for everyone & I hope I haven't grossed too many of you out. I reckon I was allergic to the grain in my biscuits & even the rice mum & dad were giving me to help my runny tum. Mum & dad are off to the butchers tomorrow so I can't wait to see what goodies they will bring back.

Thought I'd leave you with a photo of me & my fat daddy! Is he bigger than your fat daddy Simba? He has those glasses that go dark when you go out in the sunshine, he's not really posing in his sunglasses in the house! You can really see what a big boy I am getting to be. And yes, there is a fridge in our lounge! Dad's mum & dad moved out to live in Spain last week & they gave us their HUGE fridge freezer, so our little fridge is now waiting to go to a new home. They have taken my 2 toy poodle cousins Sammy & Suzy out to Spain too, so I hope they can speak to & understand the woofs & barks of the Spanish doggies out there!

Licks

Oscar x