BARF Diet For Dogs: What Benefits Does It Offer?
The BARF diet for dogs is based on the consumption of foods considered more natural and suitable for the animal’s body. The abbreviation BARF in fact means Biologically Appropriate Raw Food , also known as the ACBA diet, or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food .
This diet is considered the best food plan for the dog to recover its evolutionary nutrition, with all the consequent benefits for its health.
To adopt the BARF diet, one must purchase foods such as meat, fish, fruit and vegetables. These foods are free of chemicals instead found in treats sold in pet stores.
Its supporters claim that the BARF diet allows the dog to reach its full genetic potential in terms of health, longevity, physical activity and reproduction. In other words, the dog’s diet must resemble as much as possible its evolutionary diet, that is, the one adapted to its body.
Portions of meals
Properly prepared, this diet is very balanced. If you are thinking of adopting it for your dogs, remember that the pet must be guaranteed the correct rations of vitamins, proteins and antioxidants.
Meat is the main ingredient: it makes up 60-80% of the BARF diet. She must be lean and low in fat. The best meats are therefore white ones, such as turkey or chicken. However, lamb, veal or fish are also good.
Fruits and vegetables represent the remaining 20-40% of the BARF diet. Although the dog can eat a wide variety of plant foods, he must avoid some of them. Vegetables unsuitable for dogs include grapes, avocados, citrus fruits and tomatoes.
Dogs can eat spinach, chard, celery, potatoes and broccoli. In addition to these foods, cauliflower, peppers, turnip, pumpkin and carrot are also indicated.
Orange-colored vegetables, such as carrots and squash, contain an abundance of vitamin A. We recommend offering the dog as much vitamins and minerals as possible.
As for fruit, the dog can eat almost any fruit in season: apples, pears, bananas, apricots, papayas, berries, strawberries or berries are great options. The wider the range of fruits and vegetables administered, the greater the amount of nutrients and vitamins offered to the dog.
Benefits of the BARF diet for dogs
The BARF diet offers several benefits. These include improvements in physical performance, mood and health.
Physical benefits include a healthier, stronger, and shinier coat. In addition to this, this diet considerably improves the dog’s body odor and eliminates tartar from the teeth. We will also notice a change in the stool: smaller quantities, less pungent odor and appropriate consistency.
Another advantage offered by this diet is the increased appetite on the part of the animal. Thanks to the variety of flavors, textures and aromas included in this diet, we stimulate the dog’s appetite and encourage him to eat with more pleasure.
In addition, by eating products that are chemical-free and that have not undergone food processing, the animal will be healthier and live longer.
A more balanced diet increases the animal’s muscle mass, as well as its resistance to internal and external parasites and reduces the risk of suffering from diabetes. There are many advantages deriving from adopting the BARF diet for the dog and in a few weeks you will already see the difference.
How to adopt the BARF diet for dogs
We need to make sure that we feed the right portions to the animal which, otherwise, would not eat enough. This would harm his health and could cause nutritional deficiencies, so he would be more prone to disease.
We must reserve the same attention and hygiene for preparing food for dogs as we do for ours. Meat and fish must be frozen before consumption in order to eliminate bacteria and parasites. We can then cook them on the grill or steamed to be sure that they have completely eliminated the bacteria.
It is advisable to cut the food into pieces that are not too small. In this way we force the animal to chew, which causes the release of endorphins, the hormones of happiness, and promotes its oral hygiene.
In addition to what has already been said, the BARF diet involves the administration of fleshy bones. These must be soft, raw and proportional to the size of the dog, but above all to its digestive capacity. It is not recommended to give the animal cooked bones, because they tend to break more thus increasing the risk of accidents.
If your dog is used to eating kibble, he may initially reject this new meal plan. It will therefore be necessary to gradually include him in his daily life.
You can include small portions of the BARF diet in his usual meals, and then increase the quantities little by little.
It is very important to prepare food respecting precise hygiene rules and to guarantee the animal the right portions. The ideal is to define the BARF diet for the dog with the help of a nutritionist veterinarian.
