The Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, or Bones And Raw Food (BARF) diet is a canine’s natural diet. When wild species of canine hunt, they kill and eat their own prey raw. The BARF diet does not go so far as to advocate letting your dog hunt and kill its own food, but it does encourage a homemade doggie diet that is based mainly on raw meat and ground up bone. Prepared BARF products are also available to help pet owners in Gainesville save time.
A human being should not be eating processed foods all the time, and neither should a dog. The BARF diet might not be the best thing for pet owners all the time because it can be time consuming and expensive, but most ethical pet owners are shifting to a BARF diet as much as possible. A BARF diet provides dogs with what they need most: raw, unadulterated protein and no processed foods that are high in sodium, fillers, and unnecessary carbohydrates.
Committing to a BARF diet full time requires dedication, commitment, time, and money. The pet owner needs to prepare the BARF diet for the dog in ways that are sanitary and also have room to store the prepared foods. Raw meats can be contaminated with bacteria. Even if the dog’s immune system can handle the bacteria, the bacteria can get your family sick if you do not follow proper food safety procedures. Therefore, it is essential that pet owners be careful and conscientious when feeding their dogs a BARF diet.
The BARF diet does not need to be a full time commitment. Many pet owners are opting for balance—blending ethical, sustainable dog food products with the BARF diet. The variety of raw food prepared dog food products in Gainesville has grown in the past several years, offering ethical pet owners options.