- Here kibble is the basis; BARF is for a few dogs and for a couple of months at most.
- A home-made raw diet easily gets the amounts wrong: in a study of 95 rations, about six in ten had minerals or vitamins out of range.
- Freezing kills many parasites but not all bacteria: kitchen hygiene rules are needed.
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BARF (Bones and Raw Food) is a way of feeding based on raw meat, meaty bones, offal and a small share of vegetables. At the Del Piccolo Diavolo kennel, in Ostellato in the province of Ferrara, Italy, the Staffordshire Bull Terriers mostly eat kibble. We use BARF only for some dogs and for a couple of months at most: getting ready for a competition, recovering after a litter or an operation. The reason is practical. With puppies, young dogs, adults, seniors and pregnant females at the same time, getting a raw diet right for each of them cannot be done. And getting it wrong is easy. A German study of 95 home-made BARF rations found about six in ten with minerals or vitamins out of range. A guide by the Del Piccolo Diavolo kennel, which has bred Staffordshire Bull Terriers in Ostellato (Ferrara, Italy) since 2013.
What BARF is
The name comes from the Australian vet Ian Billinghurst, who in the early 1990s proposed feeding dogs the way their ancestors were thought to eat. The bowl holds raw muscle meat and meaty bones, such as chicken or turkey necks, wings and carcasses. Then offal like liver and kidneys, and a small share of blended vegetables and fruit.
People who choose it talk about smaller stools, a shiny coat, dogs that enjoy their meals more. These are real observations, but they are not studies. WSAVA, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, writes that there are no documented health benefits, while there are documented risks.
Why kibble stays the basis here
If we had only a few dogs, we would feed BARF. The problem is the number. In a kennel, puppies that grow every week, adolescents, adults, seniors, pregnant and nursing females all live together. Each needs different amounts of energy, calcium and protein, and the amounts change from month to month.
With kibble, the maker has already done those sums, and we only have to weigh the ration. With raw food the sums are ours, dog by dog, meal by meal. A calcium mistake in a four-month-old puppy does not show at once: it shows in the bones, later. So we prefer to do a simpler thing well.
When we use it
BARF comes into the kennel for some dogs and for a couple of months at most:
- when getting ready for a competition or a demanding sport;
- to recover after a litter;
- for a dog that has to get over an illness or an operation.
Two of our females have had surgery for cancer: one for a skin mast cell tumour, the other with the removal of a whole row of mammary glands. We write it because it happens in careful kennels too, and because it is the case where feeding needs the most thought. Neither of them had chemotherapy, and years later they are both well.
On this point the sources are cautious. The veterinary college at Cornell advises against raw food for dogs being treated for cancer. Some cancers and chemotherapy lower the immune defences, and the bacteria in raw meat become an extra risk.
How we handle the meat
The meat comes from a butcher we trust, and we freeze it as soon as it arrives. Only the portion for the meal is thawed: morning and evening for adults, the afternoon too for puppies. Whatever is left in the bowl does not go back in the fridge.
We work out the proportions of meat, meaty bones, offal, vegetables and fruit dog by dog, because they change with age, weight and the time of life. There is no single recipe that suits everyone.
Freezing helps, but it does not do everything. A 2019 review in the Journal of Small Animal Practice explains that freezing and thawing badly damage parasites such as protozoa and worms. Bacteria such as Salmonella and Yersinia survive, and frozen raw food is the most common source of Salmonella in surveys of pet food.
Hygiene in the kitchen
The risk is not only for the dog. Whoever prepares the bowl, whoever picks up the faeces, the child whose face gets licked: these are the routes by which bacteria from raw food reach people. In the same review, bowls stayed contaminated with Salmonella even after the dishwasher or washing with soap.
- a chopping board, knives and bowls kept only for the dog's meat;
- hands washed straight afterwards, before touching anything else;
- thaw in the fridge, never on the table;
- in a home with small children, elderly people or anyone with weak immune defences, think twice.
The most common mistakes
In the 2011 German study (Dillitzer and colleagues, British Journal of Nutrition) about six rations in ten had at least one problem. The table sums up the most frequent.
| Mistake | What they found |
|---|---|
| Too little calcium | In one ration in ten, calcium was less than a quarter of the requirement. It happens when few bones are given, or meat only. |
| Too little iodine | About half of the rations were below the minimum. |
| Low copper and zinc | Frequent in many rations. |
| Vitamins A and D | One ration in four was short of vitamin A; vitamin D was missing where calcium was missing. |
We often see two other mistakes in families' questions. Cooked bones must never be given, because they splinter. And raw bones, though safer, can still cause constipation, broken teeth or bowel blockages, as WSAVA points out.
BARF calculator
How much meat, bone and offal a day, with a nutrient check and the sources of the calculations.
How much should your dog eat?
If you stay with kibble, the calculator gives the grams per day by age, weight and activity.
Frequently asked questions
Is BARF suitable for a Staffy puppy?
Does freezing make the meat safe?
Can kibble and BARF be mixed?
Sources: Dillitzer, Becker, Kienzle, British Journal of Nutrition 2011; Davies, Lawes, Wales, Journal of Small Animal Practice 2019; WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee; Cornell University, Riney Canine Health Center.