BARF stands for Bones And Raw Food  The basic principle is to feed a diet that the animals have evolved to eat.
 

It is advisable to do your own research in order to make up your own mind.

The main principles of a BARF diet include:

 

  • a dog's diet should be based on raw meaty bones

  • most of a dog's diet should be raw as cooking can destroy many essential enzymes etc.

  • a wide variety of food should be fed to include fruit and  vegetables

  • every meal does not have to be nutritionally balanced what matters is that it is balanced over a period of time.

 

Cited benefits of a BARF diet include

 

  • Reduced doggy odour.
  • Cleaner teeth and less gum disease
  • healthier dogs
  • The ripping and chewing involved in eating raw meaty bones develops the jaw, neck, and shoulder muscles of a dog.
We feed a raw diet and have been pleasantly surprised at the improvements we have seen in not only our dogs coat and skin condition but how much more enthusiastic they are to eat it.  After all who wants the same food day in day out?

We feed a mixture of the following

  • Chicken Wings/Turkey necks
  • Beef, Lamb and Rabbit
  • Fish
  • Tripe, Heart, Liver
  • Carrots, Parsnips, Swede, turnips, sweet potato, spring greens, broccoli, cauliflower etc
  • Eggs, cottage cheese

plus many other household food items

Useful links

  • Give your dog a bone, Dr. Ian Billinghurst.  This book sets out easy to follow arguments against the use of commercial dog food and how a raw diet can overcome these problems.  It is considered essential reading for any "barfer" and sets out the key principles in a BARF diet.
     
  • UK BARF club. provides lots of links to BARF forums and other FAQ on raw feeding.