Skip to content

Thoughts about feeding a raw diet?

Basenji Feeding
  • Yeh, feeding a BARD diet is all about getting the balance right but not at every meal. Thats one of the things that lets the comercial stuff down; they make every meal balanced. But so long as it is balanced over the weeks, you've got no problem.

    I think it is worth the extra time preparing the raw diet just to have a healthy dog.

    With a BARF diet you know what he's eating!

  • I just don't know about the raw diet. The thing about raw is that yes dogs did eat raw in the wild but it was fresh kill and eaten fairly soon. Not killed, then processed and handled in a factory, packaged and shipped around in a truck.

  • With a BARF diet you know what he's eating!


    just don't know about the raw diet. The thing about raw is that yes dogs >>did eat raw in the wild but it was fresh kill and eaten fairly soon. Not killed, >>then processed and handled in a factory, packaged and shipped around in >>a truck.


    Right. AND you really DON'T know what he's getting. I mean, look at the problems with the feed recently. The tainted product from China was in pig food, fish food…God knows what else. So, if you are buying meat or even growing your own but buying the feed, you still can't be sure of what you're feeding. If you are buying the meat,as you said, you're not buying fresh.

    And feeding raw to Basenjis here is not going to be the same as their natural diet in Africa anyway.

    I don't know. . . It's an idea I toyed with, but I think I'll stick with kibble.
    {besides, I can store the kibble in a bin in my garage. I don't have room to keep raw meats fresh for three dogs and still have room in the fridge/freezer--and time to prepare -- foods for my family of eight! LOL}

  • I have fed my raw and still give them chicken wings and necks… and yes sometimes they swallow the entire thing... ggg... When Jamari was a 3 month old, I gave him a chicken wing and he darn near swallowed the entire thing whole...yikes... while he was fine... it was an adventure when he pooped the first time!!!! Part of wing came out as it went in!!!! But I do give mine veggies, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, egg, yogart, cottage cheese, so they get a lot of different stuff at different times....

  • So you feed raw meats, but other foods are processed or cooked{yogurt, cottage cheese, etc} ?

    Do you feed any kibble? Or just raw meats, veggies, and dairy?

  • No I feed kibble, I used to use Canidae senior but have recently change to EVO that has no grains. Because I am feeding at home all seniors, I am using the new EVO low fat that is meat and fruit…. The raw meat I will use once or twice a week instead of the kibble, and the other stuff I will add to the kibble, different stuff, different days... and yes the other stuff is processed like the yogurt and cottage cheese... the veggies I do both raw (cause they like them) and steamed also.... I do not do many carrots due to the high sugar content..

  • I have also fed raw but it is the prep work that gets to me. If I could go and premake a month's worth of food so all I had to do was pull a bag out of the freezer every day I would do it. I am just not organized enough to get to that point. One big advantage feeding raw has over kibble, is variety. Since when you feed raw you vary your meats and vegetables you also decrease the bioaccumulation if one of those things is contaminated. When you feed kibble your pet will bioaccumulate more of the contaminant over a shorter period of time because it is all they are eating.

  • @lvoss:

    I have also fed raw but it is the prep work that gets to me. If I could go and premake a month's worth of food so all I had to do was pull a bag out of the freezer every day I would do it. I am just not organized enough to get to that point. One big advantage feeding raw has over kibble, is variety. Since when you feed raw you vary your meats and vegetables you also decrease the bioaccumulation if one of those things is contaminated. When you feed kibble your pet will bioaccumulate more of the contaminant over a shorter period of time because it is all they are eating.

    Bioaccumulate….hmmm....that must be what has happened on my butt! :rolleyes:

  • @Quercus:

    Bioaccumulate….hmmm....that must be what has happened on my butt! :rolleyes:

    Hey, that explains it!!! ggg… and not only my butt, but my "gut" too!

  • LOL! Me too…both rhyming body parts. Thanks for the laugh, Andrea...I was reading it and didn't "get it" at first...I'm reading your prior posts in this thread looking for "butt"...then I re-read it and literally laughed out loud!!

Suggested Topics

  • Raw feeding programs

    Basenji Feeding
    8
    0 Votes
    8 Posts
    3k Views
    R
    we still have "butchers" here in Australia. these are usually local shops, that sell meat. After they have cut up the large sides of beef, they are left with some bones. The bones you are after are the breast bone, which is usually discarded as waste, but is good for dogs. Get them to cut the bone (which is about 1 metre (about 1 yard) long), into the size that is good (mine are cut into chunks about 7.5cm (about 3 inches)) or whatever size you want. The cutting is done on a bandsaw so no effort on their behalf. The advantage is that there is no debris left for the motor mower to fling at your windows, or for insects to settle on. Even at the supermarkets there are some to be had, but find out from the meat section when they get deliveries. You will pay more at the supermarkets, but you should not pay more than necessary.
  • Anyone feeding raw eggs to their basenji

    Basenji Feeding
    4
    0 Votes
    4 Posts
    4k Views
    tanzaT
    People that feed raw add raw eggs all the time. I have from time to time... as I feed a modified raw diet
  • Raw Food Diet??!?!

    Basenji Feeding
    26
    0 Votes
    26 Posts
    25k Views
    Buddys PalB
    Ok, just had to add some more. Had a friend over yesterday (our first thanksgiving turkey, then Thursday again!) and she saw Hershey 12.8 years old and she mentioned how alert he was. Coat and eyes were clear and shiney! I was really excited to hear this as I read this about others' dogs in different forums etc. So, anyone thinking about it, it is not a fad…..it works and they all love it!
  • FOOD RECALL-Purina Feed-Includes Bird & Guinea Pig Feed

    Basenji Feeding
    2
    0 Votes
    2 Posts
    3k Views
    D
    I was sent a post yesterday that there are more recalls. For updated recall information go to the FDA website. Jennifer
  • Raw food

    Basenji Feeding
    28
    0 Votes
    28 Posts
    13k Views
    L
    We switched our 2 boys to raw from kibble about 6 months ago. The switch came because we were simply exhausted from walking them 3 times a day because they had loose stool (we don't have fenced in yard, so we need to walk them to go to the bathroom). Our vet recommended more fiber in their diet to help with loose stool. This intuitively just didn't resonate with us. Basenji are one of the most ancient breeds of dog… why on earth would more fiber be a solution to their problem (I know the theoretical why, but logically it was counter-intuitive)? We read many sources or literature on the raw diet and thought this would be a good switch for them. Again, they are an ancient breed so moving toward raw foods seemed appropriate and logical. It took that about a month for them to get really accustomed to eating raw chicken quarters, rabbit halves or pork shoulders but now they have no problem gulping their meal right down, bone and all (for those of you who don't feed raw, gulping is a normal behavior and bone is an essential part of the diet). Their digestion issues have vanished and we've even seen marked improvement in their destructive behavior. Two super happy boys now, two super happy Basenji owners!!
  • Hints on Feeding

    Basenji Feeding
    12
    0 Votes
    12 Posts
    5k Views
    DebraDownSouthD
    Nom, if you buy in bulk and freeze, raw isn't really expensive. I can get chicken backs at about 29 cents a pound!