The inventor of the BARF diet is an Australian veterinarian, Dr Billinghurst, who advocates a return to a more natural diet for dogs, and therefore a return to a diet that would resemble that of the wolf. At the same time, he decried industrial dog food because it would be responsible for the appearance of some of the diseases that dogs present today. The use of large amounts of cereals, additives and preservatives in the manufacture of dog food in particular would be problematic. He also considers that cooking denatures the food and destroys some of the essential vitamins and elements. In addition, cooking the food would cause carcinogenic molecules to appear in the food.

The BARF diet in practice excludes any cooked food from the ration. Thus the dog is fed mainly with pieces of raw meat (chicken, lamb, etc.) and bones with flesh on them. To have a balanced diet, the ration is supplemented with mixed vegetables and fruits, oil, vitamins and sometimes algae.

There are no studies showing that the BARF diet is of real benefit to dog health. Common sense, claimed by the creator, cannot be used by your veterinarian to recommend this method of feeding to you.

In order to provide a correct BARF diet, Dr Billinghurst recommends following four main principles.

1. The main part of the ration must be composed of fleshy bones, that is to say covered with raw meats.
2. All the ration must be raw (or at least the majority)
3. The food distributed must be varied, only the fleshy bones are constants of this ration.
4. Unlike the industrial diet which would recommend a balanced food at each meal, the BARF diet, natural, tolerates the diet to be balanced over time (over periods of several months).

To switch from an industrial feed to a BARF feed other rules must be followed to let the dog’s digestive tract get used to the raw food and the bones in particular.

The amount dispensed depends on the dog’s weight. It is possible to find BARF recipes on specialized sites.

The first interest of the BARF diet is the return to a natural diet. It allows you to regain control of the quality and type of ingredients distributed to your dog.

Raw food rich in meat is more digestible. In addition, the dog reuses his mouth and digestive tract as in nature, which allows him to have better oral hygiene. The fact of chewing bones prevents the installation of tartar.

By restoring its natural functioning to the digestive tract, the efficiency of the digestive system and thus the immune system of the latter would be improved (thus protecting the dog from parasites and bacteria which can no longer be eliminated by cooking).

The dog, by eating BARF, should no longer develop the diseases that would be induced by industrial feeding and cooking of food: digestive disorders, periodontal diseases, cancers, etc.

The BARF diet is low in carbohydrates (meat and bones do not contain sugars) would be ideal for diabetic dogs and obese dogs. Allowing them both to better regulate their blood sugar and easily reduce the calorie intake of the ration.

There would be a risk of transmission of pathogens (bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.) which are only killed with long cooking or freezing. It is assumed that dogs fed with raw meat are a source of contamination of their environment (therefore human beings living or not living with them). These pathogens could be more easily and more often transmitted to humans. Mention may be made, for example, of salmonella which are present at 80% in the diet of German BARF dogs fed with raw chicken.

Then, the use of bones in a dog’s ration is strongly discouraged. Indeed, the consumption of bone can cause serious lesions in dogs, from the oral cavity to the anus, the broken bone can become a perforating foreign body for the digestive tract and the mucous membranes that line it.

In addition, the presence of bones in large quantities would make BARF too rich in calcium and phosphorus which would create real problems and malformations in the growth of puppies, especially those of large breeds.

Furthermore, the rations would be difficult to balance, even over time, which would ultimately create deficiencies in some dogs or imbalances in animals suffering from metabolic diseases such as chronic renal failure.

Finally, the BARF diet involves preparation and weighing in advance of the various ingredients of the ration such as mashed vegetables and pieces of meat. Even if the diet, “homemade” seems to be the alternative to industrial feed, not all pet owners will be able to provide a balanced and quality diet to their animals. In a study published in 2014, it was found that even with a precise nutritional plan up to 70% of household rations distributed over the long term were unbalanced.

Today there is no study on the relevance of this diet. Likewise, there are few studies on the health risks of this diet for dogs and humans. More scientific studies are needed on this diet to ensure that it is of benefit to all dogs. The best reference today is the experience of owners and breeders who already use this method to feed their dogs.

In the absence of scientific study your veterinarian can hardly position himself on this diet. On the other hand, he can guide you to detect early on the health problems that could appear related or unrelated to his BARF diet.

In view of the nutritional analyzes of foods, the pros and cons for the growth of puppies and for dogs suffering from metabolic disease must be weighed before starting a BARF diet.

In order to avoid the maximum contamination of the food, impeccable hygiene should be applied to feed your dog with BARF food:

• Handling and storage with clean hands, containers and surfaces
• Freezing meat for several days
• Conservation and cold chain respected
• Wash vegetables before use