What is BARF ?
Feeding a BARF diet to your dog or cat
Feeding your dog or cat a biologically appropriate raw food – otherwise known as BARF – is a popular and natural way to provide your pet with a balanced and nutritious diet. This diet consists of natural ingredients, such as raw meats, bones, fruits and vegetables, and by feeding a BARF diet, pet owners can help promote better digestion, healthier skin and coat and overall well-being for their furry companions.
Read along and learn more about what makes a balanced BARF diet, why you should consider biologically appropriate raw food to feed dogs and cats and the many health benefits.
What is a BARF diet?
Biologically appropriate raw food is a raw diet for dogs that consists of meat, offal, bones, various vegetables and fruits. At Nutriment, all our BARF food is natural, uncooked, easily digestible and packed with protein, vitamins, minerals as well as other essential nutrients. This mirrors their feeding behaviour in the 'wild' and therefore supports what their bodily functions and systems were naturally designed to eat. A balanced BARF diet provides many health benefits, and you can consider this diet regardless of whether you have a dog or a cat.
What does BARF dog and cat food consist of?
BARF dog and cat food only contain ingredients that a dog or cat is naturally designed to consume and digest. Our highly experienced and knowledgeable in-house nutritionists carefully select ingredients for our BARF recipes, and the recipes contain ingredients such as:
- Muscle meat: Packed with high-quality raw protein and many other essential nutrients. Raw meat, such as beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, duck, salmon and rabbit meat, should be the main constituent of any BARF diet.
- Organ meat: The essential nutrition available in organ meats, including kidney and liver, is a key part of a BARF diet for both cats and dogs. Combined with other high-quality raw meat, organ meat supports optimal nutrition with the addition of vitamins, minerals and enzymes.
- Fruits & vegetables: These are the types of foods that would be consumed secondarily from the prey's stomach or foraging. They provide a wealth of vitamins, fibre and nutrients which support your dog’s overall health. Our cat recipes do not include fruits or vegetables.
- Superfoods: Superfoods, such as spirulina and bilberry powder, are rich in antioxidants and help to support dogs' and cats' overall health.
- Bones: Raw bones should form around 10% of the overall BARF diet and contain a good source of calcium. Bones are also the perfect natural treat to complement raw food diets. Providing mental stimulation and supporting oral health, raw bones and other raw treats are ideal for dogs and cats on a raw food diet.
3 reasons why you should choose BARF
First and foremost, the health benefits and overall support that a BARF diet provides dogs and cats is the primary – and most important – reason why you should choose a BARF raw food diet.
Some benefits of feeding biologically appropriate raw food include:
- Supports digestive, coat, skin, oral, bone and joint health
- Improves energy levels
- Reduced waste
- Helps support allergy management in both dogs and cats
Artificial or biologically inappropriate ingredients – such as grains and other similar carbohydrates, fillers and other additives – can have undesirable health implications for dogs and cats. Obesity, diabetes, allergies, digestive issues, lethargy and mental health issues are potential side effects of feeding a non-BARF diet.
Secondly, BARF diets can provide a healthy variety for your pets. Imagine eating the same kibble for all meals, day after day. It can get quite repetitive and can cause disinterest in food. Raw diets enable you to give your dog or cat tasty, fun and exciting eating experiences that can contribute to his or her positive mental health and happiness.
Lastly, this diet is highly convenient, making it ideal for all owners. From the moment you first explore our BARF products, to your first order and delivery, right through to you storing, defrosting and serving your pup or cat's first meal, you will discover healthy, nutritious and convenient food that your dog or cat will love eating. And you do not have to add anything to our raw diet as the food is complete.
Feed your puppy, kitten or adult dog or cat with BARF
Raw food is for every dog and cat, no matter their age or breed. For kittens and puppies, their diets can be raw from day one. Mothers on a raw diet will provide high-quality nutrition through their milk, and then specialist raw weaning pastes can begin the kittens’ and puppies’ own raw journey at around 3 weeks.
Nutriment’s formulations provide the exact nutrition, energy and goodness that each cat and dog needs at different ages, whether they are just starting out or in their older years.
How much raw food is right?
Each dog and cat is different, and their nutrition needs to be adjusted accordingly. Their size, age, existing medical conditions and activity levels all have an impact on their BARF diet requirements. Not only can you speak directly to a nutritional advisor here at Nutriment, but you can use our raw pet food calculator to determine just how much raw food your dog or cat needs.
The importance of a balanced diet
At Nutriment, we are wholeheartedly dedicated to the BARF principles of a raw diet. Choosing to feed a complete, balanced, easily digestible, nutritious raw diet is the best way to promote ideal health and happiness for your cats and dogs. And if you are looking to start your BARF journey, you can check out our best value Starter Packs to get you going.