Barfing for puppies: tips and recipes
Who wants to barf his dog already as a puppy, should consider some things. Because even with raw feeding, the needs of small and large four-legged friends differ somewhat. With these tips you address these differences properly.
BARF (Biological Species Appropriate Raw Feeding) is a feeding method that is based on the diet of wolves. Here, instead of dry or wet food, the four-legged friends are given only natural food such as raw meat or fruits and vegetables. But can puppies also be barfed? Yes or no? It is possible, if you follow the instructions below.
How much barf does my puppy get? Calculate amount correctly
Adult dogs need about two to three percent of their body weight in food per day. For young animals, the need is relatively higher, since they are still growing. For puppies, calculate four to eight percent of current body weight for portion size. So a five-kilogram puppy gets 200 to 400 grams of food. If your puppy weighs only one kilogram, 40 to 80 grams of meat will go into his bowl.
However, you should not give your puppy the calculated Barf amount all at once. Divide his total daily ration into four to five meals. Gradually, you can reduce this number until your darling eats two to three times a day like an adult dog.
If your four-legged friend belongs to a large dog breed, it is recommended to feed small portions more often. In this way, you can prevent dangerous gastric distress.
Barf for puppies – what belongs on the diet?
In barfing, 70 to 80 percent of the diet consists of meat, offal and bones, with the remaining 20 to 30 percent consisting of fruits and vegetables. Puppies have a particularly high calcium requirement for their bone growth.
Bones and cartilage are useful in feeding for this purpose. However, puppies cannot yet bite whole bones or pieces of cartilage very well with their milk teeth. Instead, you can add bone meal to the feed. Young dogs with baby teeth can also chew chicken necks. If you are unsure what additives your puppy needs when feeding fresh meat, check with your veterinarian.
Ground beef, beef heart, and horse meat are suitable meat bases for puppies. Vegetable ingredients for the puppy-friendly barf meal are finely grated apples, carrots or fennel. In addition, you can enhance the fresh food with oil, for example, salmon oil or cod liver oil.
How does the Barf conversion succeed with the puppy?
In principle, you can barf puppies from the fourth or fifth week of life, when they are gradually weaned from their mother’s milk. Instead of canned food for puppies, the first solid food is raw meat and a few vegetables.
The transition to solid food should be done slowly and carefully. For the very small dogs, the ingredients must be very finely mashed, so that the puppies can digest the food better. After about a year, you can then barf your four-legged friend just like an adult dog.
