Redford eats 100% BARF......for almost two weeks!

Or more precisely, why?

Because he had always looked at his dish of kibble like "I guess I'm gonna have to eat that 'cause that's all you ever give me."

As a growing 27 3/4" male, his weight had fluctuated from a horrifying 59 lbs to a passable 74 lbs. And while he puked his Purina sometimes, all that BARF has stayed down, with no obvious bowel habit changes, and no poop eating!

So far I have taken a little bit of diet suggestions from a lot of people, and thank you Sue for sending that sample meal, but mostly we have decided to stick with BARF according to Redford *g*!

He acts like when a human only given bread and water (well, actually, that's kinda accurate), finally gets to sample the delicacies of the culinary world. And he didn't miss a beat that first morning he had chicken wings, down the hatch they went! (I guess I would do the same if I was used to cheerios every morning!)

I had so much fun at the grocery store, buying the "grossest" offal and meat portions I could find.....Redford says they're the best! Then off to the local Mexican butcher shop (thanks guys!) they ALWAYS have what you want! And the joy of running more than 30 lbs of veggies thru the food processor.........ah, what can I say. Except that his bowl is always licked clean, and he is now a very presentable 73 lbs (weight gain of .5 lbs).

I took most everyone's advice and really slowed down the supplements (although his coat has always been flat and silky), but remarkably he is a much more darker mahogany than ever before.

His teeth were always good, but I am highly impressed in the gum improvement (now a uniform healthy pink), and the fact that they haven't needed to be scraped in 3 weeks.

I had about 25 lbs of dry kibble left, and when my mother unexpectedly ran out of food for her two old girls, I volunteered it to her (along with some raw veggies, of course). She said, "But it's so EXPENSIVE." I said, "You are right. That is why Redford doesn't eat it anymore...and he's all the better for it!"

I was worried that some kind of stressor would cause him to go off BARF like it does kibble. Not so! I ran into an old pal the other day, and her very flirtatious Dobie girl. The bimbo (dog!) was obviously suggesting to Redford, but since it was nearing dinner time, he was more anxious in hauling ME home! He looked at her like, "Sorry, babe, maybe another time, 'cause I'm having tripe and calf liver for supper tonight, and I gotta get home before she forgets!" My friend thought he was such a hoot, cause her bitch was totally flagging at him and posturing towards him, and he was more interested in his dinner bowl than a quickie (very unusual for young male Irish!).

Then there was the time when I fed him chicken wings in my room, and he pushed one under the bed. Although I dug it out, he still maintains to this day that its under there. I know when he's really getting hungry, 'cause he will lay with his head under the bed for hours, sniffing and waiting!

Anyways, I didn't mean to get so long winded, I just wanted to thank you all for your support! It's only been two weeks, but it seems like it has always been! Please continue to send out suggestions, as I am always tapering his diet to account for proper amounts of fat, carbohydrates and protein. I just wanted to share my newfound passion, and the delight that it has brought to my best friend!! Consider yourselves our BARF mentors ;--)

Warmly-

Jo-Anne Larsen, and Zach

In 1993 my 20 month old Irish Setter developed Lyme Disease, and although he recovered from the acute phase quickly, he was left with a persistant lameness. He would get up from a nap, and limped seriously for a minute or so, on the same right hind leg that had been most severely affected by the Lyme Disease, then would appear okay.

At the age of two I took him in for a hip x-ray, and we found serious arthritic formation in his right hip and stifle joint. My vet told me to restrict his exercise, and tried to treat him with Adequan, but this had no visible effect. I was devastated. This was my obedience hopeful, but there was little hope left.

Luckily for me, my vet referred me to a holistic/homeopathic vet. Dr. George Glanzburg got me to throw away the dry dog food, and cook for Zach. He prescribed a couple of homeopathic remedies, and much to my amazement, the lameness disappeared. Over the course of the next year, I got lazy (twice) and tried switching Zach back to a dry, commercial dog food, and each time the lameness recurred, only to go away again with fresh food and homeopathic remedies. Eventually I added a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement, and Zach has been sound ever since.

Zach is now Ch. Cucuhullain In Flight, CDX and is training for his Utility Title. He loves exercise, and seems to reveal in jumping.

He's seven years old, and far sounder than we would have ever predicted back in 1993.

Zach's Diet

Since joining the Raw Setters list, I have started feeding RMB's as well, but I have not changed this diet significantly, as I don't want to mess up a good thing. Zach gets raw meaty bones, either chicken wings or lamb neck bones, approximately three nights a week, after his dinner.

Sue Johnson, Birchrun English Setters

I started showing ES in 1982, and fed commercial foods all the way to the beginning of 1997. Canine nutrition always interested me and I went through most major premium brands on the market. I was never satisfied and not for any particular reason (any nagging problem my dogs had, I never attributed to food.) I would swing from feeding a premium food with any and all supplements I heard were good, to feeling I must be killing my dogs with kindness and going back down to a food as basic as Purina Dog Chow with no supplements.

With the advent of good nutrition=good health bombarding us in the media, maybe by the time I learned about Dr. Billinghurst's book and the WellPet list in 1996, I must have been primed for a major change in my dog management. By this time I had lost a 10-year and a 6-year old to cancer. I would look at Casey, then four years old, and wonder if she was headed for the same early end--and I just couldn't bear the thought.

So I plunged in with Paige, our 20-month old Brittany bitch. Girl with an iron stomach, a huge appetite and a zest for life. Switched cold-turkey and never a problem. By this time, I had just leased Casey to her breeders for a litter and couldn't wait for her and whoever my new puppy would be to come home and be switched over. Had they been the first dogs I had switched, maybe I would have wavered. Repeated diarrhea...Casey's somewhat lackluster interest in wings...Savannah's failure to let me know she needed to go until after the mess was in the crate...but I stuck with it. By that time (late 1997) I had read all the raw feeding books, made some changes but was still stuck on the "right-ness" of it.

It all made sense--we are repeatedly encouraged to add more raw, fresh and unprocessed foods to our diets. Why do we think dogs would enjoy optimal health on food cooked to death, made from questionable ingredients, out of a bag? Why do we accept as normal that once or twice a year we must subject our dogs to anesthesia to have their teeth cleaned so as not to poison their systems? No one is cooking the wolves' or coyotes' food. No one is cleaning their teeth. Why do we think having fleas is a normal part of having dogs? Hot spots? Ear infections? Smelly skin? Repeated bouts of diarrhea and vomiting?

It is my wish that Casey will be gaiting around the ring at age 14 in the Veterans Sweeps at the National. I've seen a couple of 14 year olds do it - one so crippled it was painful to watch, another a grand old lady who made it slowly. I envision Casey sailing!