| Raw Feeding The BARF Way. |
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| All the dogs at Arrowstud are fed Bones and Raw Food (BARF). This consists of Raw meaty bones, about 60% plus minced Vegetables, Yoghurt, Offal, Eggs, Vitamins, Brewers Yeast and Oils, Flax Seed Oil, Sunflower Oil and Cod Liver Oil. Sometimes (about once a week) they get Tinned Mackeral. No cereal of any kind, as I believe that cereal is not digested well by dogs. I try to imitate what the dogs would be eating in the wild, and then improving on that. Since I stopped feeding them Commercial Dogfoods, they have never been healthier, and the older dogs look half their age. There are no health problems, except for the occasional flea allergy. This is the diet recommended by Dr. Ian Billinghurst who wrote "Give your Dog a Bone". If you have any queries about this diet please email me. |
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| >From "Give Your Dog A Bone" by Dr. Ian Billinghurst: EGG WHITES Most people I speak to about eggs are mortally afraid of the egg whites. They have "heard" that "you should not give raw egg whites to dogs, because it is harmful" they are often not sure where they heard this advice, and they have absolutely no idea of HOW egg whites will harm their dog. Before, I explain the half truths contained in these ideas, let me say, that for countless generations both wild and domestic dogs have consumed egg whites, RAW, along with the yolks when robbing birds' nests and stealing eggs. This has caused no problems. No harm whatsoever has occurred. My dogs regularly receive whole raw eggs as part of a balanced natural diet. No problems. Just the opposite. Brilliant health. So what is all the fuss about? EGG WHITES HAVE TWO PROBLEMS * Firstly they contain an ENZYME INHIBITOR which can make them difficult to digest for a very young puppy, or a sick or old dog, or a dog which has problems with it's pancreas. Apart from that, unless a dog has an allergy to eggs, there should be no problem. * The second problem is that egg whites contain a substance called AVIDIN, which binds with the vitamin biotin (a member of the B Complex), making it unavailable for your dog. The only situation where this has been a problem was when an experimental diet, totally deficient in biotin was fed together with lots of raw egg whites for several weeks. The only likely possibility I know of where lots of egg whites could precipitate a biotin deficiency, would be where a dog was fed a poor quality dried dog food. If that dry food was low in biotin, as they often are, the dog may suffer a biotin deficiency Another reason for confidence is that egg yolks contain plenty of biotin, so that feeding whole eggs is very safe. for example, egg flips... made from whole eggs and milk have been a favorite invalid food for generations causing health, not a biotin deficiency. * We know a fox. He loves RAW eggs. Probably gets one nearly every day... and guess what....no biotin deficiency. So forget it... the whole idea of raw eggs being dangerous as part of a balanced diet is absurd. If you are having a problem with whites, you can cook them. That eliminates both problems. However, do not cook the yolks, continue to feed them raw. In other words, unless you know your dog cannot tolerate egg whites, go ahead and feed whole raw eggs as PART of your adult healthy dog's natural balanced diet. |