The power to devour
In this Blog series we will look into the complicated world of nutrition, as it relates to your dog. We will go into some detail, but not too much that you should lose yourself in a technical series of rabbit holes.
The purpose of this series is to act as a reference point for which you can then take information and enrich your dog’s life or investigate further into more detail. That we leave up to you. Our purpose is to inform you the dog owner in such a way that you can make your own decisions about how to improve the life of your canine companion.
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That’s the Barefoot side of us, we lay the information bare of convoluted detail to highlight the simple aspects that you can then use.
We will be looking at three philosophies of canine nutrition in particular:
Commercially available pet foods;
Raw or BARF; and
Prey Model
These diets – keep in mind that a diet is not a weight loss program, it is, however, what we eat, regardless of the result – will be compared to each other throughout this series.
This series will see us unpack:
The Pros and Cons of each diet
The ideals and absolutes
Food used as baits and treats
Poisonous foods and substances
And the jackpot: How to teach your dog to avoid food when out in public and how to teach a fussy eater to wolf down their food…for free and accessible 24/7 just for you!
Let’s kick this off by examining the 3 main philosophies of canine nutrition:
Commercially available dog foods
These are your packages of processed foods. Irrespective of whether they are canned, bagged or wrapped.
Your soft sausage like food rolls, hard kibble and canned chunks of meat and gravy comprise the larger part of this diets food source. They are readily sourced from the supermarkets and pet stores alike.
Without a doubt, this food source is given to most of the dogs. There is ample variety to choose from for all age groups of dogs.
Raw or BARF
Raw foods or BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods) is seen as the be all of diets, it is the easiest non-commercial diet to implement. Raw or BARF uses uncooked meats and bones with other supplementary foods to create a diet for your dog.
This diet is made up of raw meat and bones, offal and other supplemental foods. Prior to commercial foods this was the only diet dogs had.
This diet has rapidly become commercialised, in part due to its health benefits, but also due to the food revolution happening in our homes. We are becoming wary and sceptical of foods with ingredient listings.
Prey Model
The Prey model diet is similar to Raw or BARF but has some different nuances. Whereas in Raw or BARF chunks of meat can be served, in a Prey Model diet the serving is given as whole as possible. Instead of feeding minced chicken, you would present a roast chicken for example.
This diet is the least commercial of the 3 diets we will be looking at throughout this series. This is because it is either harder to source the foods or they may be more expensive.
I hope you stick with me for this series and would be happy to answer any questions that you may have regarding this sticky topic. I promise to keep answers as Barefoot as possible!
