What is BARF ?
Feeding a BARF diet to your dog or cat
Learn why you should consider biologically appropriate raw food to feed dogs and cats, the benefits and what makes a balance BARF diet.
First of all, what is a BARF diet?
Biologically appropriate raw food/feeding (otherwise known as BARF) is the recommended feeding principle where animals are fed a raw diet.
All BARF food is natural, uncooked, easily digestible, and packed with protein, vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrition. 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 should be considered for every pet dog and cat.
What does BARF dog and cat food consist of?
BARF dog and cat food only contains 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:
- 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 overall health.
- 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 contains 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.
1. 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
- Reduces waste
- Helps support allergy management in both dogs and cats.
Pets that eat raw food live happy and healthy lives because of this. Artificial or biologically inappropriate ingredients - such as grains (and other similar carbohydrates), fillers and other additives - can have undesirable health implications for pets. Obesity, diabetes, allergies, digestive issues, lethargy, and mental health issues are potential side effects of feeding a commercial or non-BARF diet.
2. BARF diets can provide a healthy variety for your pets. Imagine eating the same dry kibble for all meals, day after day. It gets boring and can cause disinterest in food. Raw diets enable you to give your pet tasty, fun and exciting eating experiences that can contribute to your pet's positive mental health and happiness.
3. Perfect for all owners - BARF food from Nutriment is completely convenient. 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'll discover healthy, nutritious, and convenient barf food that your pet will love eating and that you love feeding them.
Feed your puppy or adult dog 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 1. Mothers on a raw diet will provide high-quality nutrition through their milk, and then specialist raw weaning pastes can begin the kitten 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’re 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 so. 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.
Looking to start your BARF journey? Check out our best value Starter Packs to get you going!