Which BARF AT WHICH AGE?
When your puppy’s second teeth start coming through, you should ensure it has plenty to chew to loosen the milk teeth. Veal breastbone is best – in a frozen state, because cold eases pain and helps swollen gums.
Most dogs are fully grown towards the end of their teething period, so reduce their food ration!
A healthy diet FOR PUPPIES
The idea that puppies require special food has been dreamed up by the animal food industry. In principle you do not feed puppies any differently from adult dogs, just more often (3-4 times a day) and more (4-6% of their body weight).
Puppies are usually handed over to their new owner in their 8th or 9th week of life. If puppies have already been fed a BARF diet, the best thing is to have the breeder give you a diet plan for them. If the puppies have been raised on ready-prepared dog food and now need to be switched to BARF, that is generally not a problem. At this age the young dogs’ digestion will quickly adapt.
Puppies require a lot of calcium, which is present in cartilage and bones among other things. Take care either to ensure that the bone is large enough so that your puppy cannot swallow it, or feed your puppy bones that you have ground into small pieces. Veal bones are especially suitable as they are relatively soft. Cow udders also contain a lot of calcium.
Take care not to let your dog get too fat. Overweight has a negative effect on the bones and joints of older dogs.
Barf FOR SENIORS
The type of food does not depend on the animal’s age. So it is not necessary to put together a special dietary concept for seniors. However, there are a few points you should watch for when feeding your older dog, depending on its age:
- Older dogs are no longer as active as young dogs. This means that they need less energy, in other words older dogs eat less.
- They have a reduced saliva flow and worn teeth, therefore you should rather feed them minced meat.
- You must also be careful when feeding them bones: your dog’s digestive system no longer works so well at an advanced age, and this could lead to constipation if it consumes bones. It is better to feed it fewer bones, but instead more innards, meat and fat.
- The sense of taste and smell also declines in an old dog, which leads to a loss of appetite. Here it is advisable to feed them strong-smelling foods such as tripe. But you can also blanch other types of meat or lightly fry them so that they smell more strongly.
If your dog is suffering from an illness, contact a trusted vet and get their advice on how to feed it.