Ole's BARF/RAW Diet Story

Ole has been a fussy eater since we got him so we decided to try the BARF diet with just meat.

He has been on the diet now of over a month and it has done wonders for him. No bad breath, clean teeth, less poo waste, clean eyes, more energy and litle or no doggy smell which is great.

The switch

We switched Ole to the BARF straight away and stopped giving him dried food. At first he didn't know what to do with it and looked at the raw chicken. Eventually after a few days he finally eat the chicken and seemed to really enjoy it. We know when Ole enjoys his food as he howls after a good feed, and boy did he howl!!!

We used chicken as the base of the diet before we introduced other rich foods such as liver or lamb. He only gets a small portion of lambs liver as it is very rich. The liver contains alot of essential vitamins to a dogs diet.

We freeze the large majority of Oles food in portions as we buy in bulk.

The Food List

We only feed Ole meat and have decided not to include the vegetables. You can feed Vegetables if you wish, but these have to be liquidised or finely grated for the dog to get any benifit from it.

The base of his diet is made up of

Chicken Thighs

Chicken Wings

Chicken Drumsticks

Full Chicken

Mince

Stewing Beef

Lambs Liver

Eggs

Kidney

Fish (only on a few occassions)

Steak (also on a few rare occassions)

Here is a photograph of what Ole can eat in a few days

Supplements can be added in over time, if you are just starting out. Remember, start bland then introduce other things, which also applies to the supplements. I don't add supplements to Oles feed.

Costs of RAW vs Dried Food

Depending on where you get your supplies, it can work out to cost the same or much much less than dried food. If you feed a high quality dried dog food, which costs above €50, then it may work out cheaper to feed raw. If you feed the cheaper supermarket brands then it will probably work out dearer than dried food.

We started buying ours in Tesco and a weeks worth of RAW was costing €30.00. Compared to a 15kg dried bag of dog food costing €60.00 which would last 5-6 weeks.

We now buy our chicken and mince from Lidl and it works out cheaper than Tescos. We get the lambs liver and kidneys from our local butcher.

If you require further information on the costs and would like some questions asked please visit www.topdog.ie for more details. There is a few Irish Barf users on the board.

I will update this post with more photographs and FAQ' later.

Ole and The Beacon

The Beacon is now tried and tested by our Irish Red Setter, Ole!

Ole has a habit of trying to escape into a few acres field next door owned by my husbands uncle.

Last night was pretty wet and pitch dark as living in the country we have no close neighbours of street lights.

For some reason I felt I had to attach the Ruff Wear Beacon and turned it on. It was set at the flashing setting. We let Ole outside and within minutes he was gone. I ran upstairs and looked out the bedroom window. House been on a hill the fields all slope downwards as far as the eye can see.

All of a sudden we could see this red flashing light in the distance in the pitch dark. I knew where our dog was! We watch this red light going through all the bushes, jumping over small fences and through the heather. Our dog can fairly run and we were amazed on the amount of ground he could cover. He finally came home after 2 hours soaking wet and safe. We have now got fencing 6 feet high to stop the escape artist. Setters love to run and it is a strong trait in the breed. Once they get their exercise like any other working dog they are content and happy.

Here is a photograph of the wet dog wearing his beacon still attached to his Ruff Wear Collar.

I can highly recommened it for anyone who lets their dog out at night and worries.

It can also be worn by humans and has a clip to strap around a belt, pocket or jacket.

Web Master Harness

This is our top selling dog harness for many reasons. The quality, the fit and adjustability. Here is an insight into the product and its features designed by Ruff Wear.

Web Master Harness

Here’s an investment tip for all the savvy dogs out there: put your resources in something risk-averse that will offer security, stability, and guaranteed returns—the Web Master Harness.A harness is a common leash-attachment alternative to a collar, allowing better distribution of pulling force to prevent choking. Originally designed to assist search-and-rescue organizations, the harness allows humans to lift a dog onto a chairlift, truck, or out of harms way. Newer uses for the harness include dog-jouring and rehabilitation. Houdini dogs that manage to get out of traditional harnesses will find it nearly impossible to escape the Web Master.

Features

Five-point adjustable fit to accommodate dogs of all sizes and shapes Designed to be worn with padded comfort, secure fit, generous ergonomic cut, and full range of motion Fleece-lined, foam-padded chest and belly straps for extended wear Balanced assistance handle helps lift dog up and over obstacles and out of harm’s way Connect to the strong aluminum V-ring leash attachment or the webbing tow loop 3M™ Scotchlite™ reflective trim along the harness allows for visibility and added safety in low light

Benefits of Dog Backpacks

Dog Backpack has become one of the worlds most popular tools to burn your dogs excess energy. Why?

A doggie backpack has 3 huge benefits; the first being, a 1 hour walk can feel more like a 2 hour walk to a dog carrying the extra weight. You can put about 10-20% of their body weight by pounds into it. Huskies can carry loads of up to a massive 35% if they are fit. So for example a 50 pound dog can carry anywhere from 5-10 lbs, depending on their energy level and age. Have the weight evenly distributed on either side of the backpack, so if you want to add 10 pounds, make sure you add 5 pounds on each side. You can use anything you want to add the weight from bottles of water to canned goods. I myself use bottles of water but now he carries my raincoat, tourch, bowls and other hiking gear.

Second - Dogs love to feel like they are important and have a job to do in their life. When a dog is wearing a backpack they feel like they are performing a job and it gives them a sense of pride. Our dog is almost prancing when he has his the backpack on, he is like so happy and proud. It is similar to when we’d see Search and Rescue dogs wearing their packs. These dogs that have jobs feel important and proud and the backpack is a symbol to the dog in the same way. They feel they have a job to do and want to do it well. A dog can thrive on working activites and helps give it a sense of purpose.

The third benefit, besides the draining of energy and making them feel proud is that dogs usually can only concentrate intensely, on one thing, so when they wear the backpack they tend to have a more focused walk. A dog that generally tries to sniff and pull on a walk will be more likely to walk in a controlled manner when wearing a backpack. They are focused on that extra weight they are carrying and balancing the pack so you’ll see that it helps them be more composed. Cesar Millan gave us our first insight into dog backpacks and he puts equal weights in each side of the backpack (a bottle of water, tins of food, or whatever is appropriate to the dog's size). He lets the dog carry the load on a regular walk. For many dogs, this gives the dog a sense of purpose (Milan said in one episode of The Dog Whisperer, "That dog is going to take those pickles somewhere!"). It also helps them burn off pent-up energy in a constructive and physically active way. Exercise and draining the dog’s energy is the most important first step in having a happy, well-behaved, well-trained dog.

The Ruff Wear Backpack is the best design we have tried and I would recommened it because of the harness fitted system and removable saddle bags.

Ole Scooterjoring

Been a huge lover of dog mushing I decided to get a Paw Trekker Scooter for our Irish Setter, Ole. Even though he isn't a sled dog he still loves to run, and boy can he run!

I spent 3 weeks training him up on the mushing commands before attaching him to the scooter. He took to it flying as he was used to going out with me on the bike.

He was already used to the commands, Steady for slowing down, Hup, Hup for going faster.

The Paw Trekker Scooter is a great model as it has a Brush Bow to the front which allows for the dog to pull in the correct position. It also keeps the gangline from catching around the wheel.

Dog Scootering is a great sport and a fun way to exercise your dog. The scooter can be pulled by one or two dogs. Dogs from as little as 25lb can pull it in two dog teams. I really noticed a different in enegy level with our dog after his 30 minute run on the scooter. He is alot quiter and dosen't pace about the house.

How far you can go really depends on your dogs fitness level. Ole is used to going with me on the bike so we built it up through time. I wouldn't recommened you just attach your dog to the scooter and off you go. This has lead to alot of accidents in the past for human and dog.

Your dog needs to learn the basic mushing commands such as;

Gee Go right

Haw Go left

Hike/Pull Go forward

Whooa Gentle stop

Trail Stay on the trail

On By Go past eg past a distraction

Easy Slower

Hup,hup Faster

These are just examples - use whatever commands you feel comfortable with – just keep them consistent.

Always be aware of the rules of running your dogs with scooter.