Top 12 Reasons to Feed a BARF Diet To Your Dog

A balanced raw food diet consists of much more than just meat and bones. You need to remember that dogs are more omnivores rather than carnivores. In other words, they can digest plant matter. When your dog eats a raw diet that lacks vegetables, she misses out on many nutrients and health benefits.

1. Essential Vitamins and Minerals

Your dog may receive sufficient vitamins and minerals from meat, but she could gain even more (and prevent a deficiency) if she also eats vegetables. For instance, she will gain:

1. The vitamin B complex — B1 and B12 are present in vegetables but at low levels. Your dog can gain the rest that she needs with raw liver or eggs.
2. Vitamin C along with its co-factors — these your dog’s body needs to use the vitamin.
3. Vitamins A, E, and K.
4. Magnesium, manganese, calcium, and potassium.

2. Increase Fiber Intake

If your dog is eating bones in her raw diet (and she should be!), she’ll be receiving some fiber. Still, dogs evolved to also eat the hair, nails, and feathers of their prey, which are not present even in a raw diet. Vegetable fiber can help compensate for this.

Furthermore, vegetable fiber is a useful prebiotic; i.e. it acts as a food source for the beneficial bacteria in your dog’s gut. This makes it much better than fiber from grains, which tends to be almost entirely insoluble and just passes through your dog’s body.

3. Strike the Right Balance Between Alkali and Acid

Your dog’s body needs to stay slightly more alkaline than acidic. Like this, a number of her organs will be able to function optimally. An alkaline body also prevents inflammation caused by acidity — a cause of many chronic diseases.

As meat and some other sources of protein turn the body acidic, it is important to balance out these effects with vegetables. Almost all vegetables help the body become alkaline. So do many fruits, including pears, watermelon, mango, papaya, and apples to name just a few.

4. Improve Cognition

One study looked at the impact of vegetables on dogs’ cognitive abilities. It found that adding fruits and vegetables preserved cognitive ability as dogs aged.

5. Raise Water Content

Feeding your dog raw meat does provide her with more water in her food than with dry kibble does, but it is still insufficient to prevent dehydration. Vegetables and, even more so, fruits are high in water content. They can stop your dog from needing to receive too much water from drinking after her meal. This is crucial, as a diet that is too dry can lead to health conditions like kidney disease and bladder stones.

6. Prevent Obesity

The right raw meats can help combat obesity — particularly chicken and turkey muscle meats. However, you’ll see faster results if you also include vegetables in your dog’s diet. Giving her meals consisting of up to 30 percent vegetable matter will allow you to feed your dog plenty (to ensure she feels satiated) but lower the number of calories she consumes. Such a diet can also prevent or treat pancreatitis, which is often caused by obesity or a diet too high in fat.

7. Supply of Phytonutrients

The term phytonutrients refer to several substances found in plant matter. They can prevent cancer, premature aging, and bacterial, parasitic, and fungal infections. Types of phytonutrients include:

1. Enzymes — These assist in digestion and can even be anti-degenerative when they manage to pass through the stomach. Some top enzymes are present in tropical fruits.
2. Antioxidants — Various fruits, vegetables, and herbs contain antioxidants. These are critical for preventing damage caused by free radicals, which can lead to cell mutations.
3. Anti-inflammatory molecules — Turmeric, other herbs, and berries are all rich in such molecules.

8. Benefits from Carbohydrates

A major reason for leaving kibble behind and switching to a raw diet is to cut down on carbohydrates. All the same, whereas no dog needs a large number of carbs from grain, some dogs do benefit from carbohydrates forming up to 20 percent of their diet. This is especially true for sighthounds and dogs who need to gain weight. Vegetables are a great source of healthy carbs for these dogs.

9. Combat Degenerative Diseases

A biologically appropriate diet offers the greatest bioavailability of nutrition when compared to kibble or cooked diets. A proper diet can play a major role in combatting degenerative diseases of all types, such as cancer or arthritis. A species-appropriate diet can also aid in the battle with many other serious health issues, like pancreatic disease, IBD, and growth problems in large breeds.

10. Add Omega 3

Dogs are unable to make Omega-3 fatty acids in their bodies. This means that they need to receive the fats from their food. Although Omega 3 is present in fish oils, it can be more convenient at times to feed your dog grasses and algae, as these stores better.

Omega 3 has numerous health benefits for dogs. It:

1. Improves skin and coat condition.
2. Contributes to a healthy heart, joints, and muscles.
3. Boosts immunity.
4. Helps with cognitive abilities.
5. Supports many essential bodily functions.

Plus, unlike Omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause inflammation, Omega 3 has anti-inflammatory qualities. This means that Omega-3 fatty acids can balance out the effects of Omega 6, which your dog may be consuming in large amounts if she is eating chicken. It is important to note that Omega-6 fatty acids are essential; it is just necessary to balance them out with sufficient Omega 3 to avoid adverse side effects.

11. Reduce the Risk of Life-Threatening Diseases

These days, kibble fed dogs are battling an increasing rate of cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, DCM & more. Dogs fed a species-appropriate raw diet with meat, bone, organs & vegetables are far less likely to encounter serious diseases and chronic health problems. 

12. Reduce Allergies

Dogs that stay away from processed diets filled with low-grade meats, animal by-products, grains, fillers, and sugar are at less risk of having food allergies. Some reports say as many as 25% of dogs experience food allergies caused by processed foods. Often, switching to a raw diet can resolve these bothersome allergies in dogs.

Read More: Raw Diet For Dogs With Allergies | How much exercise does my dog need

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