Richard--

I can't find a figure for Urea on the lab results, but the Creatine figure was 0.81 (acceptable range is 0.5 to 1.8). So dehydration is definitely a possibility.

I'm quizzing my vet about this; unfortunately she's anti-BARF, and having this happen hasn't exactly left me in a strong position from which to argue for the diet!

Update: my vet says she was not clinically dehydrated and that the elevated BUN is, in her opinion, due to a high-protein diet.

I guess my point just is, that this too can happen on kibble. So if your vet is anti barf, take it with a grain of salt. One of the above posts states that a slightly elevated level due to protein is normal. If she is fully recovered, just keep an eye on her and see how she does. Since this is her first month on it, she is probably just adjusting. Have you read Ed's detox article. I guess it can be much worse! My dogs never went through it thankfully. My first GSD was the one with the intestinal problems and he stayed on kibble all his life and we had problems all his life. Nothing like seeing blood sprayed all over white snow <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
Usually when that happened we fed a bland diet for a few days and he would get better. Usually rice and cottage cheese. Vet said not much else could be done. So take heart.....she'll get better. Grinding is always an option!

I would appreciate some advise on feeding the BARF diet. Approximately a year ago I started feeding my GSD raw chicken legs. This was something I started after a brief discussion with Ed. Now for the problem. He has such a ferocious appetite that he would literally swallow the chicken legs whole in a matter of seconds. I would hear a crunch or two and then he would swallow the whole leg. I'm talking 4 or 5 seconds and it is gone. Well this scared the crap out of me and I had nightmares of something getting lodged inside him and causing major problems. I even tried cutting the legs, bone and all up into chuncks and it helped somewhat but it was way too hard to do at home with a knife so I give up on that too. Along with the chicken legs I tried raw hamburger, raw roast, only to find he tolerated the hamburger but puked up the roast after going for a ride in the truck. To make a long story short I got scared and quit feeding him such things as chicken legs and went back to dry dog food.

Now I hear people saying things like getting ground up bones and meat from the butcher. This is something I have not tried. I know our grocery stores doe not give out meat scraps or bones anymore like the old days. Hopefully I can find a butcher willing to do something for me. I would appreciate any other ideas from anyone who has had good results feeding this type of diet to their dogs.

Approximately how much does a 100lb male GSD need per feeding? I feed him twice a day. Approximately how much does this diet cost per day, week, or month? Is there a cost effective way of obtaining all the different veggies and fruit for you're dog?

Do you think it is a waste of money to feed a dog ground chuck verses regular ground beef?

Thanks for you're help.

I would like to be able to get him back on this diet because I do believe he would benefit from it.

Please disregard my first post. I have just found a million posts made over the past year. I am new to this board and am slowly finding my way around. I will assume the answers to all of my questions will be in some of these past posts. Sorry for not researching this further before I posted. My main concern was two things. The proper amount of food for my 100 lb. male and being concerned with him swallowing things whole due to his ferocious appetite. If I do not find the answers to my questions I'll repost my questions. Thanks!

Glenn..
When I feed chicken.. I feed only backs.. I don't like my guys swallowing things whole either! I will give wings to my young pups.. starting about 3 weeks of age to pull and play with...
Jody

Thanks for the reply Jody. My male was about 3 1/2 or 4 yrs. old when I first tired the chicken legs. He is now going to be 5 yrs. old this April. Somehow he managed to work the chicken legs out of his system without anything major happening. He definately had a problem in the beginning when he tried to have a bowl movement.

I have tried to read as much as I can and still have a few questions. One of which is how do you go about changing the dogs diet over to the RAW diet without causing his system to have any problems adjusting? I saw a post that said for every 1 year of age you're dog is you should plan for 1 week of converting his diet over. Hope that made sense. So for example a 5 year old dog would require a 5 week period before it was completely on the RAW diet.

When changing them over do you feed RAW one meal and kibble the next? Exactly what is the best method for changing over his diet?

Thanks!

I think it's much better to just go cold turkey. It seems people who switch gradually are the ones who have to deal with the dogs puking.
This is what I would do. Feed last bowl of kibble wednesday night. Do not feed anything at all on Thursday. Friday start off with a couple of chicken wings and hamburger. Do this for about a week and then start adding chicken backs or turkey necks. I did this and my dogs had absolutely no problems with the runs or puking.
I once gave them a turkey neck while on kibble and they puked all day.
The reason I say start on these days, in case you have problems and work full time you can be home over the weekend to let the dog out if he has trouble adjusting.

I have heard that it is bad to feed BARF and kibble at the same meal because "they are digested differently" but I have never heard a more scientific explanation. You could do separate meals. When I first switched my dogs I did it half-assedly and went back and forth - with the result that one started refusing the kibble and one refused the raw bones. So I just switched strait over to BARF and the hesitant one didn't eat for two days and then went ahead and ate it and from then on was visibly happier - and healthier - eating BARF than she ever was with kibble. With a healthy, not too old dog I would always choose to go cold turkey because it would be a lot easier to tell what they were reacting to if they had any reactions. Start with one kind of meat and one kind of vegetable and go from there. I like Lanegirl's suggestion of a fast in between and starting on a Friday.

As far as how much to feed, I would just feed what you think seems like the right amount and after two weeks, see if he has gained or lost any weight. Really, how do you know how much kibble to feed? Every dog has a different metabolism and the guidelines on the back of the bag are only right for some dogs. You just figure out if he is getting too fat or too skinny.

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to reply to my post. I also received a personal message and reply from Melissa but did not know how to send her a thank you because I don't think I can reply to the personal message through E-mail. Anyway if you see this Melissa I thank you also for you're thoughts and time.