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About Making the
Switch to a Healthier Form of Nutrition
You must first decide if
you're ready for this change. Many owners would love to make the switch to BARF
but are unsure of how to go about doing it. This is where our Dr B's
Genuine Aussie R.A.W. BARF Multi-Mix Patties shorten the learning curve
drastically and yet achieves the same positive(great) nutritional results. On
top of that, they takes out all the guesswork of "designing" the diet and
provides a level of convenience that is as simple as Thaw & Feed! There are
probably as many ways to make this switch to BARF, as there
are people and their pets. The following are guidelines and should give you a
clearer idea as to how this switch can be accomplished with your beloved pet.
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The switch can be (and mostly
is) rapid, straightforward and trouble free. This is indeed the experience with
most healthy dogs. An important factor to consider is the diet you are switching
your pet from. Where a pet has some experience of eating a variety of home
produced foods, both cooked and raw, there is usually more acceptance and less
likelihood of gastrointestinal upset on the part of the pet.
With kibble fed pets, the
change is much more dramatic for the pet's system. However, every pet and owner
is different. You know your pet(s) and situation best . The choice of how you
make the switch is purely yours.
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There are two general methods
of making the switch to BARF i.e. "Rapid " and "Slow."
Rapid Switch
This is the simplest way to
make the switch. You simply go ahead and do it! Yesterday you fed your pet
kibble and/or canned pet food, HCF ... today you begin to feed Dr B's
Genuine Aussie R.A.W. BARF Multi-Mix Patties. Before using the rapid
switch, you need to consider whether your pet is suited to a quick transfer of
diet. The general experience and consensus is, that the rapid switch is the
preferred, simplest, most trouble free and most successful method for dogs
particularly young and healthy dogs with a relatively normal gastrointestinal
system. On the other hand, the rapid switch only works on a limited number of
cats.
With pets that are older or
have digestive problems or impaired immune systems, the rapid switch may
sometimes not be appropriate. However, these are not rules and just guidelines
as your pet may teach you differently. Many older pets that have been kibble-fed
all their lives (and some younger ones for that matter) cannot tolerate both raw
food and kibble together in their digestive tract. That combination can result
in diarrhoea, vomiting or both. In this case we have no choice, it has to be the
rapid switch.
It can be helpful to allow
your pet a one or even a two-day fast prior to making the transfer. This allows
for a small amount of detoxification and also brings to your assistance a mighty
ally, Hunger! When starting with Dr B's Genuine Aussie R.A.W.
BARF Multi-Mix Patties, remember not to over-feed and do divide the daily amount
into two or three small meals.
Slow Switch
This method of switching your
pet can take from one to four weeks, or up to six months, depending on the
circumstances. Unfortunately, some pets never make the switch completely, as
their owners leave them suspended between 2 paradigms i.e. raw and processed
food. Do realise that such half-hearted efforts can only bring half-hearted
results.
There are four basic ways to
approach the slow switch :
1st method :
Offer one meal of the Dr B's Genuine Aussie R.A.W. BARF
Multi-Mix Patties followed by one meal of the old food, and gradually feed fewer
meals of the old type. If your pet accepts this method with no problems, it is a
fair indication that it has a very robust digestive system and would have
handled the rapid switch extremely well.
2nd method :
Offer both types of food at the same time and gradually offer less and less of
the old food and more of the new food. E.g. some kibble and Dr B's
Genuine Aussie R.A.W. BARF Multi-Mix Patties in the same bowl. 25% of
the new food for a few days, 50% for a few days, 75% for a few days and finally,
100%. However, some pets may develop gastrointestinal upset as they cannot
tolerate these two vastly different types of food in their digestive system at
the same time.
3rd method :
Physically break the old food down and combine the two foods into a single
homogeneous mass. This way you can start out with small amounts of the new and
gradually decrease the old over time. This works well with a pet that is
reluctant to try the new fare and many cats will fit into this category.
4th method :
This involves introducing the new food in a cooked state and gradually feeding
it in a more raw state. Those pet owners who have always fed a HCF diet may
decide to use this switch method and introduce the new food in a partially
cooked/cooked state. Gradually reduce the amount of cooking as time goes by,
till the new food is completely raw.
Next : Pets on BARF (Photo
Testimonials)
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