Introduction

Hello, welcome to our B.A.R.F. blog! =) I started this blog because I have found a lack of blogs posting about their own personal journey with the B.A.R.F. diet. I have had so many questions myself, and have had a hard time finding the answers to some of my questions through google. So I am going to share our own experience in hopes it helps other pet owners out there! =)

I will share the cost, recipes I use, equipment I use, and how my dogs handle the transition and how they do after the transition. I will also be sharing how Henry's epilepsy does with this diet change. Henry is on Potassium Bromide, which is a medicine that helps to control seizures. If your dog is also on Potassium Bromide, please learn about how diet change alters the effectiveness of Potassium Bromide before starting this diet. Your dog will need regular blood tests until the new dose has been figured out. How much info I share on canine epilepsy, depends on how much of a need I see for it among readers of this blog.

We first adopted Henry on October 27th, 2007. We adopted him knowing that he has epilepsy. He is our second dog to have epilepsy, so we were not afraid. However, he is our first to have such severe seizures. We have only witnessed him have one grand mal since we brought him home 3 months ago, and it took us by surpise how severe the seizure was. It took him several days to recover. Our last dog who had epilepsy, his seizures were nowhere near the severity of Henry's. There is a special kind of bond you can only have with a dog that has epilepsy/special needs. As long as Henry has not had a seizure within the last few days, he is pretty much a normal dog and you certainly can't tell he has epilepsy. The only thing that is constant as a result of the epilepsy, is the special bond exclusive only to dogs with epilepsy/special needs.

Henry is the reason we decided to investigate commercial dog food. And he is the reason we are starting the B.A.R.F. diet. I am sure our other dog Riley won't object! =D Riley is our American Eskimo. He will be 13 this spring. He is in excellent health, and has been cleared for starting the B.A.R.F. diet. If your dog is elderly, it is a good idea to have your dogs BUN and creatinine levels checked before starting the B.A.R.F. diet. Riley has been with us since he was a pup. We also have a kitty named Mabel. She has been with us for 14 yrs and is approx. 16 yrs old. She will be continuing with her kitty kibble, for now at least.

Currently we are waiting on the arrival of the meat grinder (second one down on the page in that link) in the mail before we start this diet. Hopefully it will be here within a week. (About the meat grinder, please see this post) The B.A.R.F. police will tell you that you don't need to grind the bones, but we have chosen to do so anyways, the reason being that Riley is elderly, and Henry has many broken teeth.

I look forward to sharing our experience with you and hearing from you! =)