Raw, BARF and home cooking
Raw, BARF and home cooking are compared with extruded foods on balance and food-safety risk. This section recalls the WSAVA and AVMA positions and how a ration is calculated.
Last updated :Questions (40)
- Is raw or BARF feeding genuinely healthier than kibble for a dog?
- What benefits do raw-feeding advocates claim over kibble?
- What are the documented health risks of raw feeding for dogs and cats?
- What do the WSAVA and the AVMA say about raw diets?
- Does raw feeding put my family at risk of salmonella or listeria?
- Do dogs on raw diets shed dangerous bacteria in their stools?
- Does BARF really improve coat and digestion the way people claim?
- Is there any scientific study proving raw is healthier than kibble?
- Is a dog's gut really built to eat raw meat like a wolf?
- Is raw feeding inadvisable in a home with a baby, an elderly or immunocompromised person?
- How do I calculate a BARF ration for my dog?
- What percentage of body weight should I feed per day on a BARF diet?
- What split between meat, bone, organ and vegetables does BARF recommend?
- How do I balance calcium in a raw or home-cooked ration?
- Does the BARF percentage differ between a puppy and an adult dog?
- What percentage of body weight should a growing puppy get on BARF?
- What share of raw meaty bone avoids constipation on a BARF diet?
- Should I rotate meat sources in a BARF ration, and how often?
- Can bone meal or eggshell powder replace raw meaty bones in BARF?
- How do I adjust a BARF ration for a working dog or a neutered dog?
- Should meat be frozen before BARF feeding to limit parasites?
- Can a home-cooked diet for a cat truly be balanced?
- Does a home-cooked ration need a mineral and vitamin supplement?
- What deficiency risks come with an unbalanced homemade diet?
- Why must a home-cooked cat diet be validated by a veterinary nutritionist?
- Which deficiencies are most common in a homemade ration for dogs?
- Why is taurine a critical point in a cat's home-cooked diet?
- Are home-cooked recipes found online reliable?
- Can a cat live on cooked home rations alone, without kibble?
- How can I tell if my homemade ration meets my pet's vitamin needs?
- Is a cooked home ration safer than a raw one for a cat?
- Can kibble and home-cooked or BARF food be mixed in the same day?
- Does mixing raw and kibble really upset a dog's digestion?
- Is kibble in the morning and raw at night a good idea?
- What is the difference between freeze-dried, air-dried and extruded food?
- What are freeze-dried and air-dried diets for dogs and cats?
- Does low-temperature cooking change a food's nutritional quality?
- Is freeze-dried food a raw alternative without the health risks?
- Is the high price of freeze-dried or air-dried food justified?
- How do I start raw feeding safely for a dog never fed raw?
Guides (6)
- How to balance a BARF ration: a worked example, step by step
- Freeze-dried versus extruded: heat, safety and what you pay for
- Home-cooked diets for dogs and cats: what it takes to get them right
- The food-safety risks of raw feeding: what the agencies document
- Raw and BARF versus kibble: what the evidence actually shows
- What the WSAVA and AVMA say about raw feeding: the positions explained