In the BARF or natural diet, it is advised that you feed 2-3% of the dogs ideal bodyweight for an average dog. This can be increased or decreased according to the dogs activity and metabolism. The diet achieves a balance over a period of time, as your diet does.
The diet is based on Raw Meaty Bones (RMB) of which the diet should consist of no more than 50%. I actually feed 35%. RMB are classified by having a ratio of bone to meat of 1:1. Chicken wings are the ideal ratio, hence why they are used frequently. If you can find anyone that shoots rabbits (you can feed them whole), then you should be able to feed your dog very cheaply, coupled with any fish you catch. Non-weight bearing bones are the best types to use, as they will be softer. Bones splinter when they are cooked, as they become brittle, but you shouldn't have any problems with raw bones.
As well as RMB, the diet has muscle meat (I feed this in the form of pet mince, but value mince from the supermarket is OK). This makes up around 48% of the total diet. Some dogs are intolerant to beef, owing sometimes to vaccinations (they make them from beef serum), so watch out for this.
Offal is also needed in this diet. My pet mince has offal in it, but green tripe is a good source. If you can't handle the smell, then liver or kidneys are fine. 10% offal is the amount I feed.
It is controversial whether or not vegetables are needed. I feed them to ensure that they are getting all the vitamins that the meat alone can't supply. 7% is how much I feed. The trick with the veg portion is to balance the above ground vegetables (those which grow above ground) with the below ground vegetables. If you are feeding potatoes, then cook them. Onions are poisonous. If your dog is arthritic, then it is best to avoid peppers. Salad vegetables are not really a good idea, althoug celery is a brilliant ingredient. Fruit is good. I usually blitz mine in the food processor. I add a small amount of garlic, ginger and honey, as well as the offal (if I haven’t got it already), eggs (including the eggshells) and some oily fish. Live yoghurt or Actimel is a good thing to include too, especially when just starting out, but don't feed it at the same time as the garlic- it is a potent antibiotic, and will just kill off the active ingredients. It seems a huge faff at first, but I usually prepare a batch of about a month's worth at a time then freeze it. It is perfectly fine to use peelings, so it won't really cost you anything to do this portion of the diet. It has to be blitzed (or pulped or juiced), as the dog can't extract the goodness otherwise.
Cereals are not required in a dogs diet unless they are gestating or lactating. Therefore complete biscuits and tins are made mostly of stuff that the dog doesn't need and it comes out the other end.
Avoid a large amount of fat.
On the subject of poos, if you do take this diet up, then your dog will have smaller and less offensive smelling poos. On the days they have RMB, you will see that they are hard and white or cream coloured. This is normal. Veg days are less hard and darker. If you feed a lot of offal, then it will come out very fast and liquidy! If you do have an upset tummy, then Slippery elm powder combined with Actimel or live yoghurt usually does the trick. Don't be surprised if your dog is sick straight after their meal, and it is fine to let them eat it if they want to- this is a natural part of a dogs life. They sometimes eat their poos, if you don't want them to do it, then add a little pineapple to their veg.
This diet is also suitable for cats, although the veg content can be greatly diminished or cut out altogether.
When you get into the swing of it, the most time consuming parts are the vegetables and remembering to get the meat out the night before. As it is all human grade material (even the pet mince) then there is no need for a separate fridge or anything. REMEMBER IT IS ALL FED RAW (ok except the potatoes and tinned fish!)
