If you visit the store this week, these little guys may be around to say hi.

This is huge! We now have raw food available in our store in Fredericksburg, TX. Either you are as excited as we are about this or you're wondering what the big deal is. If you fall into the latter group, consider the fact that wild dogs eat raw food. They don't farm, they don't have kitchens or food factories, or even grocery stores. They hunt.

Because dogs were created to eat raw food, the health benefits of a raw diet are many. The owner of a couple of Labrador Retrievers here in Fredericksburg tells us her story: The labs were plagued with allergies and conditions that dogs should not have to endure. It turns out that the yeast in their food was the culprit. The owner turned to raw food and the problems have begun to go away.

Stop by the store to see the our selection of raw food from Nature's Variety.

BARF is an acronym for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food and also for Bones And Raw Food. It is a diet that contains no fillers, chemicals, colouring, preservatives, heat processing or grains. Instead, it consists of raw bones, meat, and veggies. Some people also add vitamins and other supplements to the diet. The BARF diet has been shown to help improve dogs health by helping with skin problems, weight problems, bad breath, gas, food allergies, and by increasing immune system function and longevity of life.

When feeding your beloved pooch the BARF diet, 60-75% by weight should be raw meaty bones; the rest can be a mix of vegetables, organs (also known as offal), ground meat, and eggs. Raw meaty bones are not the same as recreational bones. Raw meaty bones are things like chicken carcasses, backs, necks, wings, lamb necks, oxtails, turkey necks, etc. Recreational bones, on the other hand, are larger bones that the dog will chew on but will not eat the whole bone - things like beef marrow bones, femurs, knuckle bones, etc. Recreational bones can also be given to the dog but should not make up the entire diet. If your dog is on the thin side feed more raw meaty bones, if he is on the heavy side feed more veggies. Apple cider vinegar can be added to the diet in order to aid bone digestion.

How much you feed your dog will depend on their weight. Adult dogs should be fed approximately 2-3% of their body weight per day. For example, a 25lb dog could eat 1/2lb of food per day. The amount will vary depending on the activity level and age of the dog. Growing puppies, on the other hand, require closer to 10% of their body weight per day, divided between 3-4 meals.

There are many companies out there that sell pre-made BARF. However, it is often cheaper to make it homemade. The ingredients can be found in any grocery store.

When introducing your dog to the BARF diet, going cold turkey is the best. This is because kibble and raw food do not go well together as they have different digestive rates. Raw passes through the dogs system in about 4-6 hours while kibble takes about 24 hours. The reason why raw food does not cause a problem with bacteria such as salmonella or e-coli is because it passes through the system so quickly. If kibble is mixed with raw meat it slows down the digestion and problems may occur. In fact, a fast of 24hrs is often recommended to clear your dogs digestive system of any kibble. Starting with just one type of bland food, such as chicken or turkey wings, is recommended to let the dog get used to the diet before adding too many different foods. Some dogs may experience a detox phase after starting a BARF diet.

You may be wondering about the bacteria in raw food, however, the immune system of dogs has evolved to be much more effective than our own for dealing with various microbes. They can often eat feces, rotten meat, dug up bones, and various other contaminated foods with no problems. A dogs immune system is perfectly capable of handling a diet of clean raw food. Moreover, raw food passes through the dogs digestive system much quicker than kibble, giving unwanted parasites much less time to cause problems. If you are still worried about dangerous microbes, boiling water can be poured over the raw meat to kill any bacteria.

Some people avoid the BARF diet because they hear that dogs can choke on raw bones. While this is true, it is not a good reason to avoid the BARF diet as other diets also hold risks. For example, poor quality kibble can cause a multitude of problems such bloat and gastric torsion, which can lead to death, as well as longer-term health issues. Also, rawhide can swell in the dogs intestinal system causing anything from mild to severe gastric upset, to death. Although choking on bones is rare, it can be avoid completely by grinding them up with the meat before feeding them to your dog. A grinder capable of this will cost about $100.

There are a couple of items to avoid when feeding a raw diet to your dog.

Salmon: Salmon is a host to bacteria and parasites that can cause infectious diseases. Some believe deep-freezing the salmon for a week can kill these parasites.

Cooked Bones: Cooked bones, especially cooked chicken bones, can cause problems by breaking and splintering in the intestinal system.

Onions and Rhubarb: both can be toxic to dogs.

Grapes and Raisins: These can cause kidney failure and death in dogs.

Rawhide Bones: These are very hard to digest and may contain harmful chemicals.

Grains: Many believe grains can cause various digestive issues and other health problems.

Feeding the BARF diet, will be a little more involved but your dog will live a longer more healthy life, free of pain and disease.