Spazzy
Posted : 7/9/2010 5:05:47 PM
Ive fed raw to both my dog and my ferrets for years now, and we're not looking back 
Yes, feeding Raw, BARF, Natural diet, etc, means raw meat and bones. Diet consists of muscle meat, organ meat, and bone. Veggies occasionally, I dont feed them with every meal. Pretty much any meat is acceptable. Baileys main diet consists of chicken, cornish game hens, turkey, beef, pork, and goat. Both muscle meat, bone, and organ meat.
Advantages:
Healthier dog overall
Minor health issues usually disapear (dry/itchy skin, ears, flakey dry coat, etc)
Less "doggy" smell
Drink less (well, thats not really an advantage, more like a side effect. Raw meat gives them more water than kibble, so they usually drink a little less)
Actually cheaper than feeding a kibble sometimes, if you know what to look for (buying meat in bulk, getting stuff on sale, special "leftover" cuts from the butcher)
Disadvantages:
Can be messy, I dont see that as a problem though. Bailey has a towel that he eats on every day. With training, he learned that he is suposed to eat on the towel and wont bring the meat anywhere else.
Harder to feed if you are traveling. Again, not really a problem. You could always switch to kibble durring travels and resume raw later on.
It can be kind of scary when you start out. I was constantly worrying about not feeding enough, feeding too much, not enough organ or too much bone, etc. Once you've been doing it for a while, it gets a lot easier.