🥕 2. BARF Model (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food)

✳️ What It Is:

BARF incorporates both raw animal parts and plant-based foods to broaden the nutrient spectrum and mimic what dogs might eat in the wild (including stomach contents of prey).

Typical BARF breakdown:

70% Muscle Meat
10% Raw Edible Bone
10% Organs (with at least 5% liver)
10% Vegetables/Fruits/Supplements

You could easily take out gently cooked template and instead of adding lean meats, organ and fats separately — order one of the 80/10/10 grinds for delivery and incorporate that in the the rest of the “recipe” for nutrient balance. Simply add the raw grind to the veg medley with appropriate supplements (without the Calcium supplement) — OR — at raw muscle and organ meat only at feeding time and keep the rest of the recipe as-is.

✅ Benefits:

Includes fiber and phytonutrients that support digestion, gut health, and detoxification.
Plant ingredients provide antioxidants, enzymes, and trace minerals often missing in meat-only diets.
Easier to meet NRC or AAFCO nutrient guidelines with more food diversity.
A good option for pet parents who want a complete, whole food-based diet without synthetic vitamins.

⚠️ Cautions:

Some dogs do not tolerate raw vegetables well, especially cruciferous (e.g., kale, broccoli) or starchy foods.
Plant foods must be pureed, steamed, or fermented to be digestible.
Still needs added sources of zinc, manganese, iodine, vitamin E, and omega-3s.

🛠️ How to Balance:

Add fermented veggies or sauerkraut to support gut flora and increase bioavailability of nutrients.
Use ground eggshells or bone meal if your dog can’t handle bone.
Supplement with wild-caught fish or krill oil for omega-3s.
Use small amounts of chlorella, spirulina, or phytoplankton for trace minerals and detox support.
Rotate veggies by color (red, orange, green, white) to feed the microbiome and enhance antioxidant intake.
Consider a whole food multivitamin if your recipe isn’t lab-analyzed.