Standard Poodles

In 1997 we lost three of our standard poodles within three months of each other. All died from different diseases, that were in no way related, according to the vet. How could this be. All were approximately the same age. They had all been raised by us following a commercial diet of what we thought was high quality food. We wanted nothing but the best for our showdogs. But their diet was the only thing they had in common.We searched the internet and read articles and then the book Give Your Dog a Bone written by Dr Ian Billinghurst. It all made perfect sense. We decided to give the diet a go. Now just to get our two year old standard, Blade, to co-operate. It took a while before she decided that raw lamb shanks were things to eat. At first they were horded and hidden in favorite places. Now completely off the commercial food she chows right down on them when they are given. Chicken necks are a favourite too. She seems to prefer lamb to beef. The vegies were a problem at first. We started out mixing small amounts with minced meat, but she was too well fed and waited until the lamb shanks arrived. We tried various additives, garlic, oils, seeds, oats. She does eat the patties now but we still feel we need to up the vegetable portion.Blade whelped a litter of eleven babies and she absolutely bloomed on this diet. She happily raised her puppies and our vet was amazed at her condition for having reared such a large litter. The pups were weaned on raw chicken necks, which had been pulverised in a blender with the added vegie mix. We also came across a product called Vets All Natural, which is mixed with water and allowed to sit for 20 hours to let the seeds germinate.

This is then added to minced beef or chicken and the poodles love it. It does smell of garlic.Most dogs would benefit from the change of a commercial to a raw food diet. One exception would be an animal that is unwell. First get your pet healthy and then introduce the change in diet. Use metal bowls. Feed once or twice per day. Only leave food down for 20 minutes and pick up what is left and clean the bowls. You'll find that your poodle will look forward to his meal time. I think it helps to stop finicky eating which seems to be common in the poodle breed, especially the smaller varieties. IE You eat what gets put down or you miss out until next meal time. I also vary the times that I feed my poodles. This stops them from becoming distressed if their food isn't available at exactly 5pm.Live enzymes required for optimum health is only found in raw foods. As in processed foods for human consumption, cooking destroys these live enzymes.Ingredients used to manufacture commercial foods may not be of the quality we would like our animals to be eating. Added preservatives and other chemical may adversely affect your poodle's health and eating only processed food causes tooth decay. 
Feeding Raw chicken and lamb bones help to clean our poodle's teeth. Chewing and gnawing on the bone acts like a toothbrush.  They contain the minerals,  proteins and vitamins in the correct balance along with natural enzymes. An added benefit of feeding raw bones is that the dogs love to gnaw and chew on them. It keeps them amused while giving them a workout by pulling and chewing.


Poodles are quite capable of handling the bacteria that is present in raw foods. A dog's digestive system is shorter than a humans and contains more powerful stomach acids to deal with this type of food. We found the BARF links (above right) helpful, and we also joined the BARF email list for a short period of time. The list is a great source of information but there are a lot of emails each day.And, - for yourself, if you feel that your diet may be inadequate - I recommend that you read the Optimum Nutrition Bible by Patrick Holford  and Your Miracle Brain by Jean Carper.

More about BARF

Developed by Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst, the BARF diet under any appellation is based on feeding raw, meaty bones, animal offal, raw vegetables, and supplements instead of commercially-processed or cooked homemade diets. Billinghurst has published two books about BARF: Give Your Dog a Bone in 1993 and Grow Your Pups with Bones. Dr. Billinghurst describes BARF this way: “BARF is about feeding dogs properly. The aim of BARF is to maximise the health, longevity and reproductive capacity of dogs and by so doing, minimise the need for veterinary intervention. How do you feed a dog properly? You feed it the diet that it evolved to eat. ... Artificial grain based dog foods cause innumerable health problems. They are not what your dog was programmed to eat during its long process of evolution. A biologically appropriate diet for a dog is one that consists of raw whole foods similar to those eaten by the dogs' wild ancestors. The food fed must contain the same balance and type of ingredients as consumed by those wild ancestors. This food will include such things as muscle meat, bone, fat, organ meat and vegetable materials and any other foods that will mimic what was those wild ancestors ate.”

Those who feed BARF point out that kibbled foods have been around for about 60 years but that dogs ate handouts from human tables for millennia before processed foods were marketed. However, the debate rages hot and heavy. Those who develop processed dog foods and those who feed these diets point out the scientific reports that back their claims; those who feed BARF are equally as adamant that their anecdotal evidence about dog health and well-being proves the value of fresh, raw food.