About Raw

Bone Depot is owned by humans who feed their dogs raw meaty bones (RMB’s). We have been doing so since 2003, and since then have added dogs to our family as well naturally reared 33 puppies on the Bones and Raw Food (BARF) diet. We also have friends and colleagues who feed raw meaty bones to their dogs and cats, and within this circle have had zero reports of anyone having any issues with salmonella poisoning, dogs choking or obstructing on bones, or any of the other concerns those pet guardians and others tied to having pet food companies be in complete control over companion animals’ nutrition assert.

Feeding your dog, cat, ferret or other carnivore is something one comes around to for a variety of reasons. As we have always believed that “Education shall set you free”, this page is a collection of some of the better resources we have come across: non- or only peripherally-commercial websites plus some .pdf ’s and other resources you can download. This is not a comprehensive list, and we encourage you to seek out your own information online and by other means. Both those who are already feeding raw, as well as those just starting out should find something of use here.
Disclaimer: Bone Depot solely provides bones and raw meat for pet guardians who feed these to their companion animals. The information noted below- whether its origins be in a book, a website or otherwise- are resources provided for your convenience only. Neither Bone Depot nor its principals has authored or is otherwise responsible for any of the content, thus it is presented here with no guarantees; you may choose to use this information or not.

On the world wide web one of the best sites we have come across is http://www.rawfed.com/ They have a ‘myths’ page which addresses such anti-BARF assertions as “Dogs live longer today because of commercial foods” and “Small dogs and toy breeds cannot eat raw diets”, to name a few of the more outlandish. Aside from this there are links to other raw feeding sites as well as original content.
Another fantastic site in this vein is http://rawlearning.com/ Information is presented in easy to read terms (the author breeds Portuguese Water Dogs & her writing is a hoot), with many links to other sites for more detailed information; she also has information on some e-mail lists focused on raw feeding which you can join.
These days more breeders are turning to RMBs for their own dogs as well as the puppies: two site that have much information for their puppy buyers are Cat’s Cradle Catahoulas and Rutland Manor Labradoodles.
The number of veterinarians who are staunch supporters of feeding RMBs is growing but still relatively small; thus it was personally gratifying to see Wilmington (Delaware) Animal Hospital dedicate a page to informing their clients on how to feed raw meaty bones

Pet guardians are also blogging and making websites about their own experiences feeding raw meat and bones to their companions. One of our favorites blogs follows an Airedale Terrier named Kimi

If you prefer to read a good book on how-to feed companion animals a raw diet, there are several. Three authors in particular come to mind-
The most famous and oft-quoted has to be Dr Ian Billinghurst: an veterinary surgeon from Australia. Most people who are just starting off inevitably pick up Give Your Dog A Bone; he has also written Grow Your Pups With Bones. His website has a good amount of information as well. Not that long ago Dr Billinghurst came out with a line of ground RMBs packaged for pet guardians to feed their companion animals; ground RMB (and RMB-based freeze dried) diets have become a popular alternative to feeding whole raw meaty bones (Bravo, Steve’s Real Food, and The Honest Kitchen are three of the larger ones). Some information to consider when looking at these methods of feeding raw is provided in this article .

Tom Lonsdale DVM is the author of an excellent peer-reviewed book Raw Meaty Bones, he has also written Work Wonders: Feeding Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones. There is likewise much information on his website for pet guardians.

Finally, the book that goes home with all of our puppies is written by Kymythy Schultze, a Certified Clinical Nutritionist. Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats: The Ultimate Diet is available in most bookstores as well as on the author’s content-rich website

There are numerous e-mail lists discussion forums and newsgroups you can join that are worthwhile, one of the largest is http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/k9nutrition/ . There is another list on Yahoo! specifically for those feeding their cats BARF or Prey Model: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawcat/ as well as a group for ferrets: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/naturalferrets

Admittedly it can be a bit overwhelming for one to sift through all of the information available on the world wide web, posted on newsgroups, or written in books and on blogs. For some it may be preferable to talk with a person when getting started. Donna Tagg-Dodge is based on the North Shore and does nutritional consulting for companion animals; she is a trusted source for information whom we have known for years. Donna also breeds Newfoundlands which are Naturally Reared .

The majority of the websites noted here have hot-to guides, nutrient info, e-books and other files for download; many are free of charge. We will also be posting files for download as time permits, so do check back.