Dog food types
What is the BARF diet for dogs?
Last updated 23 September 2026 · How we write and check this
Short answer
BARF stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, sometimes also read as Bones and Raw Food, a raw feeding approach that mixes raw meat, edible raw bone, organ meat, and often pureed vegetables or fruit to mimic what a wild canine might eat. It is one of several raw feeding philosophies, not a single fixed formula.
The typical composition
A common BARF ratio used by many raw feeders is roughly 70 percent muscle meat, 10 percent raw edible bone, 5 percent liver, 5 percent other organ, and 10 percent vegetables or fruit, though exact proportions vary between sources and individual dogs' needs.
How it differs from prey model raw
Prey model raw sticks closer to whole animal proportions with no added vegetables, arguing a dog's ancestors ate stomach contents rather than chopped produce, while BARF deliberately includes plant matter for fiber and certain nutrients, making it a more customizable but also more debated approach.
Getting the balance right
Because BARF recipes are assembled from separate components rather than a single tested formula, calcium to phosphorus ratio and micronutrient completeness are easy to get wrong without careful planning, which is why many raw feeders work from a recipe reviewed by a veterinary nutritionist rather than improvising.
Key takeaways
- BARF combines raw meat, bone, organ, and often vegetables to approximate a natural canine diet.
- A common starting ratio is roughly 70 percent meat, 10 percent bone, 10 percent organ, and 10 percent plant matter.
- Getting calcium and micronutrients right requires careful recipe planning, ideally reviewed by a professional.