BARF, PMR, Complete and Balanced Raw…sound like a foreign language? Let’s uncover the mystery and show you the amazing benefits of each!  

BARF= Bones and Raw Food. This  includes whole food sources for additional nutrients (Kelp, Sweet potatoes, Yucca, Fish Oil, etc.)   

PMR=Prey Model Raw. Consists of muscle meat, organs, and bone.   

Complete and Balanced Raw diets are formulated from muscle meat, organs, bone, and either whole foods to complete the nutrient panel, or added vitamins and minerals.   

The BARF diet is what brought raw feeding into the mainstream in the 1990’s. At the time, there were no commercially available raw diets so if you believed in raw feeding for your canines/felines, you had to do all of the work. And it was a huge endeavor.   

The BARF model closely resembles the AAFCO definition of “balanced and complete”, but it gets all of the required nutrients, vitamins and minerals from whole food sources.  A BARF diet is typically recognized as 70% raw muscle meat (heart included), 10% secreting organs, 10% bone, and 10% vegetables or carbohydrates.  

So, if you were on the forefront of carnivore nutrition in the 90’s, you had to have access to good muscle and organ meat, a bone grinder, and vegetable raw food sources, as well as the knowledge on the appropriate ratios of all ingredients to compile a balanced diet. Time consuming, expensive, and potentially bad for your animal’s health if you didn’t achieve the right balance.   

Luckily, in the next decade, companies came out with this type of raw diet commercially available. Raw food companies balance the correct amount of muscle, organ, bone and other nutrients to ensure a complete diet.  These companies will label their raw food products as “balanced and complete” as defined by AAFCO. The balanced and complete diet may balance the diet using whole food sources and oils, or it may add the recommended vitamins and minerals into the diet in their supplement form.  

The Prey Model Diet differs in only one way from a BARF or Complete and Balanced Raw diet; they do not add anything besides protein. The PRM crowd believes that everything a carnivore needs is inherent in a diet consisting of prey muscle meat, organs, hide, bone, and any other part of an animal. The preferred ratio is 80% muscle meat, 10% bone and 10% secreting organs. They do not include any vegetables,  fruits, or vitamins/minerals. Most PRM fans will switch up the proteins, add oil and other supplements like, pre/probiotics, vitamins, minerals and many other herbs or spices such as turmeric, alfalfa, and so on, to ensure they are getting everything they need into their animals’ diets. This is another diet that can be challenging to create at home, and luckily there are many commercially available brands of this diet.  

There are many ways to provide a good diet for your pets. Everyone has to consider what fits best in their household, keeping in mind allergies/sensitivities, and lifestyle in mind. The three types described here are only a fraction of the ways you can ensure your companion animals live a long and healthy life. Please stop in to chat with one of our knowledgeable staff for more personalized options, or call us at 262-363-3338 and schedule a time for a more in-depth consultation!