I'm considering a raw diet for my dog and I'm looking for stores where I can find frozen BARF meats, grinded bones and other supplements. Any ideas where to find them in or around Geneva? I can also use meat producers contacts but it would be better to start with ready mix.

Unfortunate name:

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Several threads discussing raw feeding, including sourcing options, not necessarily specific to Geneva, though:

BARF - What do others think

RAW food [for pets]

Are there any Raw food sellers in Switzerland?

BARF diet?

Bones And Raw Food "BARF" diet



Canina makes several supplements, including the amusingly named 'Barfer's Best, as does Bosch. Both are available from Meiko's online shop, deliverable Switzerland wide, if you can't find them at local pet stores.

Zooplus also carries supplements - check the prices, as Zooplus.fr is likely less expensive than .ch. (I'm at the other end of the country, so order from zooplus.de.)

Do check out your local butcher, though. A few of my friends get meaty bones and other bits inexpensively from a friendly local butcher, even cheaper than from a pet food raw meat distributor. I don't feed raw, so cannot comment on personal experience.

Thanks for the response! I've read all those threads before, unfortunately I found nothing related to Geneva. It'd definitely be easier in Basel or Zurich. I am not sure if the frozen ones can be sent so I was looking for a store around this region.

Local butchers are a good idea for experiences raw feeders, but since I have not tried before, I am hoping to find some mixes. And some encouragement

I wouldn't start experimenting, if you don't know enough about the subject. But then again, it's not too hard to read up on either.

I think I found a website where they make premixed stuff and they ship to Geneva as well. Would have to look to see if I can still find it though.

Migros also sells a lot of organ meat.

At one point I bought a drying machine at Lidl and once every two months I make my own dried kitty-snacks with it. (And freeze a big portion of it.) My cats simply love them and I think it's a whole lot healthier than all the crap they sell at the supermarket. I also live in Geneva, so if you want to borrow it sometime... It's not too expensive though.

That's one thing you need though, if you want to start compiling menus yourself: a big ass freezer.

Definitely a big freezer! Then I can comfortably make own my mixes. I'm planning to move in a couple months and freezer is one of the first things. I've never heard of drying machines actually I need to look for them. I cut off most snacks, now I buy good quality 90g canned dog food, put them in a treat dispenser and use them most of the time. Or mix kibbles with warm chicken etc.

I found a Belgian BARF supplier who delivers to France (I live in border), but I'm afraid they might defreeze on the way. I'd like to see if you can find the one that delivers to Geneva.

And hey, thanks for the help

No problem.

I think they use special transport. (Or in the Netherlands they do anyway.) That's usually the reason why you either pay a lot for transport or need to order big quantities at once. (Hence needing the big freezer.)

Haven't had the time to look into it yet. Will let you know once I do.

Just out of curiosity: which Belgian one did you find?

I'm afraid I can't find it any more. However, I did manage to find this:

http://www.barf.ch/barf/index.php/an...eurs-de-viande

You can search for suppliers for raw meat in a specific area here.

And this supplier sells premixes, but not sure if they deliver to the Geneva-area:

http://www.carnivora.ch/

I've given up my search some time ago; my cats are too fussy to devour whole carcasses and I don't feel brave enough grinding that stuff up myself just yet.

In the Netherlands you have a lot of suppliers for pre-mixed foods (called KVV there if you want to conduct a search), with lots of selling points throughout the country. So easy, it's a shame they don't seem to have many suppliers over here.

Edit:

Managed to find another one through the first website: http://www.commerce-de-viande.ch/chats.html

Not sure if I agree with this though: "Un repas devra idéalement être constitué de 50% de viande et de 50% de céréales, de riz ou de pâtes." But then again, I don't know that much about BARF for dogs. For cats it's better to not give them any grains or rice at all as far as I know.

Thanks for looking!

http://www.barf-webshop.be/

Here is the website I liked and they deliver to Geneva. (Well, actually to France near Geneva border but that's even better). The only problem is the delivery takes about 2-3 days, and if somehow they can't find me at home (it happens a lot, they just don't ring the bell and leave!) then it will all be trash. They don't deliver with frozen containers.

I found carnivora before but it's not in the region and I don't think they deliver here. The Barf website, I also checked them, the ones I found in France next to me are meet suppliers and I want to avoid going there if possible and they only offer one kind of meet (like chicken only).

I definitely agree with you, I use grain free kibbles now (Orijen 6 Fish). I can add vegetables but not rice, wheat etc.

I am actually looking for something like that: http://www.nutriment.co/ I contacted them already to ask if they deliver here but I don't think so.

Again, thank you very much for helping!

Yeah the meat suppliers would be for if you one day decide to start making your own menus and grind up your own mixes.

But I'm assuming that it will be even more difficult for dogs than for cats and even I don't want to go there yet. With cats you can choose to start feeding them whole prey, because their natural preys quite small. (Mice, rats, rabbits, quail, chicken etc.)

Anyway, I'll keep my eyes and ears open. But I've read pretty good things about Orijen too, so it's not a bad alternative.

And just a note for those who are looking for a grain-free high-protein food but can't feed Orijen (my Hooligan can't have it due to the rosemary) Purizon from Zooplus is a pretty good alternative.

Terra Canis is a good wet-food alternative as well - bio, fully disclosed sources, ethical production, grain free, from a small producer in Germany.

Neither of these, however, fulfill the primary motivation for raw feeding. But since the discussion has strayed to non-raw, I just thought I'd throw this info out there.