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Post by Ray Jones on Apr 15, 2011 19:57:30 GMT 10
Tom,
Whats your thoughts on using well cooked pearl barley as a subsistute for brown bread as the main carbohydrate source in a dogs diet ?
Cheers
Ray Jones
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Post by Tom Meulman on Apr 16, 2011 6:26:20 GMT 10
Hi Ray,
While I have no personal experience with feeding pearl barley to greyhounds, I see no reason why you could not substitute it for brown bread. It has similar nutritional value as wheat and in some ways it is better than wheat.
100 grams of pearl barley contains around 75 grams of carbohydrate, about 10 grams of protein, with the rest being mostly fibre.
At least one cup of the water the barley is cooked in should be added to the meal each day as this is excellent in assisting kidney function.
Cheers, Tom
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Post by Ray Jones on Apr 16, 2011 8:36:10 GMT 10
Thats what I thought mate,it tastes very nice too,might give it a go ;D
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Post by Garry Comans on Apr 17, 2011 21:50:25 GMT 10
Thats what I thought mate,it tastes very nice too,might give it a go ;D Ray, as someone who has used pearl barley (over cooked) mixed with brown rice I have found that some dogs can not absorb it. It simply passes out with their faeces. Perhaps it doesn't remain in the gut long enough to be absorbed.
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Post by Tom Meulman on Apr 17, 2011 21:56:46 GMT 10
Thats what I thought mate,it tastes very nice too,might give it a go ;D Ray, as someone who has used pearl barley (over cooked) mixed with brown rice I have found that some dogs can not absorb it. It simply passes out with their faeces. Perhaps it doesn't remain in the gut long enough to be absorbed. Thanks Garry for pointing that out, because I have never fed pearl barley to any greyhounds, I was not aware of that possibility. Cheers, Tom
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Post by Garry Comans on Apr 17, 2011 22:18:10 GMT 10
Tom, Is see above that you mention using the water from the cooked barley as an addition to the meal. What are you views on the rice water. Clearly it is saturated with starch. Can this cause problems?
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Post by Tom Meulman on Apr 17, 2011 22:27:17 GMT 10
Hi Garry,
I can see no real problems in using the water from cooking the rice in with the food, as this is unlikely to contain anything that is not in the rice as well.
The reason for using pearl barley water is that I have found it excellent for greyhounds that routinely tie up or have less than ideal kidney function.
Far better than any so called “kidney flushes” that are routinely used on greyhounds, such as AKM or Neutradex.
Cheers, Tom
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Post by Garry Comans on Apr 17, 2011 22:56:15 GMT 10
thanks Tom, I suppose my question arose from the starch being a carbohydrate and its rather rapid conversion to glucose(at least with humans) and its impact upon the major organs. Is this a possibility. By the way, I was cooking the pearl barley for 20 min's and then adding the rice to the same pot.
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Post by Ray Jones on Apr 18, 2011 0:29:07 GMT 10
Thats what I thought mate,it tastes very nice too,might give it a go ;D Ray, as someone who has used pearl barley (over cooked) mixed with brown rice I have found that some dogs can not absorb it. It simply passes out with their faeces. Perhaps it doesn't remain in the gut long enough to be absorbed. Thanks Garry,its a shame about the barley because it appeared a good source of complex carbs and protein,it may contain a type of gluten thats cant be broken down properly
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Post by Garry Comans on Apr 18, 2011 16:02:11 GMT 10
Hi Ray, I added the pearl barley in an attempt to assist with the removal of the cramping symptoms of a reasonable race dog in the kennel. As Tom says above I believe it will assist with that problem. But I've only tried it with two dogs in total and that was the outcome. So I'd suggest you give it a go, perhaps not in total but as an addition to other forms of carbo. And it would be good to get someone else's feedback. For the record I was switching from the high protein carbo diet in stages, slowly replacing it with rice and then finally after 10 days or so adding the pearl barley. I always add the remaining rice/barley water to the meal. Cheers Garry
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