I was introduced to the BARF diet, ‘Biologically Appropriate Raw Food’, by a good friend of mine who had also been a fellow Dane owner/exhibitor for over a quarter of a decade. He had spent years studying the benefits of feeding raw and implementing it into his own dogs’ diet. After listening to his reasons, it all made sense! From that moment on, I began my journey into feeding raw and have never looked back!

In the beginning I can truthfully say, I was nervous! I asked all of the usual question such as: ‘Won’t they get food poisoning?’ ‘Will they choke on the bones?’, ‘Are you sure it contains all the nutrients they need?’ In fact, I’ll never forget my friend saying to me when I questioned him on feeding raw bones, ‘Do you think they cook their chicken wings on the BBQ in the wild?’.  As soon as he said that I felt slightly embarrassed for asking the question, but we threw our heads back in laughter and continued our conversation on his experiences of raw feeding.

At the time, we were living on my in-law’s beef cattle farm, which is situated in the heart of Cornwall. With 120 acres of outstanding beauty, it was inevitable that one dog was not going to be enough, so we decided to rehome another Great Dane named Kane, an outstanding fawn boy. Shortly after came our third, a beautiful fawn puppy called Izzy, who then became our foundation bitch to the ‘Keirkane’ Great Dane line.

With the benefits of my husband working for the family butcher’s business (L George butchers), our dogs were all on their way to eating raw and I quickly began to see the benefits! They were fit, had plenty of stamina, glossy coats, and excellent muscle tone. I knew where their food was coming from and how it had been reared. I knew there were no additives or flavourings, and their diet was as raw as raw gets, hence my new moto “Keeping it Raw, Keeping it Real”. Real food for real dogs!  My objectives for feeding raw was to mimic their natural diet and to know exactly what they were consuming. Let’s face it, does anybody from the general public really know what goes into dried kibble or how its processed?

I didn’t want to rear my dogs to become couch potatoes, I wanted them to become what nature had intended them to be, fit, strong, and healthy. After all, it’s a breed bred for hunting wild boar and they have to be fit for function. I knew by feeding them raw, I was in control of their dietary needs and by being so, could change it accordingly to their specific needs

Seeing the benefits of feeding raw to my own dogs, encouraged me to promote the benefits to others, so I began to spread the word to close friends and family and supplying them with foods for their dogs too. This soon led to others approaching Darren and I for food and advice, so I then looked at stocking a larger range of meats and purchasing additional freezer space and so “Georges Raw Dog Foods” began.

My husband Darren, who also plays a role in the business, is also the owner of our wholesale meat department, ‘George Butcher Ltd’, which caters meats for numerous businesses throughout the Southwest. Not only do we cater for the wholesale trade, but our team of highly skilled butchers carry out private preparations for local farmers too. Always a bonus when you have hungry mouths to feed!!!

Darren is the fourth generation to follow in his family’s business which was first established by his Great Grandfather, Mr Lewis George in 1912. After leaving school, he worked alongside his father and Grandfather to learn the trade and business management. After working over 20 years at the family butchers in St Newlyn East, Darren decided to expand the wholesale department by renovating an existing building on the family farm in Marazanvose. With the expansion of the premises, facilities and equipment, the business is going from strength to strength, and we are pleased that our children have now come on board to assist with the daily operations and running’s of both the meat wholesale and raw feeds business.

I predominantly dedicate most of my time with the pet food business/shop as well as looking after my family and dogs. However, I will still pop into the butchers to give Darren a hand when he needs an extra pair of experienced hands, so as you can imagine, there is not much time left at the end of the week! We both thrive in our fields of expertise and what we do and are always available to give any help, advice and support.