While I can’t speak to your question, I spoke to my mom (veterinarian) about this after reading this thread and asked her specifically about BARF. She said that in most patients she’s seen on those diets, their bloodwork has been all over the place. She said it’s because when dogs ate meat in the wild, they were actually indirectly eating an omnivore diet, because their prey had plants and grains in their guts. Additionally, she’s noticed some really nasty and hard to detect parasites which she suspects originates from these types of diets. Of course, this is anecdotal. She recommends a name-brand dog food because they’re all well-tested, and says to not worry about feeding meat to your dogs because they can produce the necessary amino acids themselves.

Consult your veterinarian for dietary advice for your specific animal. You should trust their level-headed advice over emotionally-driven decisions from owners.

It’s refreshing to see a skeptical comment like yours, and I too find it interesting a lot of people reporting jumping ship from one trendy diet to another.