[ladiesluvjimmy]

This is my first time feeding raw and I;m starting my year old GSD whole chicken that i chop up into quarters and i add in hearts and livers. She will eat all the meaty bones but will not touch anything else with out bones on it. I dont know if it was a good idea or not but i cooked the meat in the microwave for about a minute (out side of meat is cooked but inside is still raw) and she ate everything and was looking for more. now my questions:

What do i do to have her enjoy eating the meat without me having to cook it up each time?

Do i need to add supplements or anything if im feeding her organs? im also planning on feeding her eggs about 2 or 3 times a week.

Would it be ok for me to cook up the meat a little just to get her to eat it?

Is it possible for the food to be too cold for dogs to eat? she doesnt seem to like to eat the food right out the fridge and it takes her a while tog et strated and even longer to get her to finish.

thanks to anyone that takes your time to read this and hope you have a nice day/night.

[Trainer]

Buying whole chickens and quartering them is good. If you are just beginning to feed raw, I would hold up on the organs for a few weeks or even a couple of months. When you get ready to feed organs, serve them partially frozen. Most of the time it seems dogs new to raw don't like the texture of organs but will eat them fine if they are a little firmer. Gradually let the organs be warmer and warmer and the dog will soon be eating room temp organs. If he won't eat partially frozen organs, try searing them a little and see if he will eat them. Gradually sear less and less until he is eating them at the temp that is convenient to you. BTW: You don't need to feed organs every meal. I only feed organs once a week or so.

I don't refigerate my meat to thaw it. I have a plastic container on top of the freezer and each meal I get out the next meal and put it in the box. It is usually room temperature when it comes serving time. As your dog becomes more comfortable eating raw he won't be so picky with temps. I know some raw feeders who never thaw out the dogs meals. They feed them all frozen.

I wouldn't try microwaving the chicken quarters. Just leave them out to get to room temp before feeding. Assuming you are going to add some more meat sources in time, you don't need any supplements except maybe some fish oil if you don't feed fish. If you feed fish once a week or so, you don't need to use fish oil. I feed fish about once a week and have never used fish oil in 15 years of raw feeding.

[ladiesluvjimmy]

thanks for the reply..so what do i do when she doesnt like to eat the meats that i cut up into peices for her? the only thing i cook up is the meat because she eats all the boney meat but wont eat the meat without any bone on it. thats good to know to only feed organ once or twice a week. thanks again!

[DobManiac]

I just started feeding raw myself, so I can understand your confusion. I have read about putting a little parmason cheese on raw food to add excitment. Maybe you could pure a little no sodium chicken broth on it to add flavor? If that doesn't work I will try to think of something else.

Is your puppy teething? That could explain why he or she prefers the bony pieces.

And there are a couple of stickies at the top of the food forum, that really helped me get started. One has a list great websites that explain raw feeding. The other gives a list of menus that raw feeders on the forum feed their dogs. It will give you great ideas for the future.

[Trainer]

Why are you cutting the meat into pieces? Thats what her teeth are for. I'm not sure exactly what you are feeding. I think you are just starting raw feeding, at this point you should only be feeding whole chicken parts. Those would all contain bone so I don't really understand what is going on. Maybe a more detailed explanation of exactly what you are feeding and when would be helpful.

[ladiesluvjimmy]

Originally Posted by Trainer

Why are you cutting the meat into pieces? Thats what her teeth are for. I'm not sure exactly what you are feeding. I think you are just starting raw feeding, at this point you should only be feeding whole chicken parts. Those would all contain bone so I don't really understand what is going on. Maybe a more detailed explanation of exactly what you are feeding and when would be helpful.

well I'm feeding her full chicken back and drum sticks and wings. So what ever meat is on the bone i just give to her. I also feed her some boneless meats with her meals and i cut those into smaller cubes because she wouldnt touch it if they were too big. She actually ate everything last night as I was feeding her but she is still very iffy about actually grabbing the meats and ripping at it. But i guess i'll have to give her time to get use to it.

[Trainer]

Yes, just let her get used to ripping and tearing the meat. Its great for her teeth and gums. It's like flossing. Sometimes I feed my dogs pork roasts. you should see them rip and tear and chew and knaw.