[CerbiesMom]

Well, more of a treat, actually. I bought some turkey necks yesterday, and let the dogs go to town with them. They enjoyed it tremendously. I have to say I was a little queasy the first time I heard the bone crack, but I got over it watching the pups. I went in to pee, came back, and Cerbie had buried his bone. I've never seen him dig. He was so serious, too, it was funny.

I noticed their poo after that was super tiny, considering the amount they ate. Is that normal? I figured it would be, since their bodies are able to use more of the fresh raw food, I'm just paranoid about the furkids. Would turkey necks be an ok teeth cleaning treat to give them about once a week? Or would they need something bigger? I'm not looking to do all raw, but I'm back on the cooking for them wagon, and they're enjoying that, and they really liked the turkey necks, so I think I'll have to start sneaking them some raw treats on days when hubby's not home(germaphobe).

 

[Trainer]

For the larger dog, you should try to get uncut turkey necks. Those are about a foot long and weigh around a pound. Most of what you get off the grocery shelf has been cut in halves or thirds and is in a package. Ask the grocer if he will sell you some before he cuts them. Yes, they are good teeth cleaners.

 

[Donna5503]

I have a Husky and have never fed him a raw diet -- I'm new to this and not so sure I like it?? I thought chicken & turkey bones are a NO-NO for dogs?? ....also what about raw food containing diseases?

What type of raw food are you all talking about?? ....is Raw Beef good for them...I want to try but am very nervous.......plus if you feed raw can you combine it with regular cooked meals & dry food -- like one day raw, one day, cooked???

 

[CerbiesMom]

For the larger dog, you should try to get uncut turkey necks. Those are about a foot long and weigh around a pound. Most of what you get off the grocery shelf has been cut in halves or thirds and is in a package. Ask the grocer if he will sell you some before he cuts them. Yes, they are good teeth cleaners.

Thanks. Actually, a few of them were about 8-10 inches long, and my big guy got those. I don't think there were any under 6 inches.

 

[4lilmunchkins]

Well, more of a treat, actually. I bought some turkey necks yesterday, and let the dogs go to town with them. They enjoyed it tremendously. I have to say I was a little queasy the first time I heard the bone crack, but I got over it watching the pups. I went in to pee, came back, and Cerbie had buried his bone. I've never seen him dig. He was so serious, too, it was funny.

I noticed their poo after that was super tiny, considering the amount they ate. Is that normal? I figured it would be, since their bodies are able to use more of the fresh raw food, I'm just paranoid about the furkids. Would turkey necks be an ok teeth cleaning treat to give them about once a week? Or would they need something bigger? I'm not looking to do all raw, but I'm back on the cooking for them wagon, and they're enjoying that, and they really liked the turkey necks, so I think I'll have to start sneaking them some raw treats on days when hubby's not home(germaphobe).

Good for you for giving raw a try! I'm glad your dogs liked it! I know what you mean about hearing the bones crack, it is definitely something that takes a little getting used to. Smaller feces is perfectly normal after eating raw food, it's just their bodies absorbing more nutrients. I'm not sure of the size of your dogs but you'll want to make sure you are giving them a piece of meat where they can't just gobble it down super fast and not chew the bones as that can cause a choking hazard. For my dogs, a chicken wing, is about the perfect size for them to munch on. If you are grinding their food up, it doesn't matter what size you grind, but, if you are only giving it to them once a week, something they can chew on would probably be better for their teeth.

I have a Husky and have never fed him a raw diet -- I'm new to this and not so sure I like it?? I thought chicken & turkey bones are a NO-NO for dogs?? ....also what about raw food containing diseases?

What type of raw food are you all talking about?? ....is Raw Beef good for them...I want to try but am very nervous.......plus if you feed raw can you combine it with regular cooked meals & dry food -- like one day raw, one day, cooked???

Chicken and Turkey bones are NO-NO if they are cooked. That's when they can splinter off and start causing some serious problems. If they are raw, the dog is able to chew and break them and they are softer than when they are cooked.
As to raw food containing bacteria, you should read this article here, it will help explain that for you:http://rawfed.com/myths/bacteria.html

I talked with my dogs nutritionist and they are currently eating a mix of completely raw food (chicken wings etc.) raw grinds and mixes, and home cooked food. Some days they eat entirely raw food, other days they havw raw for breakfast and home cooked for dinner. She feels that variety is important and they seem to be enjoying it so I can't complain. As to feeding raw and kibble, I know a lot of people who do and a lot of people who say not to do it. I'm not really sure myself, some people say it digests at different rates in the dogs system and cause a G.I upset. If I ever were to feed kibble and raw together I would probably feed one in the morning and one in the evening and not do both together personally....feel free to PM if you have any other questions.

Good luck to you!

 

[3212]

That's awesome! I tried feeding Bridgette RAW a year or so ago. She refused to eat for two days and then literally gagged it down because she was hungry by then. It's great your dogs took to it!!

I actually want to get Bridgette some big bones to help clean her teeth.

 

[Shaina]

One word of caution about feeding turkey necks and the like while sticking mostly to the kibble diet...it is generally suggested that kibble digests at a different rate than raw meat/bone, and that they should be fed well apart so that the digestion of the bone is not hampered by the slower kibble digestion.

Note: I am NOT a vet...do what you want lol. Just something to consider and maybe research yourself in order to decide what you consider safe

What type of raw food are you all talking about??

There is a sticky at the top of the dog food forum on here, started by briteday, that is basically a huge list of weekly raw menus fed by DF members. Might help you get an idea what kind of food is being discussed when people say "raw."

You may notice that while the specifics vary somewhat from person to person...from Prey Model (all raw animal parts) to BARF (raw animals parts and some plant material, often with supplements) to home-cooked (various ingredients cooked). I tend to feed what another member here called the "Variety is the Spice of Life" menu, lol.

 

[Love's_Sophie]

I feed raw about 3 times a week. I have no tummy toubles with my pooches. I don't ever feed raw and kibble on the same day however, because of the digestion rate, as suggested by Shaina.

 

[CerbiesMom]

Yeah, I didn't give them kibble on the day I did that. They had the necks for their day meal, and a late dinner of the honest kitchen freeze dried raw food. I also recently started cooking for them (again), and I really want to stick with it and cut out kibble alltogether. Thanks for the concern, though.

 

[briteday]

I have a Husky and have never fed him a raw diet -- I'm new to this and not so sure I like it?? I thought chicken & turkey bones are a NO-NO for dogs?? ....also what about raw food containing diseases?

What type of raw food are you all talking about?? ....is Raw Beef good for them...I want to try but am very nervous.......plus if you feed raw can you combine it with regular cooked meals & dry food -- like one day raw, one day, cooked???

Raw feeding is not for everyone. There is a LOT of info at the top of the food forum for anyone interested in the possibility of raw feeding.

Most bones that are raw are fine. Most raw feeders stay away from weight-bearing bones of large livestock as the bones are so dense that they may cause tooth fractures in the dog eating them.

I've been feeding raw for a few years now, a relative newbie to raw feeding compared to other members here who feed raw, and have had great results. I started because of one of our dogs that failed to thrive for her first 5 years of life on commercial kibble. And I'll admit that when we started raw there were far fewer good choices for commercial kibble available to us. And I've always said that a good kibble diet is better than a bad raw diet any day. But after a few years on raw our dogs only need to see the vet for annuals. The "failure to thrive" dog just had her annual well-dog visit last week, asked the vet to run some baseline lab work as she is now 9 years old...results came back absolutely perfect, vet said he wished juvenile dogs in his practice had such great results. And she hasn't lost a tooth since switching to raw. She used to have 1-4 extractions per year.

 

[marsha=whitie]

Omg, I bought some chicken legs that were on sale the other day and Chipper inhaled them: seriously! The whole thing was gone in under 3 seconds. CrunchCrunchSwallow. It scared me.

 

[CerbiesMom]

Raw feeding is not for everyone. There is a LOT of info at the top of the food forum for anyone interested in the possibility of raw feeding.

Most bones that are raw are fine. Most raw feeders stay away from weight-bearing bones of large livestock as the bones are so dense that they may cause tooth fractures in the dog eating them.

I've been feeding raw for a few years now, a relative newbie to raw feeding compared to other members here who feed raw, and have had great results. I started because of one of our dogs that failed to thrive for her first 5 years of life on commercial kibble. And I'll admit that when we started raw there were far fewer good choices for commercial kibble available to us. And I've always said that a good kibble diet is better than a bad raw diet any day. But after a few years on raw our dogs only need to see the vet for annuals. The "failure to thrive" dog just had her annual well-dog visit last week, asked the vet to run some baseline lab work as she is now 9 years old...results came back absolutely perfect, vet said he wished juvenile dogs in his practice had such great results. And she hasn't lost a tooth since switching to raw. She used to have 1-4 extractions per year.

That's awesome about your older girl. Incredible. I'm concerned about the health of my distemper survivor. Going through that with him has made me be more proactive in doing what's best for him, he's my baby boy. I was scared for his teeth that were affected, but he had no problems chomping on the bones I've given him. And I can definitely tell that he feels better since I've switched to cooking for them. That's what's important to me.

 

[Shaina]

Omg, I bought some chicken legs that were on sale the other day and Chipper inhaled them: seriously! The whole thing was gone in under 3 seconds. CrunchCrunchSwallow. It scared me.

Yeah you don't want them eating it so fast they are not chewing the bones properly.

If that's the case, next time try holding it while the pooch is eating to make them work more slowly.

 

[midnight mojo]

Mojo loves his raw chicken wings! I read somewhere that the mixing of kibble and raw causing a stomach upset is a myth; they do digest at different rates but it doesn't create problems. However, I've also read that it can so it's all about what info source you choose to trust I guess.

I don't give Mojo kibble and raw together because it would be too much food for him and over feeding definitely causes him some serious GI distress. We tried cutting him down to 2 meals instead of 3 and he had a terrible time with it because two larger meals was too much food at once. I usually cut his kibble by half or so on days he gets a chicken wing and he does fine.