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Raw Feeders (Dogs)

Revisiting this, I gave Rose and Ella their first raw chicken dinner tonight. They really, really, really approved!!
 
We raw feed out Boston and Pom...they LOVE it. They get deer, beef, chicken, duck, and pork. Their favorite seems to be deer ribs.
 
My one ridgeback won't touch deer meat...which sucks because I can get scraps from the processor for free....she'd rather starve than eat it though. She'll eat raw chicken, pork and small amounts of fish...and some beef but otherwise, she's not interested. My other two will eat ANYTHING.....
 
I've never known anyone, personally, who has had any issues with feeding both raw and kibble.
I supplement with raw treats, and their primary diet is Fromm grain free.
 
And then this morning Ella puked up a pointy sharp big chunk of bone, and gave me heart failure! I think it's okay. I found a local grocery store that sells chicken feet! Maybe they will have some other interesting items there, too. That's where the local raw feeders get their meats.
 
Oh no! I hope she's ok!
What kind of bone was it?
Puking up bone wouldn't worry me, but the pointy sharp part would.
 
Chicken! My vet would have a cow, I'm sure...

Rose's poo was a _little_ soft today, but nothing major. Ella's was normal. I inspected both- nothing unusual, like bones.
 
As long as the bone was uncooked there shouldn't be any danger. I get my meat from my local market....turkey necks or pork necks. Occasionally Reid's would have a sale on pork butt for under a dollar a pound and I would buy that. I can buy chicken thighes on sale quite often....chicken backs (I remove the skin and as much fat as possible) and they get those as treat along with their regular meal. I feed Taste of the Wild to all mine now as well as my fosters. They've done very well on it.
 
Tonight they had a dinner of one chicken back and one foot. They loved the feet so much I got out another one each. Tonight went a lot better, with much more chewing on Rose's part. I think I'm going to do raw for the evening meal, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. For now.
 
Sticking to the plan! Week two. They did great on a chicken quarter each, Friday. Drumsticks Monday, and Ella puked up a big end of one bone overnight. I went to the market today and got more chicken backs, a whole chicken which I cut into breasts, back and wings, and quarters with backs. And a local-grown beef kidney. And a beef heart. And a whole dressed rabbit. The dogs are loving this! There was even some really good-looking goat stew meat.
 
Sounds like you have dogs that will eat anything. Two of my three are like that...the third...nuh uh!
 
Tonight, after going to the Dog Wash, they are going to get their first meal of beef heart. I've been reading a lot about raw feeding, and wonder about something. Some people have spreadsheets and calculators and gram scales, and figure it out down to the exact percentage of everything. Since I'm not feeding more than three meals, I'm just going by portion size- Rose gets about 25% more than Ella. They might get a back, or a quarter, or Rose gets two drumsticks and Ella gets one (but I don't think I'm going to feed them any more, except in quarters). If I alternate everything around, meaty one day, boney backs the next, then back to meaty for two meals, then add in organ/muscle meat with maybe a chicken foot- shouldn't that be okay? Does it have to be exact science? I feel like people make it into more work than it has to be.

Also- I read that one way to slow them down is to feed the food frozen. I never thought of that. But I feed the feet frozen, and they love them and don't have a problem and chew for a long time...I put the beef heart in a lower drawer of the fridge so it will still be semi-frozen.
 
Also, is adding in some Kefir, or blueberries, a waste of money? It just looks so yummy in the pics people post of their dogs' dinners. I'm attributing human tastes to dogs.
 
Dog don't process fruits and veggies like we do (and we don't even process the cellulose very well either for that matter). Blueberries won't hurt and will add some carbs and so will the kefir. I weighed my stuff to keep the dogs from getting too fat...and depending upon their energy levels. While my 65 lb. rhodesian is smaller than her 70 lb. sister, her energy levels are much higher so she would eat more than the other. That one wouldn't eat heart....she also was tough to get to take organ meat. I had to hide the small piece of liver inside a piece of chicken or she'd leave it....
 
I don't think there is any food they would refuse. I've been really increasing their exercise- half a mile every morning, and a minimum of one mile in the evening, often 3-4 miles, running.
 
And what's the deal with dog teeth cleaning anyway, and why does it have to be under anesthesia? Am I the only one who cleans my dogs' teeth myself??
 
Crazy. When you read about it, it's like you're probably going to kill your dog if you DIY.

Well, they had frozen beef heart for dinner. Rose chewed hers well, and Ella token chewed it. I made sure doggie Heimlich was fresh in my head before feeding it.
 
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