Tonight I fed raw for the first time.....

FestiveSpirit

FestiveSpirit

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Just one more question......:D

How do you ensure you keep all your fingers?

I fed chicken wings tonight (completely on a whim, saw them in Tescos and bought them!) and all three dogs nearly had my hand off whenever I handed one out :D

:) Amy took a while to cotton on (she allowed Flick to steal her first one, much to my amazement!)

:) Flick took to it like a natural, crunching up the bones very easily

:) Islay spent about 10 minutes on a largish wing, before I managed to get it back off her and chop it up for her! Memo to self: Islay cannot really cope with crunching bones :( and mind my fingers when I try and take it back off her, she is really nasty :rolleyes:

I fed them 500g each which is 2% of their body weight? Just about to sit down and work out the cost now :D
 
Thanks Katie, I used scissors tonight but dont think they will manage that for very long :D

I have worked out already that if it is that price every night (£1.37 for 1.5kg of chicken wings tonight) then it is cheaper than all in one :):):) I will have to sort out the butchers etc for even better value :):):)

How long before I might notice a difference in teeth do you think? :)
 
CareyR said:
Thanks Katie, I used scissors tonight but dont think they will manage that for very long :D

I have worked out already that if it is that price every night (£1.37 for 1.5kg of chicken wings tonight) then it is cheaper than all in one :):):) I will have to sort out the butchers etc for even better value :):):)

How long before I might notice a difference in teeth do you think? :)
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I think i probably noticed a difference in about 2 weeks.

Some people don't notice much difference as in they don't get much better but it stops them from getting worse.
 
Well anything would be good really :) I would like their teeth to get better but even staying the same would be OK since Islay has just had hers cleaned :)

Sorry if I got your name wrong BTW :o - I posted, then realised I didnt actually know if your name IS Katie - apologies :o
 
I feed predominantly raw and I have to say that my dogs' teeth are amazingly white - no tartar whatsoever! My local butcher saves me all the "bits" of chicken etc - they absolutely love it!
 
Lol at Isaly, our deerhound was having non of it even when it was bashed up, the rest wolfed it down.
Suprisingly my dogs have fab teeth except for the little whippet whose jaw has recently jsut mended, I was suprised how clean my akita and deerhounds teeth where for just eating the dry food, but the bones are a nice healthy treat for them.
 
Well done!

Definitely contact the butcher. It should be better quality and cheaper.

My dogs get their food from bowls and therefore dont bite my hands off but Tojo is far more excited at raw meat then the compound stuff. I think he would bite my hand off if i fed him your way. LOL!

The other thing I do is keep a stock of tins of pilchards and tuna.

We have a problem with meaty bones as it causes arguments. So Emma has to be in her crate if meaty bones are available.Mainly so that Tojo gets a look in! He is such a woose!


I am a beginner like you, so just trying to help you along really. I would like to get more into tripe but not sure how to manage it with working full time/horses etc. Plus people who feed tripe seem to add biscuits which i have been told to avoid as Tojo had bloat.
 
Well done!!

Your best bet is a cheap B&Q axe only a few quid and very helpful as if you get any whole chickens or lamb ribs it's really easy to divide them into meal sized portions. If chicken are on special I'll buy them, take off the breast for me and chop up the rest for the boys. It's quite therapeutic as well sometimes!!! A couple of chops on the bones should help Islay, on the bigger arm bones and the spine if you can get carcasses, for her you could take out the spine and give her extra ribs and softer bones.

Mine rarely have a bowl but like Katie I stand back and throw them their food, I'm not getting my hands anywhere near my two in food mode just in case they make a mistake, its all pink after all! But it is so nice to see them tucking into a real meal isn't it!!!

You'll make big savings at the butcher, especially if you buy bits for yourself as well, they tend to be a bit more generous when it's a customer of theirs.
 
I must admit I am astonished - I fed them what I felt was a lot less than usual tonight (they probably got 4 wings each for their 500g?) and I really expected them to be demanding more, but they have been happily flat out asleep all evening so doesnt seem like they are feeling hungry :)

Off to the butchers tomorrow - I must admit I dont eat a lot of meat myself, so not sure how it will go, but I can try :D I'll get some pilchards etc in too, I already know they will love those, I used to feed them to Jura when I was desperately trying to get weight onto her :(
 
Bless the toothless wonder! :) Tin of sardines will sort her right out, the bones mash up to nothing, and I suspect she'll get through the most minced beef of the three! :D

Wait until you have your first raw-fed poo, it's a revelation, I never thought I'd feel smug when following my dog around with a plastic bag on my hand. :p
 
Mwahahaha! Welcome to the Dark Side :D

Glad they enjoyed it - I was astonished yesterday, gave them a turkey leg each, went to fill up water bowls, came back, B was carefully picking his apart, but on the move - Bella's was gone and she was following him around, in a Benny Hill type fashion! Shall have to keep my eye on her, greedy madam!
 
Yay! After 'dabbling' with the odd chicken wing and raw mince for a while now, I took the plunge and went 100% raw last Saturady :eek:

Predominantly chicken wings/drumsticks for brekkie with mince or butchers offal mix for supper with added pilchards, eggs or tripe on alternate days. Also liqui veg and pumpkin seeds for 3 days a week.

Well, they have never been so enthusiastic about food! Still feed in bowls as that is what they're used to and still makes it feel like a meal to me. Def improvement in bowel movements - fingers crossed so far! :)

I'm sure her teeth will benefit in no time!
 
I would love to have Mitzy on all raw food, but as shes not even mine, and a right madam, shed be having none of it!

Forgive my numptiness, but don't chicken bones splinter quite badly? I remember when M was really I'll after getting a splinter stuck in her throat :(
 
Only cooked bones splinter. Raw chicken bones are very malleable.


ETA Also, you're not supposed to feed raw food near kibble if you do talk to her owners about it.
 
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chestnuttymare said:
sorry, need to ressurect this.
does it make their breath smell and what is the difference in their poo?
Would it best to be maybe do it a couple of days a week?
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Their breath will smell better, as the bones clean their teeth?

The difference in their poo is amazing - mine produce about 5% of the amount they did on Skinners :) Very firm, doesnt smell bad, and easy to clean up after them :)

ETA - if you go back a bit further there is another thread I did which asked lots of questions?
 
chestnutty - no their breath doesn't smell:) - my old boy is 12 and has never had any 'dental' work done:) - even though the vets check at every opportunity!!:rolleyes: - and neither have doggy breath ever and i have NEVER been near either of them with a toothbrush!!:D They just get bones.;):D

Poo is much smaller and non smelly - and i have a lab so you REALLY notice the difference!!:D
 
chestnuttymare said:
sorry, need to ressurect this.
does it make their breath smell and what is the difference in their poo?
Would it best to be maybe do it a couple of days a week?
Click to expand...

I think dogs on kibbles breath smells awful and every dog i have known on raw their breath doesn't smell at all.

My dogs poo is the size of the average Yorkshire terrier (and he's 45kg), Tiny and solid like little stones.
 
what?? poos that small. good reason alone for trying it. Caras poo is about the size of a shetland ponys!
I am going to give it a go, will introduce it gradually and build it up.
Told hubby and he was horrified lol, he said that maybe she wouldn't like it. yeah right!
The only thing worrying me and this probably sounds stupid, but what about raw chook and salmonella? do dogs not get that? do you feed offal raw too and is there anything i need to avoid?
Thanks guys :D
 
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chestnuttymare said:
what?? poos that small. good reason alone for trying it. Caras poo is about the size of a shetland ponys!
I am going to give it a go, will introduce it gradually and build it up.
Told hubby and he was horrified lol, he said that maybe she wouldn't like it. yeah right!
The only thing worrying me and this probably sounds stupid, but what about raw chook and salmonella? do dogs not get that? do you feed offal raw too and is there anything i need to avoid?
Thanks guys :D
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There is a tiny risk of salmonella but no more than there is from kibble. Your the only one who could be at risk but if you use basic food hygiene you will be fine.

I feed offal raw.

The only thing you should avoid is leg bones of large animals. So no beef, lamb or pork leg bones.
 
As an example of the effect on their poo - Paddington could easily fill 2 to 3 poobags in his 1st one of the day. Slightly less for the rest of the day :o

Now, they are small, firm and so easy to clear up. Also, you can see the ground down bone content in them - sorry if that's too much information but I find it really interesting!
 
chestnuttymare said:
I am going to give it a go, will introduce it gradually and build it up.
... what about raw chook and salmonella? do dogs not get that?
Thanks guys :D
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If you do introduce it gradually please don't feed raw, especially bones anywhere near kibble, they move at different speeds and can cause a nasty impaction if fed together.

Which goes hand in hand with your salmonella question. A dog fed raw with a healthy gut does not suffer from Salmonella. We are very different we are not designed to deal with off meat and that's why we gag when we smell off meat, it's a survival thing, don't eat that or you could die!!

A dog has evolved as a meat eating scavenger, its whole digestive system is designed to deal with this, it's short, highly acidic and very fast as protein is easy to digest and break down. This is how it beats Salmonella and its nasty buddies, they are killed off by the acid and have no time in the gut to get comfortable enough to multiply!! Dogs can bury a surplus of food, dig it up weeks or months later and eat it no probs!

BUT feed a dog a high level of complex carbs (most commercial dog food) and the whole system under performs and slows down so it can get the nutrients from the alien food, so dogs on kibble can suffer like we do!
 
Wow after reading this thread from start to finish I think I will start feeding my 2 on raw meat. Mine are feed a compete mix at the mo plus kitchen scraps I always cook way to much food for just me and my son so the left overs go to the dogs and they will eat any thing from apples to tic tacs my son tends to leave things in their reach and they just take them lol.
 
KarynK said:
If you do introduce it gradually please don't feed raw, especially bones anywhere near kibble, they move at different speeds and can cause a nasty impaction if fed together.

Which goes hand in hand with your salmonella question. A dog fed raw with a healthy gut does not suffer from Salmonella. We are very different we are not designed to deal with off meat and that's why we gag when we smell off meat, it's a survival thing, don't eat that or you could die!!

A dog has evolved as a meat eating scavenger, its whole digestive system is designed to deal with this, it's short, highly acidic and very fast as protein is easy to digest and break down. This is how it beats Salmonella and its nasty buddies, they are killed off by the acid and have no time in the gut to get comfortable enough to multiply!! Dogs can bury a surplus of food, dig it up weeks or months later and eat it no probs!

BUT feed a dog a high level of complex carbs (most commercial dog food) and the whole system under performs and slows down so it can get the nutrients from the alien food, so dogs on kibble can suffer like we do!
Click to expand...

Oh no, now you tell me. I assume by kibble you just mean dried food. I gave her some of her dr johns a bit of a tiin and a chook drummie. she seems fine so hopefully it is ok.
I am worried now !! when would an impaction show up if it was going to be a problem?
 
Just one eaten slowly should not cause any problems just don't make a habit of it! Mine never get grain but bolt their chicken wings so fast I wouldn't dare!

If you do carry on slowly keep the meals apart by a few hours, the real problem is bone after kibble, so you would need the go on through before giving the kibble. Dogs just don't need carbs, they have no dietary requirement for them, so once you see that she is happy with her new diet just cut out the cra oops I mean Kibble!!
 
Well fed my 2 mince meat last night and they hoovered it up. It normally takes them about 5 mins to eat their dinner gave them 500g each and it was gone in 2 seconds flat :eek:
Do you think 500g is enough for them they are Saffs and are only 8 months old so still growing.
 
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