Guest Yankeegreyhound Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Hi. I've decdied to try a raw diet with my girls. Especially to help my Hailey who was diagnosed with Osteo last week. Is it better to start with chicken from the supermarket or, there is a local company that sells pre-packaged raw food for dogs. Here is the info from their website "Our Raw Diet Kennel Menu K-9 raw diets are all natural and pre-ground with 30% bone, 70% meat. Our meat contains no hormones or antibiotics and all are USDA inspected, human grade. All products are manufactured here on site. " Either way, I'd start with chicken. I'm just nervous about giving them chicken quarters from the store because of the bones. What if they choke??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remolacha Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Don't worry, they won't choke unless you give them too small a piece, like a chicken neck or wing. If your dogs are gulpers, try for at least a leg quarter. If not, a drumstick is probably ok. Also, don't be worried if they chomp, chomp, swallow, and then yak it back up and re-eat it Gross, I know, but this is fairly common in the beginning, until they learn to chew properly. You can go with the ground commercial mix, but it is likely more expensive and you won't get the teeth cleaning benefits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FijiHound Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 And you don't see your hound go cross eyed when they realize what's in the bowl Plus you can tell they really enjoy chomping down on those bones! I get all our dogs food from the local butcher. * Chicken feet are a big hit in our house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trihounds Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 We started with commercially prepared raw food for the first couple of months, then branched out on our own with various protein and bone sources for variety. Raw Feeding Basics by greyhound9797 is one of the most comprehensive and well thought out threads on the topic. Chicken wings, necks, backs, feet have never been a problem for our dogs - they are chewers (not gulpers). They also get duck neck, feet, turkey neck, etc. We stay away from pork (meat) and any weight bearing bones. They LOVE raw and it did amazing things for their digestion / teeth. Quote Doe's Bruciebaby Doe's Bumper Derek Follow my Ironman journeys and life with dogs, cats and busy kids: A long road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Was Hailey going to have amp and chemo, if so the doctors might want you to make sure all food is cooked. You might want to check with them before starting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Yankeegreyhound Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Was Hailey going to have amp and chemo, if so the doctors might want you to make sure all food is cooked. You might want to check with them before starting. No. Sadly she is not a candidate for either. Thank you all for the information! The thought of it makes me sick to my stomach but I will do wha I have to for my girls! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remolacha Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 If the idea of handling the raw meat really gags you, say, if you are a vegetarian, then go with the ground, I think it would be easier to deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetdogs Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Thank you all for the information! The thought of it makes me sick to my stomach but I will do wha I have to for my girls! Once you see how much they enjoy it, you'll feel better. Quote Deirdre with Conor (Daring Pocobueno), Keeva (Kiowa Mimi Mona), & kittehs Gemma & robthomas. Our beloved angels Faolin & Liath, & kittehs Mona & Caesar. Remembering Bobby, Doc McCoy, & Chip McGrath. "He feeds you, pets you, adores you, collects your poop in a bag. There's only one explanation: you are a hairy little god." Nick Galifinakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snoopycomehome Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 We started with bulk packs of chicken drums and thighs. We also go to the Asian grocer to get chicken hearts (Dragon's FAVE food in the whole world!), raw marrow bones, ground pork/beef, beef liver, and chicken feet (which my family banned because it grosses them out). They also have turkey necks but for some reason my dogs choke on them so they have been banned as well. Oh, and they have fresh tripe, but the pups say 'ewww...no thanks, mom!' They also love canned sardines for a weekly treat, but they are stinky! Our only problem with raw is that the dogs don't tolerate the chicken very well when it is over 95*, which is a lot here in AZ, but we alternate with kibble + eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, offal, fruits, veggies, etc. on those days. For us, it was trial and error to see what each of the dogs liked. We give them a huge variety of foods...personally I do it for their health...but my dh disagrees with me...he says it's because they are spoiled rotten. What can I say? Who wouldn't want to spoil this fabulous breed??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeh2o Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Carl can't handle chicken, raw or otherwise. He had a hard time adjusting to raw bones, so my vet and my raw "mentor" suggested adding apple cider vinegar to his diet. I give him a tablespoon of organic unfiltered ACV mixed with every meal. After a couple of months of this it worked! No more horking or spitting up bone fragments. Other fowl are fine, just not chicken. Quote Sunsands Doodles: Doodles aka Claire, Bella Run Softly: Softy aka Bowie (the Diamond Dog) Missing my beautiful boy Sunsands Carl 2.25.2003 - 4.1.2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I've always just gone straight to the chicken pieces, namely quarters, but the one issue that's typical to encounter is they can have trouble digesting the bone completely initially because they need to start producing those enzymes again. So this time I figured id start with ground. My supplier has ground that's exactly what you listed - 70/30 organic chicken. That's a little more bone than you'd want longterm (its basically a whole chicken minus the breast meat) but its fine for getting started. After a week or two, you could start with chicken thighs, then go to quarters and once that's going well, you can start introducing other proteins and organ, one at a time. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Same enzymes to digest raw and everything else; they don't start making new ones or remaking old ones. Once the protein is denatured in the stomach, it all looks the same. Bones are broken down by acids, primarily if not entirely by those in the stomach. How well they are broken down depends on how small they were going in and how long they stay in the stomach. Larger pieces are going to hang out in there longer because they won't fit through the sphincter at the "output" end of the stomach. Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 (edited) My bad, you're right, I mispoke (I always make the analogy of a vegetarian who eats meat for the first time in many years, hence the enzyme comment). Regardless, my main point remains - dogs can have some difficulty transitioning to raw so I think it's beneficial to start with ground (where the bone pieces are smaller) before transitioning to whole pieces if you have the option. The other thing I forgot to suggest is to start your dog on a probiotic (ideally with a prebiotic shown to work with that probiotic as well) a few weeks before you start the transition to ensure you have the right balance of good bacteria in the gut. Something else interesting that I just read and hadn't considered earlier - that dog's fed on a regular schedule start to produce digestive juices before the food is fed in anticipation so it may be helpful to vary your feeding schedule before doing a transition so that's not happening. No idea on the validity of this, but it makes sense considering some other things I've read about when dogs start producing stomach acid and digestive enzymes. Edited November 22, 2011 by NeylasMom Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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