Raw Meaty Bones

[Guest driser]

I posted a topic "3 cups in 5 cups out" and on it a couple folks stated raw diets don't produce as much waste. So, after much reading and research, mind numbing amount, about raw food my husband wants to start asap.

 

My biggest "fear" is our gulpper swallowing bits of raw meaty bone (chicken) with out chewing it. For safety we are going to cut the RMBs up and we're going to try holding one end to see if that gets him to chew the other.

 

Starting with just chicken to see how he does. Don't want to invest in a meat grinder for RMB until we're certain a raw diet is going to work for him.

 

Will his body handle swallowed chunks of chicken RMB?

[NeylasMom]

I would do neither of those things. Smaller chunks are easier to swallow and have sharp edges. Holding on may create a resource guarding situation or at least the desire to eat faster. If you are worried, start with ground. Once he is doing well on just ground chicken, then you can try switching to chicken quarters. They have a good meat to bone ratio and are too large to be swallowed in one gulp. Even if he did, the worst that would happen is he'd regurgitate it or throw up a few pieces of bone in bile. But I think starting with ground makes the transition a little easier for dogs who have been kibble fed for a while as they seem to sometimes need to get used to digesting the bone. With the smaller pieces in ground, you don't tend to see them vomit undigested bone.

[RedHead]

to the above post. If you are worried about gulping feed larger pieces, not smaller. Dogs are gulpers and swallowers. Their jaws are only hinged to move up and down, not side to side like ours (and other plant eaters) to chew and grind food. It is more like crunch, crunch, swallow. I have been raw feeding for years and all of my dogs have seemed to naturally just know when to chew and swallow (no matter if it is a big or small piece). For overenthusiastic beginners though, you may want to try larger pieces of meat (that are impossible to swallow). Small pieces will just encourage them to gulp and swallow whole. I actually give my guy half chickens sometimes, but normally he gets large chicken quarters. It is normal for them to swallow quite large pieces, and like Neylasmom said, usually the worst that happens is they regurgitate it back up or maybe throw up some undigested bone. If you are really nervous, you can also try larger pieces of boneless meat (like cheap beef roasts, etc.).