Raw question

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Violet has been getting bored. She's currently alternating between pork and chicken, however she is really bored of the chicken and won't eat it. Is it okay to lightly sear it? Does cooking the meat change the nutritional value? I know bones shouldn't be cooked, but what about the meat? Is it okay to give her cooked chicken as treats once in a while? (I ask because of her allergies, I know that in general, dogs can eat cooked chicken).

[PWCorgi]

Originally Posted by ~Dixie's_Mom~

Violet has been getting bored. She's currently alternating between pork and chicken, however she is really bored of the chicken and won't eat it. Is it okay to lightly sear it? Does cooking the meat change the nutritional value? I know bones shouldn't be cooked, but what about the meat? Is it okay to give her cooked chicken as treats once in a while? (I ask because of her allergies, I know that in general, dogs can eat cooked chicken).

You can lightly sear it, that shouldn't be an issue, as long as it is LIGHTLY. Cooking definitely changes the nutritional value. Cooked chicken as a treat should be fine, just start out slow and if she starts to have a reaction, stop

Do you have access to other meats? If she doesn't like the chicken, you could just feed less of it. You should be able to find some beef and turkey that isn't obscenely expensive.

[Fran101]

Changing things up a bit usually helps up.
Hand it to them frozen, stuff ground beef in a kong, let em take it outside and play with their food

I've actually never had a problem with them turning it down.. even boring chicken quarters.. but I would usually say, wait it out lol once they figure out they aren't getting anything else..

[DanL]

she's big enough that skipping a day won't hurt. Gunnar goes thru phases of deciding he's not going to eat something. I pick it up, wash it off, and put it back in the fridge. Give it to him the next day and he usually will eat. If not, one more day does the trick.

Do you ever fast them? I fast all mine, even Bruzer, once every 7-10 days. I give them a big meal the day before the fasting. Maybe try that, and give the chicken the day after the fast day.

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Thanks guys!

Unfortunately the turkey we've found has been a bit high so we went straight from chicken to pork and that's as far as we are into the diet. We started not too long ago, so we haven't been able to give her MUCH variety yet. She's basically had chicken quarters (or backs/necks) since we started her (bad at time, idk how long ago it was exactly) until just recently when we started giving her pork. She loves the pork, but we're alternating it with the chicken to save $$$ and because we weren't able to give turkey which is what was recommended after chicken.

She does eventually eat it, I just feel bad, lol. She doesn't get treats, or snacks, she ONLY gets her raw twice a day, because it's been hard to figure out what kind of treats she can have w/her allergies. I don't blame her for getting bored.

[monkeys23]

I would tough her out. Remember how she was working you guys for the kibble toppers? To me, from what you've said in the past, it sounds like she is a pro at working you guys for whatever she wants. Be more stubborn than the sled dog! lol

That said she needs a LOT more variety in her diet. I forget how far along you are in transition, but she needs to be eating chicken, pork, fish, turkey, and beef at minimum. If you can get green tripe, that would be a fantabulous piece of variety to add. There's some debate on how "essential" it is, but I found it had seriously good benefits. It seems the enzymey goodness really made Scout's tummy happy.

Is she up to organs yet? You'll need to source liver and kidney soon...

You should go over to DFC and ask around to see if theres a co-op in your area where you can order in bulk and get much better prices. I can't imagine feeding out of a grocery store, that would get real ouchy real fast.

[DanL]

yes, even 1 dog out of the grocery would be costly, unless it was a little one. I could see feeding Bruzer alone from the grocery, but Daisy, who eats 3-4lbs a day? no way!

I don't do co-op buys but get cases of whole chickens and leg quarters from a butcher for a decent price, whole pork shoulders by the case from Sam's. I also get big whole sirloin beef hunks from Sam's. Cheaper than hamburger, and I can give the dogs the outside and fatty parts and keep the lean for us to eat. We probably split a 10lb sirloin between us and the dogs. Stuff like liver, I get at another butcher in big bags, but more often, just pick up a 1lb pack at the store, feed it till gone, then lay off it for a couple weeks.

[Southpaw]

I agree about needing more variety. I don't know exactly how long you've been doing raw but I feel like it's been at least a few weeks. Juno was only on raw for 4 weeks tops and at that point she was on chicken, turkey, and pork, and I was just about to start introducing beef until I had to put her back on kibble.

I had a HARD time finding turkey (even though it was right before Thanksgiving), but the Asian markets in the area had a wide variety of meats that I would have been happy feeding if I couldn't get my hands on turkey. I don't recall them being too pricey either. Plus, they sold beef hearts and all the other organs that I needed, so I wouldn't have to order online or try finding a supplier. I'd definitely check to see if you have any ethnic markets you can visit.

I wouldn't feel bad waiting her out. You said she does eat it eventually, so that's fine, and I wouldn't be altering the raw meat to make it more "appealing" to her... then you'll just be creating a bad habit. If you were still trying to transition her to raw chicken and she was flat out refusing it, then I'd say go ahead and make it more appetizing to her.... but in this case she's just being stubborn and holding out for a bribe.

[jenv101]

Does she get fish oil? And if so does she like it? (Most dogs do) If I had this issue I would try maybe rubbing the chicken quarter with some fish oil. Other than that, I would say just let her go hungry if she won't eat it. The more you give in to her, the more difficult and picky she will become!

[naturalfeddogs]

Originally Posted by ~Dixie's_Mom~

Violet has been getting bored. She's currently alternating between pork and chicken, however she is really bored of the chicken and won't eat it. Is it okay to lightly sear it? Does cooking the meat change the nutritional value? I know bones shouldn't be cooked, but what about the meat? Is it okay to give her cooked chicken as treats once in a while? (I ask because of her allergies, I know that in general, dogs can eat cooked chicken).

Yes, any sort of cooking does alter the nutrition, depending on how cooked it is. Try adding another protein. How long have you been on raw? You could use turkey or fish. If you have been on raw for awhile, add in some more red meats, like beef heart. Adding variety not only keeps the diet balanced, but gives something different each day which can help getting "burned out" on the same thing.