Little Dogs and Raw Questions

Okay, so we want to take the 100% plunge to raw over this weekend.

We've fed premade raw on and off... cost is the big issue there, considering it would be about $200 a month for Nature's Variety raw... and we only have about 50lbs of dogs to feed in total.

Right now we're rotating through the Acana grainfree kibbles.

The problem with raw is that we have little dogs with little mouths who love to gulp their food. I figured that a good solution for this would be to get a bone/meat grinder so that I can plop everything together into a ground up mix, and then freeze the extras and use as needed. They'd get raw bones for chewing on, still, of course... just nothing that can be swallowed. The last thing I want is to be freaking out about 4lb Rylie gulping a chicken neck.

Rory weighs 35lbs... and he is a gulper as well, so he'll probably get the same ground up concoction.

Doing this would be okay, right? Obviously they wouldn't get the teeth cleaning abilities of the bones in their every day meals, BUT like I said, they'd still have raw bones to chew on every couple of days.

I'd like to order or find a bone/meat grinder this week, and work out some meal plans.

I know Dekka posted a recipe that looked similar to what I'd want to do a while back (if you see this, Dekka, could you please share it?)... does anyone else have any ideas for a good mixture?

Well Primal is supposed to be a complete healthy diet..and its essentially just them selling what you are willing to do yourself... Basically just grind all it up into easy to serve..stuffs

so the ingredients should give you the basic idea

Heres whats listed on Romeos bag for beef:
Ingredients: Beef, Beef Hearts, Beef Livers, Ground Beef Bones, Organic Kale, Organic Carrots, Organic Yams, Organic Broccoli, Organic Apples, Cranberries, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Organic Parsley, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Kelp, Alfalfa, Salmon Oil, Mixed Tocopherols (source of vitamin E).

and Chicken:
Chicken, Chicken Necks, Ground Chicken Bones, Chicken Hearts, Organic Kale, Organic Carrots, Organic Yams, Chicken Livers, Organic Broccoli, Organic Apples, Organic Ground Flaxseed, Cranberries, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Organic Parsley, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Kelp, Alfalfa, Mixed Tocopherols (source of vitamin E).

You could probably skip a bunch of that stuff.. but it should give you a basic idea

It looks like this is the important stuff:
Canine Chicken Formula Benefits:
Fresh chicken for superior levels of amino and essential fatty acids.
Finely ground, fresh chicken bones for optimum levels of calcium.
Organic produce for food-derived vitamins A, B-complex, C and D.
Organic flaxseed for essential omega-3 fatty acids.
Organic and unrefined nutritional supplements for digestion and circulation.
Vitamin E as an antioxidant.
Organic coconut oil for linolenic fatty acids.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min) 13%
Crude Fat (min) 7%
Crude Fiber (max) 1%
Moisture (max) 72%

Additional Product Information:
Chicken 72% Organic Ingredients 33%
Produce 26% Organ Meat 9%
Supplements 2% Bone Content ≅ 10%
CA-to-P ratio 1.51:1


..not sure what most of that means. but hope it helps!!

Just feed pieces of meat that are big enough that they *have* to chew them to be able to swallow them. That's kind of a rule with any size dog and raw feeding. Small dogs are just as capable of chewing up bones well, you just give smaller easier bones to chew.

I 100% agree with this!! It'll be harder on you than them, I think. it will be a lot easier and cheaper for you in the long run if you help them to learn to chew appropriatly.

I grabbed a bag of NV one time because I thought it would be easier while camping... That stuff is crazy over priced, IMHO and then Maddie (who would eat ANYTHING) wouldn't even eat it go figure!

I have little dogs (one is 6lbs) who eat regular raw. She takes her piece of meat and prances off like she is queen. I have two gulper and two that are very good with chewing. I started out with larger pieces with my gulpers and now I can give them smaller pieces and they are fine. However, I do still do a ground blend for organs because I have two that are real snots about whole organs.

If you are still wanting to do a grinder I bought the Tason TS-108 and it awesome. I have yet to find something it can't handle. It is a bit pricey tho..

Agree! Bruzer gets smaller chicken leg quarters, a whole wing with part of the breast attached, chicken backs, turkey wing tips, pork neck bones. About the only thing he doesn't get anymore is pork ribs, he choked on them once and we had to do cpr on him. Chicken necks, he'll turn lengthwise, give a bite or 2, and swallow them whole. Not much we can do about that.

Also if you feed it partly or mostly frozen, they have to work on it more and will have less tendency to gulp big chunks.

This is what I'm afraid of, though. I'd rather not end up in a situation where my dogs could choke... even when they get bully sticks I end up having to watch them like a hawk because they'll gulp the end pieces.

Thanks for the grinder recommendation, Ashley

Jessie, I feed ground raw. I just rotate meats and I mix in vitamins or ground organs everyday.... and that's about it. Honestly, I actually like the ground better than when I was feeding it whole.

Not sure what you were planning, but since you're going to grind the meat yourself, you'd prob still want to buy a seperate freezer so you can buy meat in bulk.

What grinders do all you use? I'm saving up for one right now.

I strongly discourage grinding. Your dogs have built in grinders that they love to use. Don't eliminate the dental benefits plus the mental stimulation your dogs get by chewing their own food. Both of those are very valuable to your dogs. They will be ok. Dogs have been eating bones for millions of years. They know how and they are well equipped for it.

If you have a dog that is large enough to get choked on a pork rib, don't feed him indivual pork ribs. Feed two or three still connected together or don't feed pork ribs at all. You will soon learn which bones you are comfortable with and which ones you aren't. Believe me, your dogs can handle them all. I wouldn't feed chicken necks or wings to your larger dogs but the smaller ones will do great on them.

99% of us do well without a grinder regardless of dog size and our dogs do great. There is no reason yours can't except for mommy holding them back.

One of my past dogs, Madison, ended up spending a couple of nights at our vet office because he gulped a bullystick. We didn't even know anything was wrong until he started throwing up bile and not passing any stools... turns out the bully stick was blocking his intestines, and the food in his stomach was fermenting because of this.

So yeah, it's not "mommy" holding them back from raw because they're my special little "children" or anything... it's KNOWING how they are about their food, and fear that they'll end up getting a large chunk of bone/meat lodged somewhere inside of them.

Because being condesending is really going help anything.

Feeding ground raw is MUCH better than feeding any kind of kibble. If someone is not comfortable feeding bones for any reason, the fact that they are feeding raw should be enough. period.

Xpae what grinder do you use? Sorry if you've mentioned it before.

Laur, I don't have a grinder. I actually buy my meat ground from the butcher. I can't store large amounts of meats, but I found a dog only butcher, who caters soley to raw feeders. The only thing is that they do pregrind all their meats, but it turns out I actually like feeding the ground raw better. It's honestly a heck of a lot easier on me.

Exactly.

What I do with my dogs is no one elses business than my own.

I also know my dogs better than anyone else on this board does. I believe I have good reason to want to grind up the bones before giving them to my dogs... and it's not because I'm playing over protective mommy

That's what I've been doing lately as well as giving whole parts. I found a local grind and am supplementing that. Mia eats everything up right away but Summer is still having trouble with anything still attached to bone. I want to make sure she's getting the right percentages.

So I am looking at pricing grinders too though so I could do it myself. Any information you guys have is welcome!

ETA: I gave all five raw chicken this morning. Everyone ate it right up... except Summer. Go figure lol.

100% agreed!

Jessie, if you're interested, Hare Today has "sampler" packs of whole ground foods (bone, organs and all) it helped me a lot when I was switching the ferrets - but occasionally I still feed it to them (and the dogs), for a variety when I am not able to get much variety locally

Our Mia )) had a REALLY tough time eating RMBs, I've never met a dog so stubborn. After trying multiple things me and Manda decided that she needed some tough love, because I'm not waiting one her hand and foot she's such a snooty snot! she picked and did not eat a full meal for four days. That evening she ate - and now she LOVES it!! If you set a bowl of kibble and a bowl of a big ole RMB she'll go for the raw everytime!

but she's not a gulper!

I've contemplated doing this for Ginger, who broke her jaw several years ago and, although it was fixed, does not have the jaw strength to break up bone.

It would also be beneficial for Newt, who we are attempting to teach to chew bones, but who has apparently never seen raw food before. So, it's a slow process. She loves raw meat...just looks at bones like we're stupid

It's all about supervision. Bruzer only had his problem because we didn't watch him. Now he's watched when he has a meal that could potentially cause him problems. A dog eating a big enough piece of bully stick that it caused impaction is lack of supervision on your part. Not trying to be harsh, but that's the reality of it.

You might also want to look into raw food co-ops in your area that offer pre-ground raw. That way you can feel whole prey without grinding it up yourself.

If I had a gulper I wouldn't feed RMBs either. Sorry, not worth the risk. As it is, my boy currently eats premade raw because his system is so sensitive and the other way just wasn't working for him. He does get some recreational bones, though.