Little Dogs and Raw Questions

[RawFedDogs]

One of my past dogs, Madison, ended up spending a couple of nights at our vet office because he gulped a bullystick.

Bullysticks are processed cooked "bone". They are nowhere nearly as digestable as raw bone. They are not food, they are chewtoys. Thats a big difference. Swallowing a bullystick is the same as swallowing a large chunk of nylabone or any other chew toy.

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.

They can handle raw bones and they won't get a large chunk of meat/bone lodged somewhere inside them. This IS mommy's irrational fear holding them back. Their bodies are designed to eat, digest, and eliminate raw meat, bones, and organs in whole form and they do it very well. It's been happening every day for a million years. The size of the dog has nothing to do with their ability to eat and digest raw meat, etc. They are dogs. Let them eat like dogs.

 

[Renee750il]

You don't need to spend a lot of money on a grinder. Check out flea markets, estate auctions, etc., and you should be able to find a hand cranked grinder really cheaply and not have to make a big investment on something you don't know whether or not will be useful to you.

Barring that, the hand crank ones at retail, especially if you look at stores that sell home canning type supplies aren't usually pricey.

 

[MandyPug]

So RFD... Have you ever owned a toy breed dog?

Just wondering since you seem to know ALL about them. Last time i checked Great Danes and Golden Retrievers didn't count as toy breeds.

My toy breeds will gulp, and won't chew bones. They'll massacre the meat off the bone and then walk away. Ground is better for them.

Not every dog is going to be the same. Therefore feeding styles MUST be adjusted to the individual dog.

A successful informative person is not pushy, they do not dwell on what they insist must be right. They tailor their informative approach to the individual taking in the individual's circumstances and concerns and addressing them in an appropriate polite manner. Not telling them they're scared and acting like a mommy and pretty much insinuating they're horrible dog owners.

 

[Fran101]

RFD..if you want people to listen to you and take your advice, you probably should stop acting like such a douche.

 

[Pam111]

So RFD... Have you ever owned a toy breed dog?

Just wondering since you seem to know ALL about them. Last time i checked Great Danes and Golden Retrievers didn't count as toy breeds.

My toy breeds will gulp, and won't chew bones. They'll massacre the meat off the bone and then walk away. Ground is better for them.

Not every dog is going to be the same. Therefore feeding styles MUST be adjusted to the individual dog.

A successful informative person is not pushy, they do not dwell on what they insist must be right. They tailor their informative approach to the individual taking in the individual's circumstances and concerns and addressing them in an appropriate polite manner. Not telling them they're scared and acting like a mommy and pretty much insinuating they're horrible dog owners.

Good post. Some dogs gulp and some don't--regardless of size. My small dogs eat bones fine--doesn't mean Jessie's do

 

[~Jessie~]

So RFD... Have you ever owned a toy breed dog?

Just wondering since you seem to know ALL about them. Last time i checked Great Danes and Golden Retrievers didn't count as toy breeds.

My toy breeds will gulp, and won't chew bones. They'll massacre the meat off the bone and then walk away. Ground is better for them.

Not every dog is going to be the same. Therefore feeding styles MUST be adjusted to the individual dog.

A successful informative person is not pushy, they do not dwell on what they insist must be right. They tailor their informative approach to the individual taking in the individual's circumstances and concerns and addressing them in an appropriate polite manner. Not telling them they're scared and acting like a mommy and pretty much insinuating they're horrible dog owners.

This completely sums up what I was going to say, so it's easier to quote

BTW, rawfeddogs, bully sticks are NOT bones. I'd never feed my dogs cooked bones... that's just stupid.

Also known as pizzle sticks, beef sticks, beef pizzles, or more effectively referred to by merchants as "beef tendons or dried muscles," bully sticks are really the bull's stretched out and dried out reproductive organ.

Thanks for the helpful advice from everyone!

I still haven't really looked into grinders yet... I was really sick over the weekend with some kind of stomach virus and the last thing I wanted to think about was raw meat.

 

[RawFedDogs]

So RFD... Have you ever owned a toy breed dog?

I have worked with a lot and I mean A LOT of toy breed owners helping them switch their dogs to raw. I know what a toy breed is capable of doing when they are allowed to do it.

My toy breeds will gulp, and won't chew bones. They'll massacre the meat off the bone and then walk away. Ground is better for them.

My giang breeds will gulp. They will swallow chicken drumsticks and occasionally a small back without taking one chomp. It's not a big deal. If it fits down the throat, its small enough. If it doesn't, they bring it back up and chomp it a few times.

Not every dog is going to be the same. Therefore feeding styles MUST be adjusted to the individual dog.

I keep hearing that from people who are afraid to let their dogs act naturally the way a dog should. Give them the dang food and let them figure out how to eat it. It may take a little time in the beginning but they soon get the hang of it and eat pretty quickly. At first, my dogs could take 30 minutes to eat a chicken quarter. Now it's less than 30 seconds.

A successful informative person is not pushy, they do not dwell on what they insist must be right.

A successful informative is a person who give accurate regardless of whether its the answer the questioner is looking for or not. A successful imformative person gives the straight scoop without sugar coating the information to save people's fragile feelings. I often have people tell he how much they like my no nonsense answers and thank me for setting them straight without beating around the bush.

They tailor their informative approach to the individual taking in the individual's circumstances and concerns and addressing them in an appropriate polite manner.

I'm always polite. I just give the facts. The questioner can accept my information or reject it but they get the correct answer.

Not telling them they're scared and acting like a mommy and pretty much insinuating they're horrible dog owners.

So you want sugar coating? I never said anything about horrible dog owner.

 

[RawFedDogs]

BTW, rawfeddogs, bully sticks are NOT bones.

Notice I had the word "bone" in quotes. Thats the reason why. It is has bone like hardness and is highly processed and not very digestable.

I'd never feed my dogs cooked bones... that's just stupid.

Kinda like grinding up perfectly good food for a dog with perfectly good teeth, huh?

 

[Laurelin]

I'm always polite.

:rofl1::rofl1::rofl1:

 

[nikkiluvsu15]

For as excited Harleigh is about food, kibble or raw, she isn't a gulper. Which I am so thankful for!

I do know many people who have gulpers and feed raw. Their solution? Feed it frozen. No thawing out or anything... Since its so frozen they have to work at it or something like that. It's stopped their gulping.

Now, keep in mind that I'm talking about Labs, so a bit of a size difference than a Chi! lol

 

[~Jessie~]

Notice I had the word "bone" in quotes. Thats the reason why. It is has bone like hardness and is highly processed and not very digestable.

Kinda like grinding up perfectly good food for a dog with perfectly good teeth, huh?

Since when are bully sticks highly processed? I'm not talking about rawhide... I'm talking about bull penis.

We order from bestbullysticks.com, and here is what they say about their bully sticks:

Bully Sticks are a great way to give your pet something to chew on that they'll love and is great for them too. All of our bull sticks for dogs promote healthy teeth and gums, and are made from free-ranging Brazilian cattle, so you don't have to worry about how safe they are. Available in sizes from 6" to 36", all of our bully sticks are 100% beef, meaning your dog will actually digest them, unlike their old rawhide chews. As with all of our natural chews and treats are bully sticks are all USDA certified and inspected.

You see, my dogs never grew up in the wild. They didn't have a canine mother to teach them how to properly chew their soft bones before swallowing.

They are known gulpers. No way am I going to risk giving my 4 and 5lb chis bones to eat. I'm quite fond of having them around.

 

[RawFedDogs]

Since when are bully sticks highly processed? I'm not talking about rawhide... I'm talking about bull penis.

Evidently you havn't see a bully stick while it's still attached to the bull. It looks very little like the ones you buy in the stores or online.

We order from bestbullysticks.com, and here is what they say about their bully sticks:

Nowhere did it say they aren't processed.

You see, my dogs never grew up in the wild. They didn't have a canine mother to teach them how to properly chew their soft bones before swallowing.

Neither were any of the hundreds of thousands of raw fed dogs in the world today. They don't seem to have problems knowing what to do. It's instinct. It is much more natural than eating little doom nuggets from a bowl.

They are known gulpers. No way am I going to risk giving my 4 and 5lb chis bones to eat. I'm quite fond of having them around.

All my dogs are or have been known gulpers. Canines in the wild are known gulpers. In the wild, they must eat very fast before another larger animal comes along and takes his food away from him. My dogs gulp down a chicken quarter in less than 30 seconds. A chicken back doesn't last 10 seconds. Half a boston butt pork roast is gone in about a minute.

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

Doom nuggets... Sounds WAY cooler than kibbles or premade raw.... :rofl1: I have nothing constructive to say to the oh so perfect one. I will add that hand crank grinders aren't horrible to use, especially when you're only feeding toy dogs Look on freecycle or craigslist and I'm sure you'll find some around hunting season.

 

[AGonzalez]

Or check the thrift shops, that's where I get things like blenders and grinders I am going to use for animals only...of course wash the hell out of it, but there's at least 2 or 3 hand crank grinders there on average.

 

[BabyDane]

I like how its turned into a bull penis debate now... :rofl1:

 

[~Jessie~]

I will say THANK YOU to everyone who was actually helpful in this thread I haven't switched my dogs over yet, only because they are doing so well on the Acana pacific formula... and I've never seen any of them do this well on any kibble. I still want to switch them to raw, though.

I find this all hilarious. I want to feed my dogs raw, and someone is getting on me because I want to GRIND it up first?! There are much worse things I could be feeding my dogs like, say, Alpo and Ol' Roy.

Just wow. lol.

 

[drmom777]

Well, apparently for every issue there is a zealot hiding somewhere, just waiting to pop up and spew their zealotry. Fascinating, really.

 

[puppydog]

I feed my guys ground raw because if I don't they only eat the meaty bits and get the runs. Also, ground means that I can ensure that what I put in their bowls is the correct portion, they eat their supplements and don't switch pieces.

Lilly has a weight problem, she is on lower rations. Travis and Riley are HIGH energy and get twice the amount she does. If fed whole they drag pieces around and switch. I cannot monitor who gets what.
I don't have all morning to sit and watch them eat so grinding up what I buy is the best choice for me.

You see, I have a job and can't sit and watch my dogs eat and run around after them when they switch pieces. They are all anxious eaters and if disturbed will stop and refuse to eat any more. If I grind it up, they all eat within a few minutes and I know that they all got the appropriate meal and we no longer have issues with the runs. Travis used to vomit up bits of bone in the middle of the night before we were feeding ground. No longer an issue.

So, I should just leave them to battle and me to loose my mind because you say they can handle it?

I am 100% for grinding if it suites your personal needs. They still get a chicken neck a few times a week for their teeth though.

 

[Maxy24]

I only have experience with cats, so it might be a bit different, but I know of you grind raw for cats you must add supplements as grinding can cause nutrients to denature (especially taurine which I don't think is that big of an issue in dogs). Not sure what else is usually supplemented as Willie chews his bones just fine. So you might want to just look into that and see if that is needed when grinding for dogs. Anyone know?

Willie was a HUGE kibble gulper, he choked on several occasions, once to the point where he and then I started to panic. He has no problems with raw though, but we did wait until he was a very good meat chewer before adding bones. He's only choked once on raw, and that was on plain pork meat which he promptly regurgitated and chewed some more. However I understand each animal is different so I don't have a huge problem with grinding so long as it's done right (which in cats means supplements).

 

[Fran101]

You guys are all doing it wrong

wolves eat watermelons

PROOF!