feeding raw meat?

[Dunkaroo]

I was at the dog park the other day and I over heard this lady saying that she feeds her pomeranians raw meat such as raw chicken (with bones!), raw beef, raw lamb, but not raw pork.

Is this healthy for our furbabies? I was just wondering....

[Wylie's Mom]

Raw diets are good for dogs, generally. But I don't think chicken bones are appropriate bc of their "splintering" tendencies. There are a lot of posts on here about the RAW and BARF diets - it's pretty interesting.

[chachi]

Some people do feed that way and its supposed to be good for them. I never would

[GracieLou]

im not sure but i would never give my baby that

[mistyinca]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Raw diets are good for dogs, generally. But I don't think chicken bones are appropriate bc of their "splintering" tendencies. There are a lot of posts on here about the RAW and BARF diets - it's pretty interesting.

The problem with chicken bones, and ANY bones is when they are given COOKED. Raw bones are safe. No cooked bones of any kind should be given because they all have a tendency to splinter--some, such as cooked chicken bones, tend to splinter more easily.

I tried Chloe on raw. While she loves chewing on a raw chicken wing--bone and all--it didn't work well for us. She prefers to graze, and wants to leave her food for hours before coming back to it, and that just doesn't work with raw, since it can go bad and attract flies and all. But if your dog is ready and willing to wolf it down right away (as most dogs really are) it is a very healthy way to feed them.

[marcerella02]

raw isn't for everyone but it is supposed to be very healthy. we tried giving Layla some raw meet with her regular home cooked food and it didnt go over well in her tummy.. i'm sure if we would have sticked with it she would have adjusted. I know that giving large bones are ok.. i would never give Layla small chicken bones

[Suzy]

I feed my dogs some raw meat...usually beef or ground turkey. They love it!

[Dunkaroo]

Originally Posted by mistyinca

The problem with chicken bones, and ANY bones is when they are given COOKED. Raw bones are safe. No cooked bones of any kind should be given because they all have a tendency to splinter--some, such as cooked chicken bones, tend to splinter more easily.

I tried Chloe on raw. While she loves chewing on a raw chicken wing--bone and all--it didn't work well for us. She prefers to graze, and wants to leave her food for hours before coming back to it, and that just doesn't work with raw, since it can go bad and attract flies and all. But if your dog is ready and willing to wolf it down right away (as most dogs really are) it is a very healthy way to feed them.

Yeah, that is what the lady said - that raw chicken bones are pliable and doesn't splinter.... Interesting. I'm going to try and feed my Dunks some raw skinless chicken breast and see how he likes it...

Thank you all for the info....

[bellaismybaby]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Raw diets are good for dogs, generally. But I don't think chicken bones are appropriate bc of their "splintering" tendencies. There are a lot of posts on here about the RAW and BARF diets - it's pretty interesting.

Only cooked bone splinter. Raw ones crunch up and are really good for their teeth.

[medusa512]

hm, i always thought it might give them diarreah while i'm running an errand...

i bet they'd looooove for me to give them some raw stuff. does it matter the size of the dog?

[bellaismybaby]

Actually bones will make their poop harder and firmer...if you give organ meat, that may give them the dribbles

[Sookie]

The bones are good for the calcium, but everything I read says give only big bones, like a meaty beef bone, raw. Little bones can definately get stuck in their throats. I heard that raw meat is good for dogs with allergies but I also heard that a dog that is on only raw meat sometimes has a strange odor. I can't stand the thought of giving raw poultry to my dog, but I'd try very small amounts of raw beef.

[KellyV]

Originally Posted by Dunkaroo

I'm going to try and feed my Dunks some raw skinless chicken breast and see how he likes it...

If you want to see if he's interested in raw meat that's okay, but you couldn't give just chicken breast long term. It's not balanced. It's lacking organ meat and bone (calcium), among other things..... If you do decide to try raw, be sure to either use a commercial, balanced raw diet that contains the proper amounts of organs/meat/bone/veggies (i.e. Nature's Variety, Stella & Chewy's, etc) or find a book with proven recipes if you wish to prepare at home.

[Yorkiekids]

Raw feeding isn't for everyone, and I prefer not to do it. I will mix fresh vegetables into their food, and they like that.

[lara2913]

My three yorkies are on a raw diet and I can honestly say they have never looked healthier than they are on this diet. I also think they get alot on enjoyment out of having different foods every day of the week.

I think alot of people have a knee jerk reaction to a raw diet, thinking that its gross because they would not like to eat it personally. However as much as we all think of our dogs as babies at the end of the day they are canines and as canines they have very different nutritional requirements to us. Dogs bodies were made to rip, tear and crunch up raw meat and bones just like their ancestors did years ago.

Before switching to raw its very important to do your research, the most important thing is to get the right balance between the different foods.

Ideally you want them to be eating about 60% raw meaty bones, these are small edible bones covered in meat such as chicken wings, lamb chops, chicken drumsticks, turkey's necks (chopped up for the little guys) etc. They won't get stuck in their throats because they crunch them up before eating them however if you are really worried then you can give the rmb a bash with a hammer so that the bone is crushed before you even give it to them.

Then about 30% of their diet should be muscle meat, this is meat without the bone such as breast meat or ground meat.

Then about 5% offal (organ meat) such as liver, lidney etc

Finally although this is widely debated most people like to do 5% fruit, veg, live yogurt (this is very important) and raw eggs.

Large, hard bones such as beef bones are classed as recreational bones and are fine for dogs to chew on but aren't classed as part of the diet as they should not be consumed.

You don't feed all of these things at every meal however because the aim is to balance their diet over time, so for example you may try to get all the ratios correct over a period of a week.

When feeding raw there is a very small risk of neosporum caninum however this risk can be eliminated if you freeze the meat for a minimum of 48 hours prior to feeding.

It is however important to remember that just like our own diets what suits one dog may not suit another and you can tweak the diet to suit your own dog.


(p.s I want to make it clear that i'm not preaching the raw diet but I thought my input may help people who are considering it as an option for their dog)