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#1
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A few questions.
Okay, so after months of effort, I've finally managed to get my mom's dog, Baxter, on something resembling a healthy, raw diet. Here's what we've got on the menu so far:
- chicken necks and wings - lamb neck bones and riblets - goat ribs - pork neck bones - canned tuna (I'm trying to get her to work in raw fish) - eggs - chicken livers and hearts She's getting 10 lbs of turkey neck next week as well. Question 1: How does that look as far as variety, meat:bone ratio, etc.? Question 2: When I was visiting home a week ago, I noticed that Baxter will flip over onto his back to chew on bones. I know he does this to get them onto his back molars so he can crush them. But my mom and I are both concerned that he could choke if a piece breaks off and goes down his throat. She's been taking bones away from him once he gets them worn down small enough that they're a choking hazard. I was worried about this effecting his calcium intake, so I bought her several raw lamb and beef shanks to use as recreational bones. Could he choke? Will the shanks make up for the calcium lost in taking away small pieces of rib bones? Question 3: I made offal patties of canned green tripe, chicken hearts and livers. Baxter has stopped eating them. He hates mushy food, and won't touch anything that doesn't have substance to it. Any way I can get more offal into his diet? |
#2
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Is he getting any muscle meat at all? Remember bones should only be made up of 25% of the total diet. Offal, only 10% of the total diet. How much does Baxter weigh?
Bones are no more a choking hazard than kibble. He just has to be supervised while eating. If he tends to scoff his food without much chewing, you can take a mallet to help crush it a bit. You can try mixing in some of the offal and tripe into cubed meat. You may also want to add a bit more variety such as chicken giblets, beef heart, kidney, and brain. As for fish, have you tried feeding frozen whole sardines and mackerel? And careful with the turkey, some dogs have problems digesting turkey neck as the bones are larger and harder.
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant Last edited by luckypenny; March 24th, 2008 at 05:09 PM. Reason: Percentage error. |
#3
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I agree with LP's advice and would probably incorporate some more meat into his diet. How are his poops? If they are quite chalky that is a sign that there is to much bone in the diet.
For turkey necks you can take a meat mallet and smash them a bit before feeding if your dog is a gulper like mine is.
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"Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead |
#4
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Quote:
Baxter weighs 13 lbs. His poos are off-whitish tan, but firm and not chalky or crumbly. Last edited by JulesMichy; March 24th, 2008 at 04:41 PM. |
#5
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The calcium to phosphorus ratio can be anywhere from 1:1 to 2:1 to be safe, and the higher end of the spectrum is preferable. RMBs should be 80% of the diet in a prey model diet. Only 10% bone would be severely lacking in calcium. If the dog is not getting enough calcium from their diet, they will pull calcium out of their own bones to meet that need and become osteoporotic. In addition, bones contain phosphorus as well even though the majority of the phosphorus is coming from the muscle meat.
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#6
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I think that LP's point was that many of the bones your are feeding are not actually raw "meaty" bones, they actually have minimal to no meat on them.
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"Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead |
#7
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Thanks Teri . I just realized I also made an error when I wrote 10% bone; it should have been 25%. I'll correct it.
__________________
"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#8
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Quote:
Quote:
I'll tell my mom that she needs to add in some thighs and legs, as well as more varieties of offal. I can get beef heart, liver and tongue through a butcher here in town. I've been searching for sweetbreads, but so far can't find them. |
#9
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Quote:
ETA: This is the type of break down I've read over and over again: Quote:
Last edited by pitgrrl; March 24th, 2008 at 08:17 PM. |
#10
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that actualyl looks pretty good to me. if you feed fairly evenly of each of the meaty bones the ones he doesnt eat the bones of should make up the extra meat for the things like chicken wings (of which have little meat and more bone) but i would feel better if you could squeeze more 'whole' bodies in there. say an entire rabbit fed over a few days or a whole chicken split up into meal sized portions??? im also not craxy about the tuna. any chance she will go for canned salmon instead? also add some egg?? i find hiding the stuff they dont like in things that are really smelly like fish helps.
-ashley
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#11
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Are you following the RMB model of raw feeding? If so, the suggestions are that rmb's make up 50% of the whole diet and the other 50% is made up of veggies/fruit, organs, and muscle meat. Thus, bones would only make up at most 25% of the total diet.
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#12
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Lin, if so, and if following a prey model diet, I don't see a whole chicken or rabbit for example, being made up of 50% bone .
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#13
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I feed a prey model diet. I do not feed fruits/veggies as dogs are carnivores and have no need for them, they receive everything they need from raw meat/bone/organs.
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#14
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I feed prey model as well but choose to add minute amounts of veggies. I'm hoping the OP realizes that RMBs along with a little offal is not balanced enough. Whole prey includes much more than just necks, wings, and ribs . I still think 50% bone is too much, regardless of the model one chooses to follow.
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
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