RAW MEATY BONES - how much to feed rotties

[DixieGrl113]

I think its great that you have decided to try a raw diet! Its a little hectic in the beginning but you'll get your "routine" in no time ;) Please make sure to continue to educate yourself about a raw diet and canine nutrition in general. BARF is about balancing their diet over time not nessessarily all in one meal. Start with a few simple pureed veggies and a simple RMB and expand from there. You can start adding and removing different veggies in your "glop" recipes and alternating meat and/or RMB (Raw Meaty Bones like chicken backs and wings) sources. ie from turkey to lamb or fish or rabbit or deer. This will provide them with different nutrients. Some feed grains like oatmeal etc..I feel my dogs and cat don't need grains so I don't feed them. I would seriously suggest getting a couple of books on raw feeding or BARF. While you don't have to follow there recipes exactly or at all they can be a handy reference guide and you learn something else about nutrition with each one. Good Luck and Happy BARFing! :)

[Kev]

Originally posted by joquendo
..Hey Kev... just in case no-one has stressed this... ensure the ONLY bones you give your dog are raw, NEVER give your dog cooked bones... they are very dangerous. remember RAW bones only ;)

Yes...I know this....thanks anyway for making sure.

[Kev]

Thankyou all for your replies and encouragement. We have started feeding her raw RMB and ground veggie slop. She loves it. Even after just 2 days, 4 meals she seems more content.


thanks again for your encouragement.

[joquendo]

Congratulations Kev:)

You will begin to notice great changes in your dogs behavior, appearance, attitude and just general overall health...

My dogs are so content they only get one meal a day now and a snack in the evening which consists of maybe a large Rib bone or knuckle bone to chew on... because the RAW food gets absorbed more efficiently into the dogs system they have access to the fuel and nutrition needed much more quicker than if they were eating kibble (which does not all get absorbed and dries out the body's system)...

Once you go 100% RAW - consider giving some additional supplements - also you can add a raw egg to the veggies and yogurt... if your dog decides after a while that he/she no longers likes the veggies (as a few of us have experienced ;) - if you just crack a raw egg and mix it in or add two tables spoons of yogurt - they will eat the veggies no problem...

Good luck, keep us informed...

.. if it wasn't for the members on this site - I would have struggled to get them on RAW, I am so glad I did 'cos its just wonderful for them.. and it makes me happy seeing my dogs happy and that's pretty much how I would describe their mood these days... :D

[DixieGrl113]

I just wanted to bring up the issue of fasting. It is a good idea to fast your dog once a week, provided we are not talking about a young pup here. That means no food. This is usually the day I give them fresh marrow bones. Fasting gives their bodies a day to rest the digestive track and also expell any stored toxins and other nasties the body doesn't have a chance to deal with while working to digest food. This is especially important IMO if you feed twice or more a day. I feed 2x a day in the cooler months but in the summer i only feed PM b/c my dogs get to hot to eat during the day and if they eat in the AM they'll vomit out in the heat. If I get to move back to WI this won't be a problem anymore. We think we're having a heat wave up there (WI) if it gets above 90 F for 2 days in a row :p :D Good Luck! Happy BARFing :)

[Kev]

Hi all, we gave marley a marrow bone today and now when we go near her she growels and watches every move we make. I'm hoping that this is because she didn't have anything like this before and when she realizes that ths isn't the last one she's going to get this will stop. She never did this with anythig else. We can take food away from her but I don't think I want to try to get this bone from her.

Do you this this will stop after she gets a few more. Any idea what we can do?

thanks

[DixieGrl113]

I can't offer any advice to you because I didn't have this problem. Mine would growl at each other (still do) never at me. However i can tell you that the growling is unacceptable and by showing fear by backing away you are confirming in her mind that not only is growling at you ok but its effective in helping her keep what she doesn't want you to have. (the bone) I would think that this could lead to other problems down the road if not taken care of. I hope someone with experience in that area picks up this thread. They could certainly offer more advice. My suggestion would be to start a new thread. Maybe put, "growling when trying to take away marrow bone..." as the subject/topic for that thread. Hope that helps out a little. :)

[rottnkidd]

Kev - The marrow bone is strictly for recreation. It doesn't offer the dog much nutritionally, just the satisfaction of chewing on a bone. The raw, meaty ingestible bones (chicken, turkey, etc)will provide teeth cleaning, providing you "train" the dog to "chew".
Marrow bones are not part of the raw diet because the dog will not chew up and digest them. I'd strongly suggest eliminating them completely. This should be a special treat, and only for a dog that doesn't display these food-guarding issues. To avoid a situation like this again, you'll have to address this problem before offering her something so tempting! Don't let her get away with this! Get some good, tasty treats, approach her calmly and confidently, and say "let's see what you've got there marley". She's going to growl, if she growled the first time, but stand your ground, remain calm, and tell her firmly, "give that to me marley, drop it.." Be prepared to give her a treat ('take') the INSTANT she drops the bone, and PRAISE her like crazy when she drops it. Tell her "good 'drop it', marley" and mean it! I'd seriously work on 'give' and 'take' with this girl This may sound alot easier then it's actually going to be. I don't know your dog, but if she's just grumbling to initimidate you, and not actually baring teeth, go for it. If she's baring teeth, then hook her up on her leash, tell her to "drop it", or whatever word you use for her to surrender things, move her away from the bone, and get rid of it! If you're concerned she might snap at you when you reach to pick up the bone, have a broom handle or something like that, to push the bone away from her reach. You shouldn't have to go thru this with your own dog!
My advice may sound extreme, but I'm getting the feeling you're afraid of her at this time.
I would NOT give her any recreational bones until you know you're
100% effective with getting her to surrender items to you. Start working on this with toys, etc. She needs to know she doesn't own anything there! You do! Good luck and let us know the outcome, please! If you need more feedback, I'd start a thread in
the Behavior forum.
kathy

[Kev]

I sat on the floor last night and talked to her, told her to let me have it. As you said it was grumbling. she didn't bare her teeth. I did this several time and then told her "good girl" and patted her each time. I'll have to work on this more by I think we'll be ok.

It just surprised me because she never did this before. Say if we're out walking and she picks something from the ground I tell her "spit that out" and she immeadiatly drops it.

thanks for the advise

[joquendo]

.... that is very very important (although I think we have combined two topics under one thread

.... I use to have that problem BIG TIME - with my 5 year old male and my 2 year old female... but I was extremely persisitant... I would hold onto the bone while he/she was growling under his/her breath (while they still had the bone in their mouth) and I would repeatedly say "leave it"... until they would give in and release their jaw... now when I want to take the bone away from them - as I am approaching each one, I say... their name "Prince/Amber... Leave it...- Good boy/girl" and they look at me - with that look .. but knowing best they just puts put their heads close to the floor or the bone and allow me to take it from between their legs - You cannot be scared of your dog. they need to know who is boss... but realy you should do this very carefully at first until your dog gets use to these commands and gets use to giving up his prize possession.... you will notice they protect their meaty bones MORE than anything else...

Yea - lets start a new thread on this, it would be interesting to see everyone elses point of view...