Won't eat RAW

[turbodx]

Ok , I have an 8 weeks old puppy , well 9 weeks old today :) , I fed him chicken back ,gizzards,chicken heart on monday . Since it was his 1st raw meal it took him all day to finish it. Then comes Tuesday and he refuses to eat the chicken , i give in tuesday night and gave him his kibble .

So now wednesday I'm determined to have him eat the chicken , I chop it up and give it to him again , he out right refuses to eat it , lays down next to it and turns his back to it . I don't want him to starve considering he's so young so I cave in again and give him his oh so familiar kibble.

Any suggestions on how I can get him to eat the raw meat again ? Oh before i forget to mention it , after he did so well monday I went out tuesday and stocked up on the above mentioned meat.

[Nishasmom]

He is so young! I couldn't imagine expecting a baby to tear through raw meat; they don't even have their adult teeth yet.

I don't know much about feeding raw, but maybe you should wait until at least 6 months or so.

[brunie's mom]

Grind the raw up! Many people feed raw ground to puppies...or start with some raw ground chicken or ground beef from the grocery store. Some puppies just don't know how to tear or chew properly...especially if the breeder has not started them on raw. Buy a prepared raw...that should get him started...and it's usually balanced.

Gina

[Kandi]

K-9 Kravings works well. My girls like it. We get the chicken, beef and veggie variety, and they scarf it down. Of course, it is all ground up, and they are older than your baby, but, I agree with Brunie's mom, grind it for the poor little darling. It is way too tough for him to be able to chew up at this time. JMO.

[cleaningchick]

I agree with Gina. Try him on prepared raw. Also, he may not like chicken. Try beef, lamb or rabbit.
Our male pup wasn't to keen on raw at first, but now loves it. Our female loved it right from the start.

[brutus'mother]

Did he eat the kibble when offered? Are you feeding with the skin on the chicken backs? There is no reason a 9 week old pup can't eat raw and if you have enough variety it IS balanced and without the fruits and veggies that they don't need anyway.
A chicken back, gizzards and heart seems like a big meal for a 9 week old, are you weighing the food? Also the backs are usually not very meaty-they have a lot of bone. You may want to try removing the skin at first or atleasty some of it and you can also slice strips into the meaty part to help the pup out a little as far as grabbing on and tearing. Good Luck

[Luvtails]

With young puppies I start with raw hamburger added to their kibble untill about 6months then gradually switch them to all raw. you could also try a prepared raw such as natures variety.

[turbodx]

ok , i'll chop up the chicken into little pieces and try him this weekend , he's been eating his kibble with no problem . That tells me he's just being stubborn .

Als yes I did leave the skin on it , guess I'll remove it when I'm chopping up the meat . My thing is he eats the doors,stairs , chair legs, baseball bats :) no problem , but too lazy to rip the chicken apart lol .

[brutus'mother]

I wouldn't suggest little pieces. Just make some slices into the meat so he has something to grab onto, the skin is tough for the little guys at first. I assume you mean he is CHEWING on doors, stairs, etc. He's a baby and needs to be watched and redirected when chewing on those things, when you can't watch him he needs to be crated for his safety.

[turbodx]

ok will do , as far as the door and stuff , I redirect him everytime I catch him doing it , I try to keep him in a controlled area as much as possible.

[turbodx]

Thanks for the advice guys , I cut the chicken into thick strips today and mixed it with a hand full of kibble and he ate it all , even was looking for seconds :) hopefully there will be more of the same tomorrow :)

[Luvtails]

from reading sites on starting out in the raw diet, they state that sometimes puppies/dogs don't realize that, because of lack of smell of raw chicken, etc... , it is food. Once he is used to it with his kibble then gradually decrease the kibble or try a meat with more smell such as red meats. just a thought

[brutus'mother]

I would stick with the chicken for awhile before switching to another meat. If you think the pup may not be eating the chicken because it does not smell like food you can try searing it briefly in a frying pan just to get some chicken aroma. I would suggest NOT doctoring raw too much. I like the fact that all I do to prepare my dogs meal is defrost and serve-I don't want to have to cook it first. Keep it simple and the pup will adjust.
Good Luck

[turbodx]

I figure once i get him to start eating it I won't have to keep chopping it up . 2 days in a row now :) I'll keep it this way for the rest of the week then slowly start letting him do most of the work , as stated in my 1st post I went alittle over board and bought 4oLB of chicken so I'm doing whatever I have to do to get him to eat it
:)

[Knoxx1]

don't chop up the bones, if they are small enough for him to swallow he won't get the benefit of chewing them up. 9 wks is plently old to chew, warn the necks up a little so that they are room temp if you haven't already tried. Keep at it , raw is best.