Hi All,

I've been weighing the pros and cons of a RAW diet and I have decided to take the plunge and go with it. I purchased all the stuff that Leerburg suggests. I am feeding a menu identical to the one ED recommends for a puppy.My 20 week old female GSD is not liking it at all. She always has been a light eater. It seems she can take eating or leave it. I have been feeding her Canidie (SP?)3 times a day as suggested by the manufacturer. She will not eat Chicken Backs. I tried giving her 2 yesterday and they just sat in her bowl. This morning I gave her mostly kibble with some hamburg mixed in. She ate that. I thought she would wolf it down but again.. She just picked at it. I Gave her a Cow knuckle and she totally devowered it. So she knows she has teeth and bones are tastey but as for chewing up a chicken back, she isn't cooperating. So what should I do.. Just offer her the chicken until she gets so hungry she tries to eat it? Please Help...

Many here have had a simular problems. Some have had success with ground up raw. Some with cooking it (no bones). Then slowly introducing raw via larger chunks or less cooked. A search would reveil many threads on this subject.

I found a supplier through this forum that sells the meat and bones ground up together. I am not sure the necks/backs are what's ground in, though. It might just take getting used to also. I know you can buy at Northern Tool?????

Do you serve the backs frozen or fresh? Sometimes that can make a difference.

I use the honest kitchen dehydrated food to supplement my dogs diet and they really enjoys it. All three of my dogs love the stuff.

Try a variety of food and maybe you can try chicken wings or thighs depending on your dogs age the bigger bones might be too tough on the baby teeth.

You should be able to get a lot of help on the subject, but I would do a search because this topic has come up a LOT around here.

Lisa

I've found that when a dog is suspicious, it seems to be texture-related.

So when I'm switching an adopted dog, I get some ground poultry (available anywhere) and start with that. It's missing the bone, of course, but it's not long-term.

When the dog is used to that, then the backs and necks (or whatever) seem to be no problem.

Lots of people recommend making the switch cold turkey so that's what I did. Start offering raw meals...give her 10 minutes to eat and if she doesn't, pick it up and offer again at the next meal. Healthy dogs & pups won't starve themselves. Exercise will also help make her hungry.

Green tripe, if you can get it, smells like s@#t but dogs LOVE it. I found mixing it into meals got my picky eater interested in eating.

I think this is not uncommon so try and stick to it and give her a little more time. And good for you for making the switch!

Oh, one more thing: I've read and been told that it's probably better to not mix raw and kibble together in the same meal. The body digests raw and kibble at different rates. There are differing opinions about this but I stopped doing it.

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I've found that when a dog is suspicious, it seems to be texture-related.

Which is why Eich will eat anything frozen right away.

Otherwise, varying degrees of inspection are neccesary.

I have heard to from friends that switched their dog to raw that the dogs that were suspicious about a piece of fresh meat did better when it was cut in smaller portion to start, but later eat the whole piece just fine.Some like to nibble at new things instead of putting a big piece in their mouths.Just an idea I thought I'd pass on.Don't cook it, it defeats the purpose.

i had the same problem, when my pups were about 20 weeks they were ok with eating solid knuckle bones, but not raw meat or chicken...but when it was ground into a mince meat then they were all too eager to eat it..so i stuck to that or a little while..every 3rd day instead of minced meat...i would give them the meat whole/not ground...
then they eat it fine..and now i can feed them anything and they will eat it...i guess it really helps that they gets lots of exercise and r always hungry!
also, dont leave the food to be eaten at free will..ur pup should kno tha the food is only going to be there as long as u want it to...put it down 10-15 minutes pick the bowl up..even if she has not finished...keep it for the next meal...

Just a quick update. I took others advice and cooked up some chicken gizzards and a piece of beef liver and she checked it out for a minute then somewhat slowly ate it. That was last night. I was happy with that. This morning I cooked up some more and offered it to her in her crate and as I was leaving I saw her playing with the beef liver. I hope she eats it..Now my question is how to introduce chickenbacks. I know under no circumstances are you to cook chicken bones but I think I read somewhere that someone just seared just enough to change the texture of the outside of the back and let her try that.. Do you guys think thats a good idea? I dont plan on cooking her all her food.. Heck I don't even cook for myself...Let me know what you guys think.. Thanks in advance!!!!!

Hi All,

Just a quick update on the switch from Canidea kibble to a RAW diet. I'm happy to report things are going remarkably well. Mierra is 100% switched over. It was rough for the first few days because she refused to eat and I kept re introducing the food she refused to eat. I took the advice of other members and I partially cooked chicken gizzards and hearts and beef liver for a couple days and slightly seared chicken backs just enough to change the texture of the chicken. She fell for it. She finally gobbled it up and I can say today she actually looks to be enjoying meal time much more now..She was even finiky with the kibble, but now she wolfs her meal..I'm in the process of finding a cheap source of muscle meat and a variety of things for her. She even eats her vegetables!!! I came home today and she seemed to even have more energy and seemed overall happier. I have noticed she hasnt been going #2 as much or as often.. Which is cool with me.. Im just wondering where the stuff is going. She used to pass alot while feeding her kibble. Anyway, now I have to do some research on fish.. Im still a bit sceptical about feeding whole fish.. Will she be okay with the backbone and ribs of the fish? They are like little needles when I eat a piece of fish.. Anyone have success with fish?