I finally got my chance to see if my pup would take to raw.

And she DID. I was SOOO proud of her!

She was a little sketchy with it at first, got her hyped up about it 'cause she was still hungry and looking at me like I never feed her at all..

So I pulled out a chicken wing from the fridge to give it a try.

Stuck it in her bowl, she took interest, grabbed it with her mouth, but didn't quite get how to eat it. So I held it for her while she nipped at it, trying to figure out how to eat it. She finally tore some meat off, and then started grinding at the bones, finally got it to crack, and finished off the wing.

I ran to yell up the stairs to my boyfriend that she had ate it like a giddy little kid, and pet Selene and gave her a good rubdown. Started cleaning up, and she's giving me the whole "More , mom, more!" her excited sit looking between me, the fridge, and her bowl. So I tossed a few into her bowl, and she chomped them down no problem.

So now, I'm building up my stockpile into my freezer.

A successful step forward I'd say. My family is going to deem me crazy for feeding my dog raw food, but I know better now. My dog will be happy and healthy.

Thought I'd share this with some people who would understand.

ps. her lump went away( thank god.), and her pink eye turned out to be allergies.

oh that's so great! i still remember luc's first raw meal as one of the most rewarding moments of having him, b/c he was SO happy

(he also was uncertain about chicken wings at first....hey, there's bone in there! he soon figured it out though )

I remember the first time I feed our dogs raw food. I was nervous about getting started, and a little unsettled the first time after hearing the bone crunching.

When everyone survived and took a nice long nap, I realized that we were on to something good.

We are now several years into raw feeding our four dogs. It was the best thing we ever did them.

Congratulations on making the switch.

I spent a couple weeks studying poop piles when I first started......

Carol that is great. I have a question for any of those who have been feeding raw for a while. My terrior mix "Bindi" (1 Yr.Old) has been eating raw for awhile and I have started giving her chicken wings. She has done fine for a couple of weeks. But this morning she threw up and I looked and in the middle was the big part of the chicken leg bone. Is that normal for them to be throwing it up? The bone was very hard and I couldn't bend it.
Do you think I should stop feeding her raw?
She is doing ok now. But dinner time is approaching.
ANy help appreciated.
Sharon EMpson

No, don't stop feeding raw.
Was it the "knuckle or joint" end of the leg? I usually cut those off if I start to see them in piles, or you can do it if it bothers you.

Are you giving a probiotic as well?

Hey Sharon, ditto everything Carol said.

If your dog is having problems with the tougher bones or if you're just worried, you can always stick to the softer stuff (chicken necks & backs, pork riblets) for a while.

You could easily feed nothing but chicken backs & necks to fulfill the bone requirements of the diet and get the variety your dog needs from beef & pork muscle meats (like hearts).

You don't need variety when it comes to bones (bone is bone, no matter what animal it comes from). As long as the meat & organs are varied you've got your nutritional bases covered

I forgot to add......I tend to notice the joints when I end up with the bigger chickens......so I always order a case of "fresh young whole fryers" which tend to be smaller.

And what about pork tails? I'm feeding raw snacks to Chula and I found some pork tails at the supermarket the other day. I thought it'd take her a while to work through one because there was about 4" of skin left on the 8" tail. Wrong! She crunched through the tail bones and swallowed the darn thing whole. Thought for sure I'd be making an emergency trip to the vet last weekend but I did poop patrol for 24 hours and saw nothing (except poop!) Guess there's nothing wrong with her digestive system...
I haven't given her another one yet though!

I may be wrong, but pork tails may be pretty fatty, so I would limit them to a once a week meal or snack. I am guessing and may be wrong though......but there is nothing wrong with feeding them though