Well, the THK and diet without grain or kibble has awaken the carnivore in Lucy. I started with a little poached ground turkey, then some raw slivers of chicken (eh, okay), then this morning, while adding beef to Hambone's breakfast, I gave a sliver of raw beef to Lucy. Her eyes bugged out and she started crooning to me. So, I slivered some beef into her THK and she almost jumped into her bowl before I could set it on the floor.

So, squirrel season is coming up. I plan on hunting for the 3 of us. They still will be on THK most of the week, but at least 1-2 times a week, I would like them to eat fresh raw.

Hambone eats his as is. So, one question is, do I slit the stomach before freezing so gases dont build up, or can I freeze it whole?

Two, for Lucy, start out small slivers then the back? So far, she hasn't made the leap that boney meat like this is food, but Hambone doesn't mind her watching while he eats his game hen or the rabbit he caught so I thought he might teach her.

This is monumental for her! Yay Lucy! I won't go raw completely since I don't know if I can manage their health this way, but with THK as a back up 4-5 times a week, the raw meals will be helped by the THK and the raw meals will cut the cost of the THK.

Any helpful hints?

I don't know if you HAVE to slit the animal open before you freeze it but I think I would. I would want to check in the belly of the animal to see if there was any foreign matter that might be harmful to my dog so I can take it out before I freeze it. (IE: plastics or anything else that critters can sometimes get into) or to see if everything looks okay inside their meal to the naked eye ( no tumors or large visible parasites) If it's fish, I always want to check for fish hooks.

This check could also be done before you feed it to your dog but just for my own piece of mind I would check before I freeze.

Edited by Niomi Smith (08/07/2009 01:37 PM)
Edit reason: Can't type

Makes sense. thanks!