Judy only has one dog & I believe that this may be a temporary means of acting as an elimination diet anyway. It was just a thought that she may be able to get ground meat & bone without having to rely on a butcher to grind meat & bone.

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.........I never heard of the Bravo stuff. Does anyone have an opinion on the ingredients?

I googled it just now. Lots of ingredients -- fine, but not by any stretch an elimination diet.

Just an idea on a short-term fix. I'm not sure what allergies you are concerned with, but how about poking holes in the raw chicken and then soaking it in some low-sodium chicken broth - not heated, just right out of the can. It may be just enough flavor to get him interested.

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.....Connie, is the bone powder something I should consider if we're trying to keep down the consumption of anything extra? ....
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Bone powder is bones. It's the powder from the butcher's saw.

Anne is 100% correct that the calcium-phosphorous ratio is imperative, and weighing meat and figuring out the calcium to add in the form of shells and powder is a pain............ I think on a similar level to cooking meat and adding back the raw bones.

I'm not convinced he has a food allergy either, just based on the numbers alone (food allergies trailing so far behind all others for dogs), but giving him fresh food, as you are doing, is helpful to his immune system, period, IMO, and allergy is an immune disorder. And, of course, what do I know? Maybe he has food allergies. Regardless, an elimination diet of excellent raw food is a fine plan.

So I had not heard of Bravo, I don't think, but I just googled it; it does have a lot of ingredients. That means it's not an elimination diet (which is limited ingredients of foods the dog has never eaten).

For now, for the transition when he appears not to like raw chicken, why not try having the whole bird ground up? You can start by getting 1/2 lb. ground turkey or chicken meat and checking it out with him. One meal with no bone absolutely will NOT cause any damage. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I knew it! Just when I thought this was gonna get easy...OK forget the Bravo. Connie, unless the grinders cost a ton of money, maybe that's my best chance of feeding him properly?? I can grind all that he won't eat (raw wings, thighs, hearts, necks, etc.) and add cooked chicken(which he absolutely loves by the way) and call it a day. I'm still waiting on the venison w/o bone delivery. I could throw that in too.

Do you have a suggestion on grinders - what I should look for in capabilities or brand?

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Just an idea on a short-term fix. I'm not sure what allergies you are concerned with, but how about poking holes in the raw chicken and then soaking it in some low-sodium chicken broth - not heated, just right out of the can. It may be just enough flavor to get him interested.

HEY! Great idea!!!! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

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Connie, unless the grinders cost a ton of money, maybe that's my best chance of feeding him properly?? ..........Do you have a suggestion on grinders - what I should look for in capabilities or brand?

I would SO wait on that! I honestly think he will end up loving raw chicken and that it's a transition thing. I'd get some ground chicken first and test that with him.

And yes, I have a preference in grinders. I'll get the link...... but this isn't what I would do next.

The grinder link, which I am betting you will not need:
http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm#Mav

I have the grinder from Northern Tools somewhere. It's great, but it's greater when the butcher does it free.

And I really don't think the raw meat of any animal will continue to be a dog-won't-eat challenge.

Jan, I'm not sure what he may be allergic to either. Just trying to figure it out in the last several weeks. So I'm being told keep every last little thing out of his diet. W/Cindy and Connie's help this is what he gets:

Chicken w/bone
salmon oil
Vitamin E

The other other thing he gets is 3 small cubes of freeze dried beef liver treats.

He loves cooked chicken. Everything else raw, he laps it up. It's just raw chicken he seems to resent <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> .

mixing the meat & bone in some broth might help disguise the raw taste better. But be careful what you pick for broth...some have undesirable additives not to mention a ton of sodium...but you can get lower sodium & no sodium brands..it the other stuff like dextros & corn byproducts that some of the brothes have....read label carefully if you choose to go this route. You have a bunch of sugestions, now so you should be able to go forward with the diet. Good luck.