Quote: Sharon Empson

She can't break the bones very well and continually has to spit them out and try and break them. Then if she does successfully break them up, throws them up later...within about 15 minutes.

I can't see her eat, so can't comment specifically on her eating habits, but having to work on bones like that sounds fine to me.

Vomiting them back up is weird, though. Every time with bones other than wings or backs? If she can handle the big bone in a wing, then you'd think any other chicken bone would be tolerated.

What exactly are the RMBs that she can't handle?

Active dog? The amount you are feeding doesn't sound like too much.

Bone-in breats that Jessica mentioned are a good idea, too.

Also curious what she would do with a chunk of meat. Not ground or cut up. Dogs can be weird like that sometimes.

Did you find some green tripe?

I am in the process of getting green tripe for her. I was gone on vacation so missed the ordering date.

Chunks of meat are ok, I give her big chunks and she usually works on them and eats them fine. I have tried to give her regular chicken legs and that is when she throws them up. I dont get it either.

Sometimes she won't even eat her big soup bone I give her, she leaves the meat on and just doesn't want it. Cody chews away at all the meat and picks it clean.

I just can't figure it out. But am trying other things.
She is very active. I had to teach her and cody to "rest no play" or she will be running and playing all day, and that is after a walk, brisk and about 1/2 hour play with me in the back yard. Of course she is a terrier so, they just love that stuff.

I am just as confused as you. So, maybe it is just a phase? She seems very healthy, was very very thin when we got her, and now she has filled out, not fat, but very muscular. Coat great, add salmon oil and vitamin e to her food.

Thanks sharon

Hi Sharon!

I have had this problem with my 9 month old GSD. I have been trying to find out just what exactly is it that she is snubbing.
I used to mix all her extras in her ground meat, and she would just smell it and walk away.
I thought it was the salmon oil, but when I put the salomon oil in a seperate plate to see, she licked it up just fine.
I have been experimenting to see what the reason is. I now find seperating her veggie glop and the salomon oil makes her like to eat it again. Strange huh? I have just started about a month ago with feeding raw, so I am having to see what she likes or doesn't.
Her first duck frame she ate just fine, the second time she was not as interested. I will be curious to see if she will eat another one again. Have you tried chicken necks or turkey necks?
My dog loves them and I think the ratio of bone to muscle meat is really good. Plus they seem easy for the dog to eat.
Also, they are really cheap to buy.
It seems like they really love the RBM's more than just the muscle meat. Do you also feed any raw organs meats? Mine loves it and I mix a couple spoonfuls into her ground meat, that seems to help.I am so new to this, but this is what I have done.
Sometimes my dog will not know what to do with a bigger piece and if I cut it up more, she will start to eat it.
She never uses her paws to hold the meat, so when she figures this out, maybe she will go for the bigger pieces. It isn't that she can't eat them, she is just new to this way of eating, yet she seems to love her RMB's

Dear Joyce: thanks for your info. It is so fun to see their reaction, though we don't understand it. I have tried chicken necks and she does like them, I am looking for a supplier, because I can't find them at the store. I am going to look into a mexican market in corona see if they have chicken necks.

I have tried cutting things up, and not cutting them up. She just has her own likes and dislikes. SHe is only 18lbs, a terrior mix.

thank you so much for all your help.

sharon

Sounds like the pup is just hit or miss with bone-less meat. Sometimes she takes it, sometimes she don't.

The best thing that comes to mind is to try to find meatier RMBs.

If you had a chicken cut into quarters, then the wing sections would be attached to a big hunk 'O breast. The leg quarters would also have a little more meat attached than just a leg would. More meat attached to the leg might just be the trick to help her hold down bones.

Duck would be another good alternative. It is a little fattier than chicken, so you'd have to assess how your dogs do with more fat and adjust from there.

Rabbit would be a nice addition, too, if they liked it. I've found rabbit to be a hit or miss food for a lot of dogs, though. Wouldn't want to buy a whole bunch until you knew they liked it. It can be expensive, though. Still would be good to add every now and then if possible.

Have they tried fish yet? Also a hit or miss food.

I have a question. I have been cutting off the huge globs of fat and leaving just a little on the RMB's, ie; the duck frame.
There was a lot of fat on there and so I discarded most of it.
Should I be leaving that on there? Michael, do you know?
Also, what kind of tripe is the best to start off with? Canned, or freeze dried? Was it you that went and got your own tripe on that really hot day? "Have you hugged your Tripe distributor today?" LOL! If that was not you, forgive me. I sort of remember you writing that post.

Joyce, this is kind of a hijack.

I know that fat came up here, but I'm thinking that it's more about a picky eater who doesn't like meat without bones, and alternate choices, than about general "remove fat or not."

You could start a new thread here:
http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/postlist/Board/12

It's actually a pretty good topic on its own.

Edit: Never mind. I see that it has a meandering life of its own. My mistake!

OOPS! Sorry Connie, I am not very savy to this whole thing here.

Duck frame? The duck after the legs, breast, wings, etc. have been removed? Or the whole duck?

Either way, doesn't matter.

If its the glob that I'm thinking of, enough to fill up your palm, then yes remove it. Thats a lot of fat.

The amount of fat you can leave on will vary from dog to dog. You probably have a pretty good feel for what your dogs can handle. Obviously, too much fat can cause diarrhea.

Yes, that was me that got tripe recently. I don't have any direct experience with canned or freeze dried. A few people on here get canned. Either one should be good to start with. I'll have to look at the freeze dried. Can't think of hearing anybody use it, but that doesn't mean anything.

PM me with what you have available. Maybe I might know of a source near you or another online supplier that we could compare prices to.

 Quote: Joyce Salazar

OOPS! Sorry Connie, I am not very savy to this whole thing here.

Nah. Have at it. I didn't realize how much the thread had wandered around. My mistake.