You're blowing it a little out of proportion, Alice <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />. Kibble takes forever and a day to digest, so if you're combining it with raw, you may have issues due to the different digestive rates...RMBs themselves are not the cause of intestinal blockages. I actually fast my dogs for this reason. I understand that you don't want a beginner just feeding their pup whatever they find with no research, but I don't think it's that difficult to find a balanced way to incorporate RMBs into a diet.

As far as a good one to try for a dog used to inhaling kibble, I've found soupbones/knucklebones/whatever the package calls them this week, to be great for amusing them for a longer time. They break off in tiny, almost wax-like pieces that seem quite harmless. They do, however, consume the whole bone eventually. I take them away when they get small enough to choke on or if they get too hard. It takes about 1/2 a day for them to get dry enough to be brittle and dangerous. They're a good size and shape for extended chewing also, as the roundness of them makes breaking off anything sharp pretty difficult. My 3 dogs of very different sizes all chew them, and (knock on wood) I've never had a problem.

Maybe it's because I feed mosly raw, but I can't get my dogs to chew on anything synthetic at all. I thought it would be nice to get them something to chew on w/out dragging bacteria all over my house, but no such luck. No interest whatsoever. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Femur bones <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />? Who recommended femurs? Did I miss an earlier post?

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You're blowing it a little out of proportion, Alice <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />. Kibble takes forever and a day to digest, so if you're combining it with raw, you may have issues due to the different digestive rates...RMBs themselves are not the cause of intestinal blockages.

sorry, jenni, your information is incorrect. it is not safe to feed both kibble and rmbs. rmbs most certainly can cause intestinal blockages. you have to balance them with organ meats and have the right ratio of bone/meat, or your dog will get impacted. it's happened to my dog, my breeder's dogs, and other dogs i know of at another kennel. so, unless you enjoy giving doggie enemas, you'd better have the right ratios. it's one reason i feed veggies and am careful about how often i serve certain rmbs, like pork necks.

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As far as a good one to try for a dog used to inhaling kibble, I've found soupbones/knucklebones/whatever the package calls them this week, to be great for amusing them for a longer time. They break off in tiny, almost wax-like pieces that seem quite harmless. They do, however, consume the whole bone eventually. I take them away when they get small enough to choke on or if they get too hard. It takes about 1/2 a day for them to get dry enough to be brittle and dangerous. They're a good size and shape for extended chewing also, as the roundness of them makes breaking off anything sharp pretty difficult. My 3 dogs of very different sizes all chew them, and (knock on wood) I've never had a problem.

Maybe it's because I feed mosly raw, but I can't get my dogs to chew on anything synthetic at all. I thought it would be nice to get them something to chew on w/out dragging bacteria all over my house, but no such luck. No interest whatsoever. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Femur bones <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />? Who recommended femurs? Did I miss an earlier post?

femurs are what you are calling soup bones, knuckle bones. the are the hard leg bones of a cow. if you take them away after just one day, then OK, they are safe. but once they get hard (which does happen quickly) they are not safe.

my raw fed dogs love nylabones and i've had no problems with them.

and what do you mean you feed "mostly raw"? what is the point of "mostly raw"? kibble and raw feeding do not mix. it is a bloat episode waiting to happen.

It is great to hear that he has his energy back. If he is eating treats and raw beef, it does sound like his mouth may be sore from the force feeding. What kind of treats are you using? If they are hard, try a soft treat like Solid Gold beef Jerky. Also, if his overall intake has been very low during his illness, his appitite may take time to recover. A lot of the suggestions for soft foods sound very good, our geriatric cat ate baby food when she would eat nothing else. These type of foods may help him recover his appitite naturally. Another possibility is to mix Abady granular food in with baby food instead of dry kibble, it might be easier to eat for now.

Well, I'm not about to add more suggestions for feeding Matthew's pup after the 101 or so that he's already been given. But I'd add my .02 about feeding raw in case Matthew or others are reading this thread and considering it.

This is only my experience and I'm not suggesting it is anything more than that. I've done a lot of research and have been feeding raw for a number of years. I've settled into using primarily chicken backs because of the ratio (whatever it is) of organ meat, muscle meat and easily digestible bone. I'm feeding some veggies regularly now, but have not always done so. My dogs have never had a blockage problem.

I recently started my GSD on small am'ts of Innova Evo several times a week in anticipation of having to board her for a week or two in the near future. I disagree that feeding raw and kibble don't mix. And I don't believe it has ever been shown to be in anyway related to bloat. I think it's o.k. to feed a little of some types of kibble with raw, e.g., Evo, THK and probably some others. I lost my last GSD to bloat. It had nothing to do with his diet (no one knows the exact cause), but I certainly wouldn't be feeding any kibble if I remotely thought that could be a problem with this dog.

I've given my dog a variety of things to chew on, but prefer things that won't keep Petco in business. Regardless of what they are, they all need to be taken away when they get too dry/hard, too small or a dangerous size. When I used to let her have a Kong ball, even that would only last a couple months before she was chipping little rubber pieces off it. I'd rather have her chew on a real bone and possibly swallow some of that than pieces of a natural rubber ball or flavored "thermoplastic polymer."

JMO, and some more to consider along with the other research you should be doing if you're considering making the switch.

mike,
innova evo doesn't have grains in it. you are essentially feeding a raw diet in kibble form, so my caution about mixing kibble and raw would not apply in your case. the problem is the grains.

are you feeding only chicken backs? do you feed any beef, lamb, pork? i'm sure what you are doing is better than commercial kibble, but could be even better with some variety. beef hearts would be a good thing to add. they are both a muscle and organ meat. they are an excellent food for dogs. i just picked up a few cases myself for .83 cents/lb.

i also looked into innova evo for my dog, for backpacking, travel, and leaving him with a pet sitter. i will use it for a short term period, but i wouldn't make it my dog's regular food. the protien levels in evo are outrageously high, and many dogs have become sick over time because of this. they do great on it for short periods, though!

Alice, I know what a femur is. Those are not what I feed my dogs, and I have never seen them packaged at my grocer called "soupbones." We are not talking about the same things here at all, and you are apparently more interested in arguing than seeing that point. Just for fun, I'll clarify. "Mostly raw" means that I feed raw (prey model-not BARF) when I am home, on normal days, as in, not on vacation. When I am away it is pretty tough to get someone else to feed my dogs the way I do. So, to clear up "mostly," for you, "mostly" means approximately 345 days a year as opposed to 365. Not sure where I advocated feeding raw and kibble together; I just stated that you're going a little overboard, because that is NOT what I was suggesting. I said they digest at different rates, which can be problematic, but RMBs all by themselves do not cause intestinal blockages, any more than anything else. Of course all raw is the best way to go, but the bones you're talking about (wings, necks, etc.) are FOOD, which is NOT what I was suggesting. These have very little marrow, seem to have a bit of cartilage, but are not really wholly consumable-more recreational. Not at all the same as feeding the pup a kibble meal and then tossing him some leg quarters, which is apparently how you took my suggestion. My smaller dogs don't even make distinguishable dents in these, and my GSD makes good progress on them, but leaves most pieces around the house and yard. The hard wax-like texture and lack of sharp pieces are the main appeal, and why I brought them up. They'll keep a younger or smaller dog busy for a few hours, then you throw them away, and go on your merry way not worried that your dog has just injested some heinous chemical from processed rawhide.

Nylabones are ok for 85% of dogs who will actually touch them, but I had a dog who just chopped the end off and chewed it like gum until I caught him...

Noticed that something didn't come across right: I was not saying that RMBs and soupbones are the same; I was saying that soupbones are a good alternative to RMBs for a kibble-fed dog b/c they're NOT meaty. They can be eventually eaten, but it's a slow process, and they dry out too much before the average chewer gets very far, so they should be taken away. I only have one dog that makes the whole thing disappear, but even he leaves pieces of it (kind of shaving-like bits) all over.

ok, i see we were not talking about the same thing. i'm not sure now what you are calling soupbones. i did think you were telling him to use RMBs as recreational bones.

i can tell you i know LOTS of people who have dealt with impaction from improper balance in raw feeding and it is something to watch out for. if you haven't yet had that problem, then you are lucky. but it is caused by certain RMBs, not by recreational bones.

hope we haven't both confused everyone else! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

A few people have since asked what they were and what they looked like, so I may have to try to get a picture.

The puppy still won't eat on his own. I have been having to forcefeed him that canned food, as well as crushing up kibble and mixing it with water and forcefeeding him it. It makes such a damn mess! I just wish Icould get him to eat on his own, I have tried everything you guys have suggested. He has gained A LOT of weight though, I just wish he would eat on his own. If anyone else has any other suggestions, please throw them my way.

Thanks.