Quote: Brian Keefe

no, my guy isnt as big as Otis, he is about 82 lbs right now ...

Still twenty pounds bigger than mine.

Is your concern is that he won’t be able to handle the bones? Bone in breast (if you can’t get backs) are a super easy bone to get them going. We feed them to baby puppies! They are soft and come pre-loaded with the breast for less money than the boneless, score!

Once he is having no issue with the breast or back bones, a dog his size will be able to do a leg or thigh with no issue. Let him work it out and you will see how well he does…

Most grocery stores have leg quarters on sale for $0.59 a pound at some point (they come in a 10 pound bag) and usually the store with the sale rotates, so one will have it one week and a different another week. Those are a great, cheap source of chicken at a grocery store. We also get the whole chickens on sale a lot as well, some price range as the leg quarters. I buy as many as they will let me when they do! I cut them in half down the back bone and feed one half a day to my 100 pound dogs. Easy peasy!

If the dog is a real gulper, bigger chunks can slow them down and force them to chew. I actually have no problem feeding fully frozen chicken (and other meats as long as they are boneless) to my dogs. They HAVE to chew those; more like gnaw actually.

Follow the Leerburg plan and you will be feeding a complete diet…

Anyway, all of this is disjointed… I promise I am usually more articulate. I need some sleep. Hope it all makes sense!

Perfect sense, Jessica.:smile:

Any smaller grocery stores in your area? Ethnic grocery stores?

Big stores generally don't carry stuff like chicken backs.

I do like Jessica outlined with whole chickens. Then you can add variety with different kinds of muscle meat.

Perhaps an affordable source of rabbit in your area?

All this being done gradually like Connie mentioned earlier.

And sorry I freaked out when I thought the diet was just straight meat.

 Quote: JessicaKromer

Is your concern is that he won’t be able to handle the bones? Bone in breast (if you can’t get backs) are a super easy bone to get them going. We feed them to baby puppies! They are soft and come pre-loaded with the breast for less money than the boneless, score!

Once he is having no issue with the breast or back bones, a dog his size will be able to do a leg or thigh with no issue. Let him work it out and you will see how well he does…

Most grocery stores have leg quarters on sale for $0.59 a pound at some point (they come in a 10 pound bag) and usually the store with the sale rotates, so one will have it one week and a different another week. Those are a great, cheap source of chicken at a grocery store. We also get the whole chickens on sale a lot as well, some price range as the leg quarters. I buy as many as they will let me when they do! I cut them in half down the back bone and feed one half a day to my 100 pound dogs. Easy peasy!

If the dog is a real gulper, bigger chunks can slow them down and force them to chew. I actually have no problem feeding fully frozen chicken (and other meats as long as they are boneless) to my dogs. They HAVE to chew those; more like gnaw actually.

Follow the Leerburg plan and you will be feeding a complete diet…

Anyway, all of this is disjointed… I promise I am usually more articulate. I need some sleep. Hope it all makes sense!

Thanks for the advice Jessica!
I Went to Sam’s today, and I loaded up on meat! I got 2 whole chickens, 8 bone-in-breasts and 8 chicken thighs. I fed him one of the bone- in-breasts and two plain breasts, a bit of plain yogurt, along with a calcium, Vitamins E & C and fish oil supplements. It was funny because he inhaled the 2 plain breasts, then curiously sniffed at the breast w/ bones, then GENTLY started crushing the bones in his mouth! It was pretty humorous to see!

As for the whole chickens that you suggested, do you normally cut them in half 1st, and then freeze them? And I take it you leave everything inside of the bird ( stomach, intestines etc?) and let the dogs eat it all?

 Quote: Michael_Wise

Any smaller grocery stores in your area? Ethnic grocery stores?

Big stores generally don't carry stuff like chicken backs.

I do like Jessica outlined with whole chickens. Then you can add variety with different kinds of muscle meat.

Perhaps an affordable source of rabbit in your area?

All this being done gradually like Connie mentioned earlier.

And sorry I freaked out when I thought the diet was just straight meat.

NO worries, i think its great that complete strangers are so concerned about my doggies well being!

Not sure about rabbit scources, i live in the heart Minneapolis, so if anyone knows of a place around here, please let me know.

Thanks again for your help

In a city the size of Minneapolis, you should have plenty of smaller stores or ethnic stores--stop in a little Asian grocery store and you'll be surprised all the good stuff you'll find.

As for the whole chicken, there won't be any stomach or intestines in there. You'll be lucky if there's a small package of giblets that might include a gizzard and or a liver, maybe the neck. All of that is fine to feed. If they are there, they will probably be in a little baggie tucked inside. Look to see. But I haven't bought a whole chicken that came with giblets in a long time.

How much are you feeding per day? Do you weigh the food? An adult GSD would eat on the order of 2 - 2.5 pounds of food per day.

Local farms can be a really good source of meat, especially with more and more selling directly to the public. You can often find them at local farmers markets. Just tell them you feed your dog raw ask them about leftovers/oddball organ meats/older cuts. I recently found a organic beef/pork farm that sells their older cuts and heart/liver/etc for pet meat at a very reasonable cost.

Brian,

my dog is 65lbs. I cut whole chickens into 7 pieces and add ground beef, bison or turkey to make a 1 lb meal for her with each of the 7 pieces (she eats 2 of these meals per day). She basically eats 2 chickens an 3lbs of various ground meats per week with organ meats added on top (usually liver, but I try to vary that with what is available). Raw eggs and shells thrown in frequently and once per week: sardines. Since your dog is bigger just cut up chix in bigger pieces... I usually find whole chickens more easily and cheaper inside the city than most of the other parts. A sharp knife takes care of it pretty quickly - I am not neat, and the dog doesn't care. I am trying to do prey model. She does eat veggies whenever I add them, though.

She is finally putting on weight! I keep trying to do lamb necks, riblets, etc. But she doesn't tolerate them well. So it is always back to chicken for the RMB.

I have had a hard time in the middle of an urban area finding a reliable supplier for cheap parts- I have actually paid more for chicken backs than whole chickens - here, butchers and meat processors are usually in outlying parts of the city, really out of the way from me nearer to ranches and farms - not downtown. But when I shop sales at the grocery I can get whole chickens around 69 cents/lb and leg quarters at 49 cents/lb. I can live with that.

Hope this helps. I just started in all this, but everyone's advice here has made this successful for my dog.

Hi everyone, thanks to all again for the help on the 26th! My pup has been eating bone-in Chicken Breasts for almost two weeks now, and he has responded very well to them.

I am now looking to introduce some other cuts to his diet, and I was looking for any advice. I found some whole chickens and chicken thighs on sale that I stuck in the freezer. I was thinking about giving him some thighs tonight. Any thoughts, concerns, advice etc etc?!

Thanks again