Hi Everyone,

I am considering feeding my 4 dogs-(GSD, ABD, Lab & Malamute) chicken necks and backs. My concern is my 6 year old lab and 5 month old AB inhale their food. I am afraid they will choke on the bones? Has anyone else had this concern? Also, my GSD has a sensitive stomach and can have a problem with soft stools ocasionally, so I am wondering if that is a wise choice for her. can you feed the RMB daily?

Thx

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My concern is my 6 year old lab and 5 month old AB inhale their food. I am afraid they will choke on the bones? Has anyone else had this concern?

Shouldn't be a problem, but I know some people feed the food frozen to slow the dogs down. But you won't know how fast they eat it till you try. My dogs swallow chicken necks whole sometimes, no biggie.

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Also, my GSD has a sensitive stomach and can have a problem with soft stools ocasionally, so I am wondering if that is a wise choice for her.

Its a wise choice for all dogs.

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can you feed the RMB daily?

If you are going to feed raw then you MUST, absolutely 100% MUST feed RMB's daily, but in correct proportion. A general guideline would be:

Feeding 2.5% of the dogs ideal body weight per day.
70% of this should be RMB's (necks, backs, thighs etc)
25-30% should be muscle meats (ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, fillet mignon etc )
5% organ meats (chicken gizzards, livers, hearts etc) every 2-3 days.

This is a good foundation to start and build on per all the advice available on this forum for feeding raw.

The correct balance of RMB's and muscle meats is absolutely vital to the diet. If you dont feed RMB's the dog will get brittle bones and calcium deficiency. If you feed ONLY RMB's then the dog won't be able to poop easily, the stool will be too hard. You need to adjust the ratios according to what gives the dog the best stool. Too much muscle meat and it'll be too soft, too little and it'll be too hard.

There is a TON of information on raw diets on this site, read up a lot

Theres a good chance they'll just swallow the necks and chomp the backs a few times and then swallow them, too. Like Mike said, its not a big deal. Dogs don't chew 36 times before they swallow. When its small enough that they think it will fit down their throat, it has been chewed enough.

To help combat this you can feed big food. Get a whole chicken and feed them a 1/4 or 1/2 of it.

Bone-in butt roast have a whole shoulder blade in them that I know can't be swallowed without some work.

The southern states are full of deer hunters that would probably give you leftovers that they didn't want.

Whole or 1/2 rabbits require alot of work before they can be swallowed, too.

And yes, you can feed RMBs daily if you like. You'll definately want to in the beginning so they don't have loose stools.

After they are use to the diet you can still feed them everyday if you want. It isn't necessary, though. If you feed an extremely bony meal the day before, then an all meat meal won't hurt. As long as most of the meat in the diet is fed on the bone you will be fine.

 Quote: lisa harrison

I am afraid they will choke on the bones? Has anyone else had this concern?

If anyone says they didn't have that or some other concern......they were a lyin'.

 Quote: lisa harrison

can you feed the RMB daily?

Thx

Just so we are all speaking the same language: The RMB is the basis of the raw diet.

Recreational bones are a whole 'nother thing and are not at all necessary for a balanced raw diet.

http://leerburg.com/feedingarawdiet.htm#RMB

http://leerburg.com/feedingarawdiet.htm

http://leerburg.com/feedpups.htm

http://www.leerburg.com/diet2.htm

 Quote: Michael_Wise

If anyone says they didn't have that or some other concern......they were a lyin'.

Agreed!

I started before the internet, with one lone book, and no human help. I had fear so bad that I had trouble sleeping!

I measured, weighed, watched, and worried.

Now I would have fear if for some reason I had to feed kibble.

So I have total empathy for people taking the leap from a bag to fresh food, and taking the responsibility from a big corporation onto their own shoulders.

I would also add that if it took grinding the heavier RMBs at first to gain anough confidence to go ahead with the fresh diet, I say do it.

Even with the loss of the beneficial jaw exercise and dental benefits, it's so worth it.

P.S. For the sensitive GSD, start with peeling off the skin and visible globs of fat, and start her organ meat very slowly and gradually.

Overfeeding and too much fat or organs all at once are the two big diarrhea culprits at the beginning.