Very Funny! I said the same thing to myself as I put "parts" in their dishes. I can't believe how much your tolerance of "parts handling" goes WAY UP after chunking up and skinning 2 friers and 6 leg quarters. Funny thing too... the dogs agreed that "YUM - parts is parts & chicken is chicken" 2 meals and so far - no problems! YAHOO!! Threw in a little plain / unsweetened yogurt (for nutritional benefit ?!?!) and they gobbled everything right up - very happy doggies.

I just wanted to say thanks again to everyone that has taken time out of their busy lives to help a raw newbie out. The feedback and encouragement from this post as well as other posts that I have read really made the difference in our decision. I now that I am still super new ( a whole whoppin' 2 meanls now) and I still have tons of questions and nervous moments ahead of me in the coming days, but I know that I will have no trouble finding guidance here.

On a side note to the above, I also have to say, that another factor in my decision when info gathering was looking at all gorgeous pictures of your dogs. I always look at the photos when raw feeders post them and they have such beautiful looking coats and bright eyes, it is obvious you are doing something right!

Thanks again
Kris

Wait until you're breaking down several cases of "parts and guts".

We have regular "franken-animal birthings" in our house. It's an event.

And yeah, your raw meat tolerance goes way up.

franken-animal birthings. LOL.

At our house we call it "meat storm." Every couple of weeks, I put on the big apron, get out the meat cleaver, and perform selected scenes from Sweeney Todd.

 Quote: Tracy Collins

Every couple of weeks, I put on the big apron, get out the meat cleaver, and perform selected scenes from Sweeney Todd.

That's too funny... and I can SO relate.
The really ironic part in our house is that Oscar's humans are both primarily vegetarian - I may have gotten quite bold about cutting up meat, but don't ask me to ever COOK any of it, I wouldn't have a clue what to do!

*Great job Kris, glad everything is going so well - and you'll just keep enjoying this, I promise, it never gets old.

~Natalya

This is a really good thread. I started the raw diet today and wish I would have found this link first. I am afraid i already messed up. I went to the store yesterday to prepare and they had no chicken quarters so I bought turkey legs, chicken hearts, liver and gizzards. I also bought rabbit parts, ground turkey, ground beef, beef liver. They have whole chickens but I have no clue what to do with them (I hate cooking, I burn water and usually cut myself when making a salad). I am limited on where I can shop for cheap (euro exchange rate is high) as I live in Germany and the shopping on base is "you get what you can get".

I went with the 7 day menu provided by Leerburg, still waiting for the Salmon oil and books to come in the mail (I am hoping they get here this coming week). I just needed to get Caddie off the kibble ASAP! She is scratching ALL the time and has started losing hair on her hind side and ears.

Her first pooo was very small and I could tell where the kibble ends and the raw began. There were a few fragments of bone is this normal?

What I feed today: 1 8oz turkey leg morning. 8 to 9 oz of chicken liver and heart mix with 1 egg whole, broken and then mixed with the two meats. I also gave her a vitamin E+fish oil (E-400IU and 250 mg fish oil). I am now worried that I might have jumped the gun with not doing just chicken. Any advise will be welcome.

Ps, for the first time ever she cleaned her bowl and acted like she wanted more plus I got tons of kisses and hugs after she finished the bowl. lol

Kim

 Quote: Kim Ann Fleming

What I feed today: 1 8oz turkey leg morning. 8 to 9 oz of chicken liver and heart mix with 1 egg whole, broken and then mixed with the two meats. I also gave her a vitamin E+fish oil (E-400IU and 250 mg fish oil). I am now worried that I might have jumped the gun with not doing just chicken.

Kim, you didn't mess anything up. It sounds like your dog has had only 2 raw meals now? Assuming there doesn't seem to be any bad reactions to either (and it sounds like 'no'), I'd carry on with just a little adjustment. Try to stick to one protein source in these first days. Turkey and chicken are pretty darn close, so if you can get turkey more easily, go for it. My dog has a hard time with turkey RMBs for some reason (no prob with chix), depending on the size of the bird and the type of bone (back vs. wing vs. leg etc.), they can have some REALLY big tough bones. If you can, look for smaller specimens and stick to non-weight bearing parts (necks and backs instead of legs), which will have slightly more chewable/digestible bones. Finding bone bits in poo is not necessarily a cause for alarm, but your pup's system may be struggling with a little too much (and too tough) too fast, so backing up to more easily digestible bones might keep them from coming out the other end intact.

I would reconsider buying whole chicken fryers also - you can often get them cheaper per pound, and honestly, you don't have to be a chef to cut them up for dog food - even a hack job will do the trick (just watch your fingers ), and the dog certainly doesn't care about your knife skills. Chicken is probably the best starter meat and RMB for dogs not accustomed to raw yet.

Save your rabbit and any other proteins for next week, after your dog's system has acclimated to the chicken or turkey, and introduce them one at a time - when you add rabbit, don't simultaneously add beef in as well. Feeding chicken or turkey organ meat is fine right now, just start with very small quantities - organ meat is very rich and you want to try to avoid diarrhea by slowing introducing it. The salmon oil and vit E should be OK as is. All of the items you've shopped for will be perfect ingredients for your dog's future meals, but starting slow and simple will give her digestive system a nice gentle introduction to raw and hopefully avoid any upsets.

Best of luck,
~Natalya

Just chiming in to say, "Welcome, Kim!" Glad you found us.

btw...today was meat storm here. Just got myself cleaned up from hacking up whole turkeys and pork shoulder. One trick I've found with turkey parts is that you can use the cleaver to sorta pre-chew the more substantial bones. Just give the wing or leg a few good whacks with the cleaver, crushing the bones in a few places. The skin and flesh will still hold it together as a "part," but the bones inside will be reduced a bit.

 Quote: Kim Ann Fleming

Ps, for the first time ever she cleaned her bowl and acted like she wanted more plus I got tons of kisses and hugs after she finished the bowl. lol

your courageous! I tend to avoid their kisses after they eat raw

Mike, Trust me I do, she just finished b-fast and kisses were flying. I held her head to keep the licks away from the face. I am still with the turkey because I all stores are closed on Sunday's. Gave a thigh todays (12 oz) no problems, lots of meat and a bit of bone. Thanks for all the word everyone. Still new and waiting for my books and salmon oil to get here.

Kim