Over the past couple of days Kaiser has shown a lack of interest in his normal chicken backs. He licks them, pulls them out of his bowl and lays them on the floor - basically eats everything else first and then goes back to the backs - which he's taking an unusually long time to eat.

So I thought maybe he was getting bored - at least I thought that until this morning!

He was munching along and then all of a sudden I heard something that sounded like a pebble drop to the floor. I went to investigate thinking - "Oh hell, there's something in the food that's why he's not eating it like he used too!".

I bend over and pick this "thing" up and lo and behold - it's a molar! Ok - now I understand why he's shying away from the backs - they hurt his mouth when he eats.

So - the question is - do I do anything about this or not.

My thinking is, and please educate me here, is to not do anything different and just keep feeding him like I normally would. The rationale is, if he was living in the wild he would have no choice but to eat what was in front of him.

The other option, per my wife, is to hammer the chicken back until it's more easily eaten (or grind up a chicken).

So, please fix my thinking if it needs fixing.

Thanks!

Anyone ?

Honestly, it may or may not be teething.

Some dogs undergo what I like to call "The Great Chicken-Back Rebellion".
My dog was one of them.
I finally came to realize that despite all the formulas that exist for proper bone/meat ratio, for MY dog, I was feeding too much bone, and she wasn't thrilled about it.

Dogs, just like people, have unique dietary needs. We start with the given formulas, and adjust accordingly for each dog. Perhaps your dog would prefer a different RMB? Perhaps your dog needs more meat/less bone?
My advice? Try chicken necks and turkey HEN necks in leiu of backs for awhile to determine if it is the RMB or just the bone ratio in general.

Also, are you leaving the fat on? Occassionally my girl decides that she doesn't want to eat the skin/fat, and spurns any food that has it left on.

Well, I will take a shot at it. I don't have puppies, but I have heard folks in our club say that their teething pups were eating slowly because they were chewing on one side, etc. I never heard them say that they did anything about the food ... just that they stopped tug, etc.

Also, when I just had a senior undergo a complete dental work-up, including an extraction, he ate slowly but steadily, too, chewing on the other side.

 Quote: Alyssa Myracle

Perhaps your dog would prefer a different RMB? Perhaps your dog needs more meat/less bone?
My advice? Try chicken necks and turkey HEN necks in leiu of backs for awhile to determine if it is the RMB or just the bone ratio in general.

Also, are you leaving the fat on?

I know that he absolutely loves chicken necks! I trim off the fat on the underside of the back and leave the skin on the top.

I was thinking because his molar fell (assuming because he is teething) that he was eating slowly. He will go back to it and eat it - he just over the last couple days has started to eat everything else first. This morning when he was munching on the back his molar came out and made me think that it was because of teething.

IF it is teething related - should anything be done to the back so as to not cause any more teeth loss OR is that just what is going to happen and not to think about it twice?

You want the teeth to come out.
If the dog is happily chomping away, I wouldn't worry about teeth coming out- they're going to anyway.

If the dog is flat-out rejecting harder foods, then I might consider offering less crunchy items. I'd listen to the dog.
Loosing teeth alone isn't an argument for a change in food options- but the dog's refusal to eat certain things would be.

I think the chicken necks is a really good idea. For the backs you have left, I'd go ahead and mash them up a bit in case the teething is causing pain. Just to be nice.

Also, and this could be way off, double check on the amount of food.

When I started raw, it seems like I went from over to under feeding before I got it right.

If he is getting too much, he may be picking out the favorite things.

Mine tires of backs easily, too, so I take them away for a while and then when they come back, it's like a new favorite again.