Ok, who feeds their cavalier raw chicken wings/follows BARF ?

[Willowisp]

I have a rescue cav, who, in her previous home ate cooked chicken, rice, probably toast & maybe a biscuit or 2.

She was at her foster home royal canon mini bite with cesar on the top.

I've tried to tough it out with the royal canin, but she's not keen & had lost a bit of weight. She's very lean & vets said she could do with some weight on her.

I've had a conversation about raw with a guy who owns a rescue & feeds all the dogs.

I'm keen to do it, but having investigated it prior to homing her, was scared off by the use of chicken wings/bones.

Do cavvies manage to crunch the bones ? Can I grind them first ? Can I give her chicken flesh chopped on top of the pellets ? Got good advice ref a mix to feed, I'm just....well...scared of her choking..in fact I have a fear of choking full stop...

As well as eating the bare minimum, her eyes water. I think this is a breeding thing, although I did buy her some Highlife, which she wolfed down, but it made her eye 'juice' smell. Very keen to get her in great condition & proper eating.

I've had her almost 4 mths...

[multipoodles]

We have a toy poodle, smaller jaw than a cav and she does just great. With chicken wings she sometimes leaves a bit of long bone, to you and I this looks sharp but when raw chicken bones are light, flexible and dogs chew them readily. Bird bones in general are light (to enable flight) and while chickens no longer fly the bones are still light. Once cooked they are deadly but raw is fine. If you are concerned, smash up the wing with a hammer before feeding or hold on to one end but she will be fine. Starting of raw is fraught with worry, but dogs were designed to eat raw food, their teeth are wonderful, the way they slice there food, shuffling from one side to the next, point their nose in the air when swallowing (to widen the gullet) so when you watch it, it is entirely natural and what they are meant to do.

I will put a photo of our toy eating a wing on my profile, she looks like a devil dog LOL. Don't be panicked by how much they swallow at once, if it sticks going down they bring it up again :) Start off with one meat, chicken is fine then you can add variety a fews weeks down the line. When feeding raw you must get your head round the fact that each meal is not balanced in nutrients (same as us really) but over a week or month it is, and this is how it is in the wild! Fish, eggs, offal are all added as different meals. My dogs eat raw chicken bones and all for dinner, for breakfast its tripe 3 times a week, egg a couple of times, and same for sardines, I had feed liver once or twice but they are not really fused on it, so it's hand feed as a treat, when one dogs sees the other getting something hand feed they think it must be high value so sit competing for it!

[yesbutnobut]

Beautiful dogs multi

[multipoodles]

Thanks :)

[Willowisp]

Oh that's great info thanks - I love that I can use a hammer too !

I have been passed a veg mix recipe to add to the raw meat, which includes 1 egg a day.

Do I need to do it gradually or just go for it & how long does it take to eat a chicken wing ?

Dogs are gorgeous...are you anything to do with Poodles in Need, btw ?

[moomintash]

Have you looked at www.naturalinstinct.com/ I feed my poodle and cat on it and both love it(very picky before) I didn't want to give whole bones as the poodle has had bowel surgery due to a blockage with Kelp seaweed from the beach! So was advised that there may be narrowing in the bowel. The poodle had itchy feet and ears all the time on dry food, now totally gone. The cat was VERY ill with bowel problems and was on steroids and very underweight, he is now a healthy happy cat after putting him on the raw meat diet.

[Willowisp]

No, but I will look in a mo, thanks.

Interesting about your cat, mine is VERY overweight & on special diet food, but appears to not be loosing any weight. I think she may benefit from it too.

I was thinking of buy one of those hammers that tenderise the meat to tackle the bones, or should I just use a normal hammer ?

[Willowisp]

...actually, having read the site, I think that might be a good place to start & there is a supplier close to me (yay !). Thanks, I'm feeling a bit more relaxed now I know small jawed dogs can manage

[Willowisp]

Just given doggie her first, slightly frozen chicken wing....she's doing great !

Thanks - will be using us the rest of the dry food though as opened a new pack the other day & also she's going to doggie daycare when we go on hols, good start though - please don't let her choke...

[multipoodles]

Willow, good going hope you've got over the shock of feeding raw, first time is nerve wrecking. Toy poodle can eat a wing in about 5 mins, she takes her time, Inca the big girl can swallow one in under a minute. No need to buy a special hammer, just a whack or two on the long bone while the wing is intact is all you need, and after a few wings she'll manage one all alone. First few weeks I poo watched all the time, initially there will be fragments of bone in the poo, don't panic this is normal, bone is much softer than you think and after the stomach acids it is soft. This will clear after a while as the digestive system regulates to eating raw food with bone. Also it is quick common for dogs to vomit up a little bone, usually a good few hours after eating, maybe even the next morning, there will just be some bile and a wee bit of bone, again looking sharp but it's not really. All this settles down.

Raw food is what dogs digestive systems are designed for, it is digested quickly unlike kibble, some dogs will be sick a little in the mornings, just bile again and only because there stomachs are empty, I always give a little breakfast just because I know tummies are empty (and I don't like my tummy empty!).

Hope you enjoy feeding raw, it really is so natural and as you watch your dog eating you do see satisfaction on their faces, I know I do.. crunch crunch crunch :)

[multipoodles]

Willow forgot to say, no I'm not connected to poodles in need, if I was the house would be full and my husband would be over the hills and far away :) They do a great job and only wish I could take them all, our toy was rescue.

[Willowisp]

I felt very proud of her..strange isn't it, I half expected her to do wolf like tricks after eating it.

Took her about 5 mins. She stood up eating it, then laid down. I went over to check & she was down the garden, having a poo !

Thanks for all the extra info, I've got a great list about adding veg/egg etc. I'll just stick with the chicken wings 1 x a day I think, with the dry food, just so I can get some space in the freezer & my shopping up to date - do you think that will be ok ? I'm worried about the balance but hear what you are saying ref mixing it up over the week to be balanced.

I asked about PIN because I rehomed my mums poodle with them & they were fantastic. Bit of a long story, but he's got a new home now with experienced poodle owners so very happy.

I will have to look into this for my fat cat too.