[Hound Dog Mom]

I’ve noticed over the past week or so that, both here on the forums and on the review threads on dfa, several posters have had concerns about feeding rmb’s – what types are safe, how much should the dog be chewing, what if their dog is gulper, how big of a piece can a dog safely swallow, etc. I’m going to post two short clips of one of my dogs eating an rmb. The first is her eating a turkey neck and the second is her eating a chicken back. Hopefully these clips can give those that are either new to feeding rmb’s or contemplating feeding rmb’s an idea of what to expect and what it should look like. I know I was also very nervous the first time I gave my dogs rmb’s – I kept thinking “What if the piece they swallowed was too big and they get a blockage?” “What if one of the edges they swallowed was too sharp and they get an intestinal perforation?” etc. Also, weimlove has put together a great topic for listing what types of rmb’s people safely feed their dogs here: /forums/topic/rmbs-and-recreational-bones/

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[URL=http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/MVI_1997_zps67e39b25.mp4][IMG]http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/th_MVI_1997_zps67e39b25.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[Hound Dog Mom]

Well that didn’t work. I’ll try this.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Well scratch that idea. I can’t figure out how to post a video on here.

[shelties mom]

Are chicken feet good to feed as part of their diet? My dogs are 15 lbs each and turkey necks are too big for them.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Chicken feet are great to feed, they’re the perfect size for smaller dogs too. Chicken feet are very rich in glucosamine and chondroitin so they help keep the joints healthy.

[weimlove]

I found some pork neck bones for a great price at the store, are they safe for teeth?

[Hound Dog Mom]

I feed my dogs pork necks. They’re soft enough that they can be consumed entirely by large dogs and would be considered a “raw meaty bone” rather than a recreational bone. I’ve been feeding them quite a bit lately because I can get them for only $0.65 per lb.

[Hound Dog Mom]

p.s. Raw pork should be frozen for at least 3 weeks before feeding.

[InkedMarie]

Get the video and info to dr mike, it should probably be a stickie.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I wish I could figure out how to make the videos show up. I’ve got pictures figured out but not videos..

[Hound Dog Mom]

(Going to try a different method)

Gertie eating a turkey neck:

Gertie eating a chicken back (Mabel and Gus providing the background music):

[Hound Dog Mom]

WOO HOO! I figured out how to post videos! 🙂

[pugmomsandy]

Do tell!!

[Hound Dog Mom]

I was trying to use the link on Photobucket before and it didn’t work. So I tried uploaded to vimeo and just posted the URL and it worked.

[InkedMarie]

I wish I old say I showed that to Steve but tht old gross him out!
Love the background vocals, too 🙂

[NectarMom]

Well I am super impressed with the way they put that away so quickly. Gosh I so want to do this with my girls. I don’t have a clue where to begin though and where to get organic turkey anything around here. We have a fresh market but I doubt they would have turkey necks. My girls are so much smaller that your big beautiful hounds so I am just a bit intimidated by the bones. My smallest chihuahua was eating some of the Darwin’s and I heard her crunching on a bone so I called Darwin’s to ask them if that would hurt my girl and of course they said no. I know I will look back at this in a few months and maybe a year and laugh at myself.

[NectarMom]

Sheltiesmom , couldn’t you cut the turkey necks to the appropriate size for your dogs? I plan to use PVC cutters when I feed bones to my girls but I just need to get brave like when I switched to Darwin’s , which was a HUGE step for me. I think we are headed in the right direction though 🙂

[theBCnut]

Wow HDM

Your girl eats a turkey neck like mine eat chicken necks!

BTW I LOVE her collar, perfect for a hound dog.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Thanks Patty 🙂 That was actually my exact thought when I saw the collar – it was so hound dog I had to buy it.

[theBCnut]

Back when I used to show dogs, I knew this lady that made the fanciest tooled leather collar that you ever saw. My saluki had this Egyptian themed winged collar that I got from her. But the hound people went gaga over her rope collars and I never understood until I finally saw one on a foxhound. It was a simple twist of rope all the way around except where you normally fasten it. There it had this amazing knot that was incredibly totally adjustable and the ends were finished in monkeys fists. It had places to attach a leash and tags and just appeared to be a simple rope, but was so much more. I wish I could find a collar like it now.

[shelties mom]

My shelties are too small for the turkey necks, I tried it once and they couldn’t even crunch it down. I am afraid if I cut them up in smaller pieces, they would choke on them. They get chicken necks and feet, duck necks, which they can handle just fine. I will try chicken backs next.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Chicken backs are pretty big – usually about 8-12 oz. each.

[theBCnut]

Ox tail and wings are good for small dogs too. I have a 13 lbs and 2 40 lbs dogs. When I get turkey necks, I have the butcher cut off about 3 inches from one end and then cut the rest in half. I do the same with the ox tail.

[pugmomsandy]

The pugs can consume pork ribs and sometimes you can find small turkey necks at Sprouts. Greentripe.com has calf ribs I will try when my group puts in another bulk order. I just recieved from them a dozen beef trachea and a case of tripe stuffed hooves. I’ve also noticed that Sprouts cuts their turkey backs into 2.5-3 inches wide pieces.

[shelties mom]

I want to order from greentripe.com and noticed the beef trachea and cow gullets, do you feed those like chews? Have you tried their tripe combinations?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Trachea and gullet are great. Yes you’d feed them like chews. I’ve ordered tracheas from My Pet Carnivore – the dogs love them and they last a lot longer than the dried trachea chews. Trachea and gullet and both almost pure cartilage so they are high in glucosamine and chondroitin – great for the joints. The great thing about raw trachea is they’re very easy to slice into smaller segments for smaller dogs, you can just use scissors.

[shelties mom]

Thanks HDM, I’m learning so much from you and from everyone’s experience. Couple more questions, what is the percentage of the tripe/organ mix should I add to their food? And do I need to worry about adding calcium with tripe/organ mix? I understand tripe alone have the perfect ratio of calcium.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Sheltie’s Mom –

If you’re feeding a balanced commercial food you don’t need to add any organ meat and I’d keep the tripe to 20% or less of the meal. If you’re making your own food organ meat should account for 10% of the diet (5% liver and 5% other organs) and tripe can account for as much of the other 90% of the diet as you want. Tripe has a 1:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio so calcium doesn’t have to be supplemented to account for the tripe. Organ meat is very rich in phosphorus and contains almost no calcium so you’ll want to add around 1,200 mg. calcium per pound of organ meat fed. Gullet and trachea contain mostly cartilage and a small amount of muscle meat – they have close to a 1:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio. If you’re just feeding trachea or gullet once in awhile as a chew, I wouldn’t worry about balancing the calcium to phosphorus ratio.

[pugmomsandy]

Sheltiesmom,

I haven’t given them yet. This is my first time ordering them (trachea and cow hooves). I already have a tube of tripe and a tub of homemade raw thawing out so I will try the new stuff out later. But I have used the GT.com tripe (regular and xcaliber). I now have a local source for tripe so I probably won’t be ordering that particular item from GT.com. I’ll post some pictures next week of the trachea and cow hooves. I saw the calf ribs while I was picking up my order and your dog could definitely eat those. They were about the width of lamb ribs which mine have eaten before.

[shelties mom]

pugmomsandy,
I placed my order for Xkaliber and tripe/trachea/gullet mix after reading that’s what HDM feeds her dogs, I figured the more variety the better. One of my shelties had dental work done so I have to be careful not to feed hard chews. They don’t care for the dried trachea chews from pet stores, so I’m interested to hear how your dogs like the raw tracheas, maybe I’ll get some next time. It will be a while before I place another order so no hurry.

[weimlove]

Are turkey wings safe to give?

[pugmomsandy]

Turkey wings are safe to eat as long as your dog is not a gulper!

[weimlove]

Pugmomsandy- ok great! Shadows definitely not a gulper so I’ll see how he does with it tonight. Are they safe for teeth?

[theBCnut]

I definitely give turkey wings, I even feed turkey legs, well actually since I got my new meat cleaver, I feed whole turkeys, in pieces of course.

[weimlove]

Patty, ok thanks for the reassurance. I kept reading that turkey wings can splinter so I just wanted to make sure.

[theBCnut]

Cooked turkey wings can definitely splinter, no problem raw.

[DogFoodie]

Hey guys,

I was thinking about sanitizing bones. We have about half a dozen half eaten marrow bones laying around today. They were inside and outside ~ they got dirty and gross. I was wondering how long was too long for a bone to be left out? I picked them all up, rinsed them off and put them in a big Ziplock in the fridge, but wondered if I should drop them in boiling water for a minute or something before I give them back to the dogs to gnaw on again.

[pugmomsandy]

Betsy,

Hmmmm…no answers for you on that one! I don’t believe I ever have half eaten marrow bones laying around! For large bones like a lamb shank, I’ve tried to rinse the grass and dirt off with just water and put them in the frig for a day and after that back in the freezer, dirt/grass and all. It gives them a little fiber and soil based organisms!

[theBCnut]

Everything I’ve read says to refreeze them not to boil them, that would be cooking.

[pugmomsandy]

Here’s the GT.com trachea. It was actually about 16-18 inches! I was able to cut it with my regular knife and I used the boning knife also. It was easier to hold. I haven’t fed it yet since it’s been pouring down rain here for a the next couple days!

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/beeftrachea6_zps6fabdea6.jpg

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/beeftrachea2_zpsd3236fb6.jpg

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/beeftrachea3_zpsda25588b.jpg

[NectarMom]

Well I would say you sliced that up pretty well. I got my marrow bones from Darwin’s and they told me on the phone they were 2-3 inches each and might I just say these things are huge. I have no idea how my tiny girls would be able to do anything with these. They need chewing exercise and I have no clue now what to get. I gave them a mercola soft chew and that thing had my one girl so bloated and my other one has started chewing on her side again after not doing that for so long. Acid reflux is back also and I am not sure what has caused that. I gave Raw yesterday morning and yesterday evening and Raw this morning , they have had no kibble since tues evening and thats when they had the mercola soft chew. I dunno.

My vet said I may have to cut down protein and fat. Does anyone know how much protein and fat is in Darwin’s Raw turkey. They get 1/2lb total each a day of Raw.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi NectarMom –

Darwin’s turkey formula is 46% protein and 27% fat.

[pugmomsandy]

NectarMom,

I found small marrow bones at Kroger. 1 inch to 1.5 inches in length and about 3 inches across.

[NectarMom]

Thanks Sandy I will look there today. I was at Walmart yesterday and only saw Ox tail? I wasn’t sure about it so I didn’t get any but it was a great price for so many and they were the perfect size and I did not know if I could freeze them.

[theBCnut]

Ox tail is great and yes you can freeze it.

[NectarMom]

Thanks Patty!

[NectarMom]

It was a beautiful day outside today and so I decided to lay out some dog pads and give the girls a Darwin’s Raw Marrow bone and 10 min after they were really into it Sally my tricolored chihuahua went across the yard and started throwing up so I took hers away and put it back up. The other three chewed on the marrow bone all excited and now 3hrs later runny poop everywhere and my one with intestinal allergies is bloated very bad 🙁 It looks to me we found the intestinal allergy protein to avoid with her. Just a few minutes a go (4hrs after the marrow bones) one of my other chihuahuas was in our bed and started heaving to throw up so I grabbed her and put her in the floor in time for her to throw up. It is looking like beef is not our best friend. Has anyone else had this issue? 3 out of the four of our dogs ate at least 1/2 the marrow out of the bone, did they maybe eat too much in one sitting? I know it seems I keep having issues with things introduced to my dogs but I am so frustrated with trying things that in some way keep back firing and causing my dogs more painful issues. They have no problem with the raw Darwin’s turkey meals so the only thing I can figure is that its because it is beef?

[theBCnut]

Marrow is very high in fat, so it could be that too. My JRT only gets the marrow bones after the other dogs have eaten most of the marrow. I usually give rib bones to her. I get mutton and goat ribs from Hare Today.

[pugmomsandy]

NectarMom,

Sorry to hear about the situation. I didn’t think that “fat” had proteins in it. So I’m not sure about an intolerance other than from the amount of fat itself. Maybe a limited amount of time with the marrow bones at first and then slowly let them have it for longer periods of time. If you think your dogs can’t have the marrow bones, you can get the marrow out by boiling and stuff the empty bones with something else so they can still gnaw on them – like yogurt or even stuff some of the Darwin’s turkey in there and refreeze so they have to work to get it out.

[weimlove]

Nectar mom, when I first started my Weimaraner on raw I gave him a lamb leg bone that was very fatty. At 2 am that night, he had gotten up twice throwing up fat and pieces of bone. Sometimes there is just too much fat. Are you new to raw? If so, your pups stomachs may have just not been ready to tolerate such a high fat level.

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