Dog Community

What first RMB to give?

Posted : 4/14/2006 8:49:52 PM

OK, so I have read enough and know that a RMB would be really good for my dog's teeth. I am sure it would be good for their diet too but right now I am thinking about teeth. I feed Innova twice a day and want to start adding a RMB on occasion. If I were doing it primarily to help with bad breath and to keep teeth clean, how often would you suggest I do it and what kind would you suggest I start with?

I someday would love to feed homecooked too but am not sure that I could keep that up year round and want to take it one step at a time, so if I started feeding homecooked, I would probably go with pre-made. Any brands you would suggest to test out?

I have a 6 year old Boston Terrier that is about 15 lbs and a 6 month old min pin that is about 5 pounds.....I would prefer to feed them the same thing as long as it wouldn't hurt one or the other. Any advice is appreciated as my DH will be totally against this when I do it even though I have non chalantly mentioned it many times in the past few weeks and he hasn't voiced any objections. He probably just doesn't think I am serious and certainly doesn't realize the benefits or even want to hear that school of thought. He is of the thought that raw meat is BAD!! You know that drill I am sure.

glenmar

Posted : 4/15/2006 6:31:20 AM

My big old german shepherds chow down on pork hocks, sometimes pork neck bones, and chicken leg quarters. For little ones maybe a chicken wing? Or a wing tip for the tiny min pin

I spend about 60-90 minutes a week on homecooked...I make three 20 quart pots at a time right now...usually make two at a time for the week, but I'm stocking the freezer for our upcoming move. But to be honest, I do have a lot of stuff pre-prepped and in the freezer. I use sweet taters as my carb source and those are done and out of the way, as is my organ meat. But if you can spare an hour every two-three weeks and have space in your freezer to store their meals, homecooking is not terribly time consuming. Your two dogs don't come CLOSE to equaling ONE of my six, so you wouldn't need to spend much time at all on cooking.

If you would like to have my recipe, send me an EMAIL and I'll send it along. I do ask that you at least consider a donation for the MS Walk I'm doing in June. I've raised over $1100 now, with a $1500 goal. Mostly thanks to idoggers.

boneyjean

Posted : 4/15/2006 11:58:17 AM

Thanks for the response Glenda...I know you are super busy right now.

Do you think a chicken leg would be too big for the min pin? I don't unless you jus tthink it would be too much meat. Something about a wing makes me nervous b/c the bones are so small and the little one is a swallower.

I PM'd you for the recipe and I will be happy to make another donation. I was just thinking about it the other day in fact since you are so close to your goal! I wish I just had $400 I could send but I don't so something smaller will do! I know you appreciate every penny for the cause!

Lauri S.

Posted : 4/15/2006 1:18:36 PM

ORIGINAL: boneyjean

Something about a wing makes me nervous b/c the bones are so small and the little one is a swallower.

Take the wing, dislocate the joints but don't cut it apart. Now stretch it all the way open so you have one long piece instead of the tri-fold. That way it's almost impossible for a dog to swallow without SOME chewing. And you can hold onto one end while the MP works on the other.

smilee1079

Posted : 4/15/2006 2:37:37 PM

Zoe is 10 lbs. and I gave her a chicken leg and it was fine

. I also give her rec bones in the form of a marrow bone. I also feed Innova and when I give her the bone, I either use a chicken leg to replace a meal... (which is only 1/3 cup innova) or the rec bone as a treat. I give them once a week or so but I need to actually stick to that... I have not found marrow bones in the right size lately.

glenmar

Posted : 4/15/2006 4:38:33 PM

You are right, all donations are GREATLY appreciated. I'm upstairs so will send the recipe to you when I go DOWNstairs....it's on that puter!

boneyjean

Posted : 4/15/2006 6:22:15 PM

OK so this might be a crazy question, but does it matter if you leave the skin on or should I take it off, or does it add any nutritional benefits??? Also, should I go ahead and clean it like I would if I were going to cook it for myself...basically just running it under the faucet to get any slime off.

Obviously this is my first time to try this! Thanks for all the input from everyone. I know my dogs will be really happy when they get this.

And one more thing, what exactly is a rec bone?? Maybe it just hasn't hit me yet but I can't think of what that is?
Thanks

smilee1079

Posted : 4/15/2006 9:35:49 PM

I dunno about cleaning, but I left the skin on. A rec bone is not consumable. Therefore, after your dog eats the little amount of meat from the bone (at least the marrow bones I get don't have a ton of meat... and take out some of the marrow from the middle the first few times you serve it since it is rich and you want to make sure your doggies are ok with it) the bone will still be whole. The dogs CANNOT eat the bone... it is too hard.

A rmb or raw meat bone is more like the chicken leg in which the dog will eat the meat and the bone.

Both are good for the teeth. Zoe goes back to old rec. bones later to give her teeth a good scraping

.

glenmar

Posted : 4/16/2006 5:22:22 AM

Ummm, actually, some of them can chip away at the marrow bones, so do be sure to supervise. I don't think that the marrow bones actually do much of anything for the teeth....from what I understand it's the ripping of the meat from the bone that helps to clean the teeth so it's the rmb's that are the biggest help.

kennel_keeper

Posted : 4/16/2006 12:33:24 PM

You might want to "work up to" a whole leg. If you give too much to start off with, you may get some stomach upset. Not feeding chicken myself, I'm not sure, but that what I did before giving my little chi's raw short ribs. I did try chicken gizzards, livers, and hearts once and they got diarrhea from them (and only ate one or two each). Needless to say, we don't do that anymore unless they are cooked first.

Glenda, I have a question. You stated:
"from what I understand it's the ripping of the meat from the bone that helps to clean the teeth so it's the rmb's that are the biggest help. "
If this is the case, why give consumable bones? I was under the impression that the chewable chicken bones (or other soft bones) were the major contributor of the cleaning process. The meat-pulling was only somewhat helpful.

smilee1079

Posted : 4/16/2006 12:52:08 PM

Zoe definitely scratches her teeth and helps get them clean on the marrow bones, moreso than pulling meat from them since they aren't very much meat. I can see how both would be good for the dog. The ones I get are like 2 inches wide and come 4-6 to a 1 lb. package in the meat section of the grocery store. I know they sell bigger ones too.

Also, I agree, always supervise!

glenmar

Posted : 4/16/2006 1:07:33 PM

I guess that it must be both then, but recreational bones do not do much for teeth cleaning, that I know for certain.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 4/16/2006 1:14:03 PM

Emma only gets recreational bones, and her teeth are spotless. Of course, she eats no kibble, but..... The only bones she gets any more are marrow bones. Teenie gets all kinds of bones, and her teeth are equally lovely.

olinda

Posted : 4/18/2006 7:26:33 PM

Hi,

When I feed bones, I usually take the skin off (non needed extra fat) and rinse them out. Also a rec bone would be anything they would have to gnaw at for a while..like ribs..mine usually does not eat he will pick at the meat and gnaw at the bone for a while...I also give him beef knee caps and that will keep him entertained for a while.