Raw bone feeders, question for you.

 Possible, and probable in my opinion. 

My dogs have great teeth, especially when I'm doing all raw, but even now, when I'm supplementing with kibble.  And their coats look better the more raw they get, unless the ratios are badly off, which doesn't happen when I'm doing it, but tended to happen if Tyler was in charge.  

I don't know if its chicken with skin, probably, cause the skin has lots of oil.  Or maybe dark meat, like legs and thighs, neck and back, but my dogs have great coats on a primarily chicken diet.  I'm glad its working for Willow.  

Our guys coats are MUCH nicer since switching to raw.  They are substantially less flakey.  They don't smell like dogs.  Their teeth look great.  They have better energy levels.  I could go on & on.  Before switching to raw, I didn't believe that there would be much of a difference between it & kibble.  I'm happy to say that I was wrong.

Before I switched to raw I didnt really think there was anything "wrong" with Bailey other than his allergies. Once I switched, I couldnt believe the difference in things I never even noticed before. His skin that was always itchy and flakey was suddenly gone, and that doggy smell went away. Teeth were cleaner, his energy was better, his ears that were constantly infected and were always red/swollen.bloody from him scratching at them suddenly went back to normal. And his BREATH, that was that horrible nasty "licking their butt all day after eating cat poop and throwing it, then eating it again " breath, was gone. The benefits of raw are amazing, I'll never go back to feeding kibble again.

BEVOLASVEGAS

I didn't believe that there would be much of a difference between it & kibble. 

Oh, no I can really see a huge difference with just marrow bones.  I've given her a few pre-made raw turkey patties from Bravo.  But, that's all I'm brave enough to do.  Between her digestive issues in the past and history of immune disease it's scary. 

Thank you guys!  She really does love these marrow bones.  And, the meat guy at our store is so dog friendly.  He even cuts them to her favorite size for her. 

Oh, PS---I've noticed her poop seemed a little yellowish after a bone.  Is that something any of you are familiar with?  She was fine and no diarrhea or anything. 

 My dogs can have 3 or 4 colours in their poop when they're eating raw.  And all in one poop too.  I never really worry about it unless its the wrong consitancy.  Runny, or too dry.  Yellow going in is fat, could be the same coming out if she's not processing all of it.  Marrow is pretty fatty.  But admittedly, I don't pay much attention to colour other than white.  If its too white on exit, we've got too much calcium going on...

BTW, I have no idea where I got the chicken thing from.  I read your post, I swear I did.  Anyway, marrow is a great lubricant for coat and skin.  If her itchies are from dryness, then yes for sure, marrow bones would help.  

willowchow

Oh, PS---I've noticed her poop seemed a little yellowish after a bone.  Is that something any of you are familiar with?  She was fine and no diarrhea or anything. 

It's "bone poop" for lack of a better word.  Our guys are normally lighter colored, & very firm.  If we don't clean the yard immediately, then it starts turning white as it dries.  It usually disintegrates in about two days.

FWIW Lori, Bevo used to have a terribly touchy stomach.  He had chronic loose stools.  Any food changes that I made took months of mixing old & new kibble to avoid exploding butt syndrome.  We used his kibble as treats because his stomach couldn't handle treats.  It was terrible.  When I switched him to raw, he had diarrhea after the first meal, & then his stools firmed up.  For the first time in his 4 years with me he had normal poops.

I do understand being leary of it because of the auto immune issues though.  If/when Brutus comes off prednisone, then I'm going to have to make the same decision.

BEVOLASVEGAS

I do understand being leary of it because of the auto immune issues though.  If/when Brutus comes off prednisone, then I'm going to have to make the same decision.

I was surprised to see that it was Lori posting about raw! My vet, FWIW, said no raw for Pirate, ever. And he is pretty open minded when it comes to diet, so I'm going with his opinion on this one. I see those nice juicy marrow bones and I am sooooo tempted, because I know Pirate would love it, but I just can't do it.

 My girls always look better if they're getting marrow bones regularly. Something about the raw meat and fat is just GOOD for them (of course, they're all sort of healthy-ish, with no immune suppressing drugs around). I'm going to have to keep the marrow out for Jewel, who appears to have a pretty serious fat sensitivity, but the others get them intact.

 Tootsie, gets a marrow bone 2x a week. Her teeth are great. I believe that her amazing coat is from the salmon oil and vit.e, though.

sl2crmeg

BEVOLASVEGAS

I do understand being leary of it because of the auto immune issues though.  If/when Brutus comes off prednisone, then I'm going to have to make the same decision.

 

I was surprised to see that it was Lori posting about raw! My vet, FWIW, said no raw for Pirate, ever. And he is pretty open minded when it comes to diet, so I'm going with his opinion on this one. I see those nice juicy marrow bones and I am sooooo tempted, because I know Pirate would love it, but I just can't do it.

Our vet doesn't really have an opinion, good or bad, about us feeding raw.  Our holistic, along with the specialists who treated Bru both advocate raw feeding after he comes off of immunosuppressive drugs. 

tiffy

I believe that her amazing coat is from the salmon oil and vit.e, though.

When we fed kibble, I was sure that the nice coats were because of the supplements that I was adding.  Now, we don't add supplements & their coats are even better.

Well, Willow's vet was sort of saying no raw at first too. And, I'm not really sure I want to tell her I didn't follow that bit of advice.  I am careful though about quality and freshness.  I've only done beef marrow bones that were fresh for human consumption--people usually make soup with them around here.  And, a few pre made raw patties.  I mostly give those to my cats though. 

But, I'm really damned if I do, damned if I don't with the bones.  She needed a dental YESTERDAY before the bones.  Now, I think I might be able to get away with skipping it.  I'm not totally sure because she does still have some redness at the gumline.  I'm not sure if this will resolve without scaling. 

I had to weigh the risks of bones vs anesthesia.  She had a very hard time with her spay and that was 7 years ago.  The breed doesn't do well with anesthesia at all and Willow is no exception. 

BEVOLASVEGAS

When we fed kibble, I was sure that the nice coats were because of the supplements that I was adding.  Now, we don't add supplements & their coats are even better.

Yeah, her vet even recently told me to stop the fish oil.  She had gone to a seminar and they were saying in certain situations it can actually make the skin worse.  I'm pretty sure I see a big difference with the bones.  I'm glad you guys are verifying this for me. 

sl2crmeg

I was surprised to see that it was Lori posting about raw!

LOL, Meg!!  I had experimented with ground raw and some pre made patties way before Willow got sick.  She's such a fussy eater.  I need to change up the toppers in order to keep her interested.