For those that feed a raw diet...I have a question

ORIGINAL: ownedby2pugs

Hi everyone,

I am in the process of reading books and websites and forums on the raw diet. I want to switch my 2 pugs over to this diet but want to learn more about it before I do so. I've ordered 5 books so far...just waiting for them to come in. []  Most were suggested by people feeding raw already, books that the Whole Dog Journal suggested, and I ordered the Raw Dog Recipes off of Monica Segal's website, Switching to Raw by Sue Johnson, The BARF Diet by Ian Billinghurst...just to name a few of what I've ordered.

I have a question about the whole feeding bones though....I don't want to feed my girls the bones as I'm very terrified of them choking. Can I buy a grinder and grind up the bones and feed them the Raw Meaty Bones ground up? I've read that you don't have to feed the bones and you can supplement with Calcium but if I can just grind the bones and feed them that, I'd rather do that. I'm very new to this. Thanks in advance!!  []

 
 I have fed my dogs on raw for many years and i am so happy that i made the right decision. Dogs have no trouble chewing uncooked bones, but cooked bones are something i would never give to my dogs. They are more dangerous than uncooked bones because uncooked bones are very soft and gentle to dogs stomach.  They are harder to swallow and chew than uncooked bones. I usually give my dogs bones with raw meat along with it.
 
  If you are nervoud about feeding raw, you can start with this first. You need to switch your dogs to raw easily because they can get a horrible dirrhea for first few weeks. You will want to stock up with a canned pumpkin to help their stools to make it more firm.
 
[linkhttp://www.thehonestkitchen.com/index.shtml]http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/index.shtml[/link]

  Welcome to the forum; Yes, you can grind the bones. It's also easy to buy calcium citrate or calcium carbonate and add that instead. You will find a lot of differences in some of the books you purchased; for example, Monica Segal's raw recipes are more complicated than Billinghurst, but she is a nutritionist and IMO knows more about balancing a dog's diet. Good luck in your research. I use pre-made raw since I don't feed an all raw diet so there will be others along more knowledgeable; I hope you enjoy the forum.[]

I am in the minority, granted, but I always feel compelled to say that bones can break teeth (happened to my guys).  Just a heads up.
 
As far as grinding goes, I know some people do this with chicken bones - I have heard of people using a Northern Tools grinder.  But, it won't do beef and I don't know about lamb.
 
I, too, have read many books and do encourage doing that.  But, I ended up being confused and not finding one book that really worked for me (I am home- cooking) - although I still have them and still reference them.   
 
Some sites that I found helpful were 1) b naturals site.  The April 2006 newletter is about cooking food, but there is another one (March 2006 maybe) that deals with raw.    2) dogaware site.
3) yahoo group called k9nutrition.  and I am sure there is a yahoo group dedicated to raw feeders.
 
I know the percentage of bone is important. I don't have my notes with me, and don't know it for sure since I don't raw feed, but it's something like 40% -50% raw meaty bones and the remainder of regular meat without bones and 5%-10% liver and kidney fed in small amounts every day (not a lot of organ at one time).  I know too much bone can cause constipation and even impaction.  Too little bone is not enough calcium.    Again, this is going from memory since I homecook and add in calcium from other sources than bone.
 
Did want to say to consider not buying a grinder until you find out more since it may not end up being what you decide to do......just a thought since they are not cheap.  It's a matter of opinion on whether bone really is important.  Calcium - yes, important.  Whether the calcium provided be from a bone source is debatable - and whether you really want to do that grinding.
 
What I am finding out is that you have to balance the needs of your dog (still learning alot about that), but you also have to balance your time and energies and what you are willing to spend time doing.  I am not trying to talk you out of grinding bones........I am just saying that you also have to find out what works for you long term - and whether that extra step of grinding and clean up is something that you will want to do long term is something to think about before you buy a grinder.
 
Good luck, and last, but not least, welcome to the forum!

Welcome!  I am owned by Pugs, too.

It's such a confusing process, IMO, and it takes a lot of planning and learning.  I don't feed exclusively raw (yet), I still am wary that I won't do something correctly.  I found the [linkhttp://b-naturals.com/newsindex.php]B Naturals[/link] site to be extremely helpful, [linkhttp://www.dogaware.com]DogAware[/link], and also [linkhttp://www.rawdogranch.com]Raw Dog Ranch[/link].  I still get confused, but I think that's the point - there are different opinions and methods, because different dogs react to different things.  Ultimately, you have to decide what your dogs need.  That's why I am so nervous about making the leap completely.  I'd love to find a raw feeders co-op in my area, but sadly, I live in the center of Old Roy Country.

I do give my Pugs recreational/marrow/soup bones to chew, but not the RMB's (chicken wings, etc).  I wish I could, but they are not just gulpers, they are inhalers!  So for now, I use the eggshell supp. 

Good luck, I hope you find lots of enlightenment here.

I don't feed a full raw diet, but my dogs do get a 2-3 raw meals a week, and as a pug owner myself allow me to make some suggestions: if your pugs are anything like mine, then they are gulpers.  Watch how they eat and what they eat.  For example, when I started with chicken hearts my pug just inhales it whole.  You may need to hand feed to prevent swallowing larger pieces.I've fed whole chickens, chicken quarters, wings, necks, pork shanks, beef, quail, various innards, list goes on. 

I have never grinded anything, and my pug is still alive and well though it has swallowed sharp pointy bones countless times.  Yes you will stay up at night worrying the first time your pugs swallow a sharp bone chip, but time after time it has been digested.  I try to pick apart sharper pieces when I see them, but it is inevitable when feeding RMB that the dog will create and eat fragments of bone.

Don't forget to include veggies and innards, and of course you should always take note at the first sign of discomfort.