[tides]

My dog – an 11 lb rescue who is probably a Lhasa/Yorkie mix – does okay on kibble, but I want to supplement with raw/do raw food several times a week. I think it would do her well, especially as she gets a little older.

The biggest issue that I have is the fact that she’s very allergic to chicken, raw or cooked. When I first adopted her, I took her to multiple vets to figure out what was going on because she was so sick. Eventually, moving her to an expensive salmon-only kibble cleared everything up. I worked with that vet extensively and she does well with fish, pork, and beef, but anything with poultry tends to foul things up. Duck is iffy, but turkey and chicken are absolute no-gos. (When I adopted her from the shelter, her fur was falling out because the shelter only had one kind of kibble. As far as I know, until I took her in, she had food that made her ill.)

Right now I have her on a good beef kibble (Kirkland) that’s doing good by her. However, I’d like to supplement this with good raw food. However, I’m not sure how to approach the softy meaty bones side of things when she can’t eat poultry bones without needing an emergency vet visit (skin issues + vomiting + diarrhea). I also don’t own a meat grinder, but do have an amazing butcher, who already has a whole dog section, including organs, human-grade scraps, tripe, and marrow bones. I worry that beef marrow bones are a big/dangerous option for a little dog.

Any advice on getting this on?

[anonymous]

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/category/nutrition/

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm208365.htm?s_cid=w_c_PetHealth_cont_001

https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/choosing-the-right-diet-for-your-pet/

/forums/search/bones+obstruction/

Hopes this helps

[tides]

A couple of links about the dangers of bone obstruction and/or general dangers of raw meat/dietary guidelines actually doesn’t help very much. I want to supplement my dog’s food, rather than replace the kibble entirely, and I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t already discussed the option with her vet AND done a fair amount of research myself. I’m looking for guidelines when the vast majority of raw diet/raw supplements discusses chicken and turkey as primary food sources and my pup can’t have them.

[anonymous]

Why not supplement with cooked food? That’s what I find works. Anyway, good luck, and I hope someone else finds the links I provided helpful.

[Acroyali]

Hi Tides:

http://dogaware.com/diet/freshfoods.html

Here’s a nice article on adding fresh foods to a commercial diet.
I’m not sure if your dog could tolerate eggs since he’s so allergic to chicken. Personally, I wouldn’t risk it. I wouldn’t concern myself with the variety needed for a stand-alone raw diet if he’s still getting some commercial foods.
Beef bones aren’t the best option for consumable bones, however letting him gnaw on bones would help keep his teeth clean. The only dogs around here who don’t get recreational chew bones (beef bones) are those who chew aggressively, so much that chipping teeth is an issue.
Though I don’t feed it a lot, green beef tripe is an absolute hit in this house and the acidic nature helps keep their teeth clean, as well as all the great enzymes helping digestion. As long as the butcher gets it from a good source, I’d take him up on his offer, it sounds great!
Hope this helps get your plan off the ground!

[tides]

That helps a lot, thank you!

The butcher himself suggests the beef knuckle bones (vs marrow bones) and they’ve cut them to her size in the past. She’s not an aggressive chewer and, regardless, I tend to only give her an hour at a time with the knuckles. I have less experience with the meat/organs/tripe side of things, but you make a really good point that if she’s getting 4 days a week of commercial kibble, I have a wider margin of error.

Thank you!

[Acroyali]

Glad it helped! Best of luck!

(Keep in mind that organs are extremely nutritious but very rich, and can cause loose stools if fed in excess, so I’d go easy on the organs at least at first. Heart isn’t technically an organ (it’s a muscle meat). I can get that cheaper than some meats so we feed a lot of that.)

[Susan]

Hi Tides, gee your a good mum, it’s really good to see people feeding their dogs what their digestive tract is meant to digest & feed a Raw healthy diet even if 1 meal is raw & the other meal a dry kibble your still on the right track..
If your on Face Book join & follow “Rodney Habib” F/B page, he posted a video a couple of months ago “How to make your own balanced dog food in 3 easy steps” link posted below…Rodney has heaps of good information about feeding a healthy diet also what’s in our kibbles, how to work out the carbohydrate % & the little tricks these kibble companies do to trick us into buying their kibble & how to read the ingredient list & work out what brand kibbles are better..
If your girl cant eat chicken & turkey just be careful adding egg shell & slowly introduce just in case…
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-make-your-own-balanced-dog-food-in-3-easy-steps.html

[Cannoli]

Hi Tides,

I am not a fan of giving whole bones to my pup. No matter how much i tried teaching him to chew correctly he stubbornly chomps and swallows.

Your pup is 11lbs he might crack his tooth on that bone. Instead you can make a nice beef marrow broth and add it to the raw food. Although you probably won’t get the required calcium from the broth you can supplement it with calcium products from Amazon like calcium seaweed, bone calcium, egg shells, or ground soft bones that are finely ground. Ask your butcher to see if he can ground up some soft bones for your pup

In short you can feed raw without actually give your pup whole bones. I have been doing it for two years now.

Best of luck

[Author]

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