Turkey Wings or Necks?

[erinwagner]

I have a 13 week old lab....he is a major gulper. He choked on a turkey neck this weekend. I am about to place another order and was just wondering....would I be better off with turkey wings instead? He tends to chew his chicken wings better than his chicken necks so I thought perhaps the same would hold true for turkey wings.

[DaneMama]

What do you mean he choked? Do you mean you had to save him or did he bring it back up himself?

Turkey necks are better for him at this point since the bones are much more pliable and soft. Turkey wing bones are very dense and can be hard for some dogs to get through. Lots of people don't like feeding them because the bones are so dense that they tend to break into larger chunks.

[erinwagner]

I guess I don't know if we saved him but he was making strange wimpers in his crate and I opened the door and saw that he had a small amount of food left in his bowl....which is very abnormal because he is such a piglet. He stumbled out and his stomach looked HUGE and he was having a hard time breathing. He wasn't gagging or even trying to retch like they do right before they vomit. Hubby squeezed on his ribcage and massaged him in that area and he he must have swallowed it.....it didn't come back up at all....and then he was fine but I would have to say he was in distress. I guess I could try holding the other end of it while he chews on it to slow him down a bit...I just thought perhaps the wings would be a better choice for him since he's a gulper. I'm hoping he outgrows this habit.

[whiteleo]

Dogs should always be watched when feeding raw, not just put in their crate and fed...You could either hold one end of the turkey neck or do what a lot of us do and cut them lengthwise, so they aren't as thick...I use a rubber mallet and a cleaver to do this.

[erinwagner]

I was watching....I always do....he just eats in his crate to keep him away from the other dog's food......and to contain the mess.

[luvMyBRT]

Back when my BRT was a puppy he swallowed a whole turkey neck. Yes, a whole turkey neck. He didn't choke, but it freaked me out...because whole turkey necks are pretty big. What I started to do was to cut my turkey necks in half length wise, so the turkey neck still had it's length, but wasn't as thick. Then I just fed him the neck in two pieces. That way if he still gulped them down they where less likely to get stuck because they weren't as thick. He probably would have been fine if I hadn't done anything, but it made ME feel better to cut them in half....and we have to do what makes us feel comfortable.

Cutting turkey necks in half length wise takes some practice. I suggest getting a rubber mallet and a nice meat cleaver to do the job if your gonna give it a try.

[shellbell]

What size turkey neck did you give him? The young hen ones are about half the size of the adult tom ones. I give my labs adult tom size, which are about 16 oz each. Two of them are gulpers but have never had choking issues on these.

[DaneMama]

It may be that he gobbled it down without much chewing and the sheer size and shape of it was uncomfortable in his tummy. It doesn't sound like he was choking as you'd know it for sure if he was. You would have to do the heimlich on him to try and dislodge what he swallowed.

I would try holding it for him before cutting one in half, because cutting it in half just makes it easier for him to swallow it whole.

[erinwagner]

Maybe you are right because it almost looked like it was sitting cross ways in his stomach....it was kind of strange. It was like he was as wide as he was long for a second there. This was a whole one cut in half but not length wise.....it weighed about 6 oz. I'll have to try holding it for him....it's quite the process trying to figure out everyone's quirks and habits. I hope he does outgrow this one.

[DaneMama]

Maybe you are right because it almost looked like it was sitting cross ways in his stomach....it was kind of strange. It was like he was as wide as he was long for a second there. This was a whole one cut in half but not length wise.....it weighed about 6 oz. I'll have to try holding it for him....it's quite the process trying to figure out everyone's quirks and habits. I hope he does outgrow this one.

Its through experiences like this that the concept of "know thy dog" is formed. I would try and give him one that isn't cut in half at all. Hold it for him to chew on at first. See how it goes...