# Feeding Raw Bones



## Simon (Jun 17, 2008)

I have been feeding Simon raw bones but each time I do, the next day his stool is very dry and he whines and runs to chase his butt. Has anyone else had these problems? Any suggestions? I have been raising Dals for many years and this is the first rescue that I have had. We noticed that he doesn't drink much water and have to put meat juices in his water to get him to drink. Then shortly after he has to go out to pee. Seems like he has a small bladder. He doesn't have a problem at all with raw meat, just bones that make his stool dry. 
Penda


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Simon said:


> I have been feeding Simon raw bones but each time I do, the next day his stool is very dry and he whines and runs to chase his butt. Has anyone else had these problems? Any suggestions? I have been raising Dals for many years and this is the first rescue that I have had. We noticed that he doesn't drink much water and have to put meat juices in his water to get him to drink. Then shortly after he has to go out to pee. Seems like he has a small bladder. He doesn't have a problem at all with raw meat, just bones that make his stool dry.
> Penda


Exactly what are you feeding and how long have you been feeding bones? What are you feeding besides bones?


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## lulusmom (Sep 29, 2008)

Has he had his anal glands expressed. Sometimes they become impacted and it is quite painful if the dog has a bowel movement, especially a dry one. I don't know if your rescue has been neutered but unaltered dogs are also prone to perianal adenomas which are very painful as well.

If the dog is constipated, try some canned pumpkin. Make sure it is the plain pumpkin with nothing added. You can also use a rectal thermometer and wiggle things around a bit to loosen it up. I also heard that you can use a turkey baster to give a warm water enema.


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## Simon (Jun 17, 2008)

I feed Simon other raw meats plus canned meat. He is neutered and only has these bowel movements when he eats bones. He loves them and it really occupies his time so I want to continue feeding them to him. This is also a dog that doesn't drink a lot of water. I take soup broth and add it to his water to make him drink. Last time I gave him a bone I gave him broth plus a tablespoon of olive oil before and after the bone. His stool was still very dry but he didn't have trouble or cry out in pain. I never heard of pumpkin for constipation but will try it.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Simon said:


> I feed Simon other raw meats plus canned meat.


I'm still not sure what he eats. This is important. What meats? Are they meat only or a meaty bone? An animal part or a patty of some sort?



> He is neutered and only has these bowel movements when he eats bones.


What kind of bones exactly? Meaty bones or bare bones? Bones from what kind of animal? Whole bones or ground bone?



> He loves them and it really occupies his time so I want to continue feeding them to him.


I'm sure you will be able to but I need more information now.



> This is also a dog that doesn't drink a lot of water.


If you are feeding raw meat plus canned meat, he is getting plenty of water. Regular meat is 70% water. Canned meat has a lot of water also. If he is thirsty he will drink.



> I take soup broth and add it to his water to make him drink. Last time I gave him a bone I gave him broth plus a tablespoon of olive oil before and after the bone.


No need to do that. He is getting plenty of water.



> His stool was still very dry but he didn't have trouble or cry out in pain. I never heard of pumpkin for constipation but will try it.


White powdery dry stools are a symptom of too much bone in the diet. Don't use the pumpkin as you are masking the symptoms you need to see to get the bone adjusted in his diet.

I need to know exactly what he eats. meat, canned meat, bone is not nearly enough information. I need to know what kind of meat, how much you are feeding, how much canned dog food, and what kind of bone, in what form and how much you are feeding. Is he a puppy or a full grown dog?


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## lulusmom (Sep 29, 2008)

It's true that if a dog is thirsty he will drink but some dogs truly do not drink enough water. When a dog doesn't drink enough, the urine is highly concentrated and PH is high which creates a breeding ground for urinary stones. I feed all my dogs raw but I add chicken broth to one bowl for my little girl as she has Cushing's, has had two bladder stone surgeries and is spilling protein in her urine. If your dog's pee is normal in color then I wouldn't worry about it but if it's very dark yellow or orange, then he's probably not getting enough water. Unfortunately, my dogs ate commercial crap and were vaccinated every year for the first five years of their lives so who the heck knows what damage was done. Don't take anything for granted and don't take any advice from people that don't know your dog's history.

If your dog can't poop, don't let him suffer....give him plain pumpkin. I learned this a long time ago when doing research on the raw diet.  If you Google raw food and constipation, you'll find that most raw food sites recommend the pumpkin. Just make sure it's pure pumpkin. You'll also see that RawFedDogs is correct that too much bone will cause constipation.


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## Simon (Jun 17, 2008)

We think Simon may have been trained not to drink water when house broken or it may have been withheld. He is a rescue and we got him when he was 2 1/2. We have had him five months. That being said, and we don't know his "spotted (Dalmatian) past", he doesn't even drink water after racing around at the dog park until we get him back in the car, and even then he doesn't drink much. 

I feed him Trader Joe's rice and lamb, one can per day, plus Fresh Pet Select, (available now in my local grocery store). Included with his meals I give him one raw egg per day, with raw veggies like carrots or broccoli ground up and raw burger meat. In between, we suppliment him with raw bones. Sometimes they have meat on them, sometimes not. I have been having a hard time finding a grocery store that has bones at all because it seems they get their meat already boned. I just bought an order of soup bones but there is not much meat on them at all. What ever happened to the local butcher shop? His urine is yellow, not orange and they are beef bones. I haven't tried the pumpkin as yet. Thanks for all your suggestions.


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## lulusmom (Sep 29, 2008)

Just a suggestion....next time you go to the vet ask him or her to do a urinalysis. The urine specific gravity and PH are a good indicator as to whether or not your dog is getting enough water.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Simon said:


> I feed him Trader Joe's rice and lamb, one can per day, plus Fresh Pet Select, (available now in my local grocery store).


I can't find any information about Trader Joe's dog foods so I can't comment on it. It's canned so it has somewhere around 79% to 80% water. The Fresh Pet Select is around 73% water. So, with that much water, your dog doesn't need much more. For every pound of food you are feeding him, he is getting about 3/4 pound of water.



> Included with his meals I give him one raw egg per day, with raw veggies like carrots or broccoli ground up and raw burger meat.


The mixes you are feeding him have more than enough veggies in them without adding to them.



> In between, we suppliment him with raw bones.


Stop thinking of bones to feed your dog. Think instead of animal parts that contain bone. When you go to a butcher or grocery store and ask for bones for your dog, you invariably get bones with no or almost no meat on them. Think chicken quarters for a dog the size of yours. Every grocery store in the world sells chicken quarters pretty cheap. I would make a meal of a chicken quarter and feed the other stuff for other meals. Don't think of supplementing with bones, think of feeding a meal of meat covering a bone.

Soup bones, femur bones, etc are not the bones you want to feed your dog. They are too dense for him and CAN chip, crack, or break a tooth. I have heard of that happening to several dogs. Raw chicken bones are relatively soft and plyable and do a good job of cleaning teeth as well as being pretty easy to chew.

The problem with feeding foods like Trader Joe's or Fresh Pet Select is that it's real difficult to determine how much bone is already in the mix. I suspect that bone content in both is pretty high and that could be the problem causing your dog to have to strain when he eats another bone by itself.


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## Rexandbaby (Aug 4, 2008)

Yeah but what else besides chicken? Our Neighbor found a fresh dead deer, and he is fixing it for all or our dogs, his 3 small dogs, and mine.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Can I be your neighbor too? My dogs got venison and ate it, bones and all. It took them a little longer to get through the bones and if I found any smaller fragments after a day or so I threw them away because they were super hard by then. 

But I don't think they got as much calcium from the deer bones as they do from poultry bones becaue they are so much harder for them to eat. You can try various types of poultry for variety, like turkey and duck (for the overly loved dog). 

My dogs handle lamb bones pretty well too, especially lamb trotters. But that's more for recreational chewing than a meal for sure. 

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that poultry bones are easiest for them to eat because they're softer and not as dense (remember, birds can fly) so you'll probably want that making up a bulk of their meals throughout their lifetime.


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## EnglishBullTerriers (Sep 10, 2008)

rannmiller said:


> Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that poultry bones are easiest for them to eat because they're softer and not as dense (remember, birds can fly) so you'll probably want that making up a bulk of their meals throughout their lifetime.


I have a question about this. As far as I know, in the wild, when a 'dog' is given the option to eat a 'poultry' bird or to eat a 1,100 pound buffalo, they always go for the buffalo. My question is, why would I feed mostly bird to an animal that would naturally go for something more like a deer, cow, pig, buffalo, sheep... and other large animals?? And how does the poultry give them more of what they need when they don't get what the poultry has in the wild?
This is just a question, and I am interested in hearing some answers from others. Please don't take this as me asking a rude question, just wanted to see what kind of answers are out there. 
I know in, my head, that when I think of a raw, natural diet for my dogs, I try to think of what they would eat if I wasn't around to feed them. Then I try to go with that rather then just what is on the clearance shelf at the supermarket. Anyway, that is what I think about as a raw diet. 
Again, just thought I would ask a silly question. Thank you!!


Below is my 'dork' (I mean dog:wink named Owen. :biggrin: He is my best friend!!


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Rexandbaby said:


> Yeah but what else besides chicken? Our Neighbor found a fresh dead deer, and he is fixing it for all or our dogs, his 3 small dogs, and mine.


Deer meat and bones and organs are great. If I could only feed one animal and it was always available, it would be deer. If your dogs aren't being fed raw now, beginning with deer MAY cause some digestive upset.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

EnglishBullTerriers said:


> My question is, why would I feed mostly bird to an animal that would naturally go for something more like a deer, cow, pig, buffalo, sheep... and other large animals??


Cost, ease of handling, greater availability



> And how does the poultry give them more of what they need when they don't get what the poultry has in the wild?


It doesn't. However, when a dog is new to eating real food instead of cereal, the poultry is much easier to digest and the bones are softer. As their body adjusts, other protein sources should be fed along with poultry.



> Then I try to go with that rather then just what is on the clearance shelf at the supermarket.


When you have 2 145lb dogs and you can get poultry for around $.30/lb and beef is $2.50 to $3.50+/lb, it makes poultry look pretty good. Nutritionwise, there is not all that much difference between poultry and large ungulates. The idea is to feed a variety of animal parts from a variety of animals. Feed mostly meat, some bones, and some organs. 

Along with poultry, my dogs get pork, beef, venison, and fish. What do you feed your dogs and why?


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## Rexandbaby (Aug 4, 2008)

No, we are not going to give the venison until I have made the switch for at least 2 weeks. Have started Raw yesterday, so the deer will be frozen. My neighbor was kind of grossed out about cutting up the lungs, but bless him he did it!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

That was very nice of him! Your dogs started raw yesterday?


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## Rexandbaby (Aug 4, 2008)

Day three today, and Rex's poo is small and turning white quickly already! And what energy he now has, I guess that I will be taking more walks and throwing the ball more!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Congratulations! Do they seem to like it better than the kibble?


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## Rexandbaby (Aug 4, 2008)

They just love it! I had a fight the second day, Rex finished first, and wanted what baby was still chewing on. Now, baby eats in her crate. I don't have one for him! I think that they are doing great so far!!!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

My mom had the same problem when she tried to give her dogs RMBs and she just gave up. But she had to deal with years of two of her other females fighting constantly and having to keep them apart, so I can't say as I blame her not wanting to risk starting anything again. 

I'm glad you found a way to make it work though. My dogs are funny when one finished first he/she will go sniff the other dogs but no one seems to bother or mind anyone else.


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## Kyle2008 (Oct 13, 2008)

Feeding raw foods such as meat, eggs, fish, fruit and vegetables can be tremendously beneficial to dogs and cats. Raw foods retain many health-enhancing benefits that cooked foods may lack. ThePetCenter encourages pet owners to look into the advantages and disadvantages of feeding raw foods. 
_____________________________________
Kyle
Send Red Roses loans with no credit check casas vilafranca mp3 ringtones


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Uh huh......


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

How could raw vegetables and fruit possibly be beneficial to a carnivore? The rest of your post is absolutely correct. :smile:


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## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

Can I give my pup a raw bone eventhough I feed her Innova kibble?

Also...if i can, can there be raw meat on it? I've just read in multiple posts not to mix the two. Thanks!!!


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

BabyHusky said:


> Can I give my pup a raw bone eventhough I feed her Innova kibble?
> 
> Also...if i can, can there be raw meat on it? I've just read in multiple posts not to mix the two. Thanks!!!


A bare raw bone is not good for your dog. It should always have a good bit of meat on it. Depending on the size of your dog, a chicken drumstick would be good or if the dog is real small even a chicken wing.

I wouldn't regularly feed one of these items with a meal of kibble. But just to feed one occasionally as a treat, there should be no harm done. 

Hehe, I just noticed the word "husky" in your nick. If your dog is a full grown husky, a drumstick would be too small. He could likely swallow it whole and that is not what you are after. Something larger like a chicke back or maybe a partial slab of beef ribs.

*EDITED TO ADD:* You could even feed something like a chicken leg quarter for a meal a few times during the week. There are just all kinds of options other than feeding raw meat/bone along with a kibble meal.


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## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

Thats good to know.

The reason I ask is, a friend of mine that feeds raw said it would be fine to give her the occasional raw meat/bone.

My friend gave my sibe a chicken back and my sibe threw it up within 10 minutes. She wouldnt go near it. Should I keep trying? I wasn't sure what to make of it...then I remembered when I read on multiple posts that its bad to feed a kibble dog raw. She just looooves bones, so I figured one every now and then wouldnt be bad...but wanted to see why she'd throw it up and if I did anything wrong. 

She's 6 months now, so shes not completely full grown yet. She's at about 40lbs. My parents give her the occasional smoked bone from Chew-Gourmet.com | Smoked dog bones, Chew bones, Natural dog treats, All natural marrow treats, Healthy dog treats but i figured raw would be better...but i could be wrong.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

BabyHusky said:


> Thats good to know.
> 
> The reason I ask is, a friend of mine that feeds raw said it would be fine to give her the occasional raw meat/bone.


Yes, but I wouldn't give it with a meal. Maybe as a snack between meals or as a meal itself.



> My friend gave my sibe a chicken back and my sibe threw it up within 10 minutes. She wouldnt go near it. Should I keep trying?


Yes, I would try it again. Maybe a smaller back. Maybe a drumstick. Maybe exactly what you gave before. 



> I wasn't sure what to make of it...then I remembered when I read on multiple posts that its bad to feed a kibble dog raw.


Sometimes dogs just throw up. Maybe it was too close to the previous meal. Who knows why?



> She's 6 months now, so shes not completely full grown yet. She's at about 40lbs. My parents give her the occasional smoked bone from


Smoked bone = cooked bone = dangerous bone

A bare raw beef bone can be almost as bad.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Why are bare raw bones dangerous? Is it all of them or just beef ones, or what?


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

rannmiller said:


> Why are bare raw bones dangerous? Is it all of them or just beef ones, or what?


Bare bones of anything are not good to feed. All are not dangerous, its just not good to feed them. That doesn't mean I don't occasionally give the reminants of the cats leftover bones to my dogs but that is just after the dogs have finished a meal.

ANY kind of weight bearing bones of large animals CAN be dangerous. They can chip, crack, break, cause slab fractures to your dogs teeth because of denseness. Chewing on these dense bones is akin to rubbing sandpaper over their teeth.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

So no weight bearing bones? What if it's like a leg of lamb?


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## Kyle2008 (Oct 13, 2008)

Feeding raw foods such as meat, eggs, fish, fruit and vegetables can be tremendously beneficial to dogs and cats. Raw foods retain many health-enhancing benefits that cooked foods may lack.
___________________________________________________
Kyle
Carhartt Insulated Gloves investment real estate


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