# New to Raw - Dog wont eat chicken anymore



## apacheco (Nov 18, 2009)

Ive been feeding raw for about two weeks only chicken (dark) and a little ground beef. Now all of a sudden she wont eat the chicken at all. her teeth are fine but she just will lick it. i give her a skirt steak and she gulps it up.. what are some safe beef RMB that i could feed her. thanks


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

Sounds like you're creating a picky eater. If you want her to eat chicken then give her the chicken (nothing else) and give her 10-15 minutes to eat her dinner. If she doesn't eat it pick it up and put it away (don't make a fuss about it). 

When the next meal time comes around put the same piece of chicken down and leave her alone for another 15 minutes. If she still won't eat it, pick it up and repeat at the next meal cycle.

Dogs won't starve themselves. She's simply choosing not to eat that meal.

If you allow her to determine what she's going to eat you're going to run into a host of problems down the road...

Keep in mind that you want as much variety in her diet as you can provide. You don't want to eliminate chicken because she's decided she doesn't like it as much...

As for beef RMB's you can feed pretty much anything that's not a weight bearing bone. We feed ribs a lot (beef and pork). They have good bone & meat and give the dogs something great to chew on.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

I'm having the same problem, except with fish. 

We have fed Ania canned sardines (in water w/ no salt :wink, and she ate that just fine. Then, I went to the local ethnic store and spent a bundle on some whole fish (guts & all), and the most she will do is lick it once.

How long should I stick to attempting to feed this meal? We're going on day 3 and I'm starting to feel guilty.

On a side note (and assuming Ania stops being such a diva :biggrin, is it necessary to scale and remove the fins from the fish? This was a large fish with large scales and very hard, pokey fins (almost like toothpicks sticking out of its back). I was concerned that the fins would cause some problems for Ania. I wasn't sure about the scales, but thought I'd be safe rather than sorry.

Thanks! 
Richelle


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## apacheco (Nov 18, 2009)

i heard putting the meat on a frying pan for a few seconds or minute might help


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## g00dgirl (Nov 18, 2009)

I'd cut the dorsal fin off the fish and cut up the fish a bit so she can see that there really is meat inside 
I had to do this for my dogs the first time I fed them Tilapia. Cut it into about 3 sections and opened up the belly a bit.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

apacheco said:


> Ive been feeding raw for about two weeks only chicken (dark) and a little ground beef. Now all of a sudden she wont eat the chicken at all. her teeth are fine but she just will lick it. i give her a skirt steak and she gulps it up.. what are some safe beef RMB that i could feed her. thanks


Have you switched "brands" or sources of chicken? If you have it just might be that "brand" or cut of chicken. I have noticed that our dogs can distinguish between different "brands" or cuts of chicken. Liking some more than others, but like Jon said, you do not want to create a picky eater. Maybe try fasting your dog for a day and then try feeding the chicken again.

Is the chicken bone in? If so what "cut?"

Turkey necks/legs/backs, pork ribs, whole large fishes and beef ribs are good RMB's. But don't give up entirely with chicken.



Ania's Mommy said:


> I'm having the same problem, except with fish.
> 
> We have fed Ania canned sardines (in water w/ no salt :wink, and she ate that just fine. Then, I went to the local ethnic store and spent a bundle on some whole fish (guts & all), and the most she will do is lick it once.
> 
> ...


Fish is a tricky protein source to feed. Only 2 of our 4 girls will even touch it, unless its canned. For some reason, our two non fishy dogs will eat canned fish, but not fresh fish. The other 2 will eat fish in any way, shape or form.

The two that eat fresh whole fish, get them every morning. If you have ever seen a whole tilapia, they are covered in huge scales and big sharpish fins. I don't do anything to the tilapia before I feed it. Bailey and Akasha (the Danes) will eat them head, scales, fins and all in a minute or two. They enjoy crunching right throuh it all and it has never caused any problems. I will note that in the beginning of feeding them whole raw fish, their poo was a bit stanky and runny, but it soon became normal.

ETA: If you have been giving your dog the option to eat fish for 3 days now, without luck...your dog just doesn't like fish. If your dog has plenty of other meat sources and variety, fish is not a essential protein source to feed. Since 2 of our dogs don't like it, we did the whole not eating anything but fish for 3 days to no avail, we just don't make them eat it. At this point I would give up with the raw fish, and go with something you know she likes.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

g00dgirl said:


> I'd cut the dorsal fin off the fish and cut up the fish a bit so she can see that there really is meat inside
> I had to do this for my dogs the first time I fed them Tilapia. Cut it into about 3 sections and opened up the belly a bit.


I tried this last night, and it didn't work. :frown: Thanks for the tip, though! It was a great idea.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

danemama08 said:


> ETA: If you have been giving your dog the option to eat fish for 3 days now, without luck...your dog just doesn't like fish. If your dog has plenty of other meat sources and variety, fish is not a essential protein source to feed. Since 2 of our dogs don't like it, we did the whole not eating anything but fish for 3 days to no avail, we just don't make them eat it. At this point I would give up with the raw fish, and go with something you know she likes.


Dang it!! So... does anyone want a bunch of fish?!?!


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

Ania's Mommy said:


> Dang it!! So... does anyone want a bunch of fish?!?!


We do! but don't know how you'd get it here for a reasonable price :frown:

Did you try cooking it up? That way it at least doesn't go to waste...


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

I'm not sure if I really WANT to eat them personally... When I was tasked with merely cutting them into meal-sized portions, I nearly lost it. I'll spare you the details, but I got a disgusting reminder that big fish eat little fish. Now I'm all grossed out and don't think I can get passed the mental images... Ahh the things we do for our dogs! Plus, in addition to the whole fish, I bought a ton of salmon heads. Don't know what I'd do with those...

We may try cooking it a tiny bit for Ania, though. I'm going to wait a day or two so that she can start eating again (poor girl!!).


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

Ania's Mommy said:


> I'm not sure if I really WANT to eat them personally...


:biggrin: I meant cooking them up to feed the dogs :wink:


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I learned my lesson about buying too much before I'm sure that my dogs will eat and like something. Still have that case of chicken backs in my freezer that the dogs won't touch, too bony I think! I buy things now in small portions first, then when I know the dogs will eat it and like it, I'll buy it in bulk.:smile:


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