# Help with trading up



## Kayota (Jul 21, 2012)

What can I use to trade up? I tried some kibble tonight and instead of trading she just chewed and swallowed as fast as she could...


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Kayota said:


> What can I use to trade up? I tried some kibble tonight and instead of trading she just chewed and swallowed as fast as she could...


trade up for what?

need more info


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## Kayota (Jul 21, 2012)

Since she's small I have to give her say, half of a chicken drumstick or a quarter of a chicken quarter (lol) in one meal. I need help trading up to take it when she's had as much as she should.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Why not just give her chunks that are worth her meal size? (And only feed once a day.) Or give her a much larger chunk to make it easier? There isnt any way that I could "trade up" with my Brody if I was only giving him 2x his meal size.


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## Kassandra (Jun 6, 2012)

I feed stupid for asking, because I feel like I should know... but what does 'trading up' mean?


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Kassandra said:


> I feed stupid for asking, because I feel like I should know... but what does 'trading up' mean?


Trading something for something better. So say rather then just TAKING something your giving them something better!:wink: 
Like when Keeva has a chunk of concrete in her mouth and I have a nice chunk of treat she is FAR less likely to try and run away from me with the rock if I have the treat....So then she comes and gets the treat and doesnt feel cheated!:wink:


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## Kayota (Jul 21, 2012)

Scarlett_O' said:


> Why not just give her chunks that are worth her meal size? (And only feed once a day.) Or give her a much larger chunk to make it easier? There isnt any way that I could "trade up" with my Brody if I was only giving him 2x his meal size.


Because it's kind of hard to hack up certain things  Or I would. I have thought about only feeding once a day though, that would make things much easier. So what do I do if I'm feeding something I can't cut up well and have to trade up? I'm afraid I'm going to make a problem dog before long :\ For example, I have a dead duck waiting for her all skinned and everything, but I want to feed it whole carcass style and it's enough to last her at least four days even with one meal a day. Is there a way to portion this type of meal? If it's more than four days' worth I might have to hack it in half at least and I just have no idea how to do that 

Trading up is giving your dog something of equal or greater value in exchange for something they have, such as a RMB.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Kayota said:


> Because it's kind of hard to hack up certain things  Or I would. I have thought about only feeding once a day though, that would make things much easier. So what do I do if I'm feeding something I can't cut up well and have to trade up? I'm afraid I'm going to make a problem dog before long :\ For example, I have a dead duck waiting for her all skinned and everything, but I want to feed it whole carcass style and it's enough to last her at least four days even with one meal a day. Is there a way to portion this type of meal? If it's more than four days' worth I might have to hack it in half at least and I just have no idea how to do that
> 
> Trading up is giving your dog something of equal or greater value in exchange for something they have, such as a RMB.




How much does she eat per day/meal?
I havent come up to anything that cant be hacked up for Brody(who gets between 6 and 8 oz per day) and the kitties(who get 1lbs up has to be in chunks of 1-2oz each) from chicken, turkey(aside from turkey drumsticks...but then that can just be taken away easily and/or not fed.) And for red meats I just give them large enough bone chunks that I dont worry about them eating with just enough meat for the meal!:wink:

ETA:As for the duck you can cut it in half and then feed her 2 different double meal days, where the day before or after she either doesnt eat or just has a tiny amount. Or if its just enough to feed her 4 days then cut it into quarters and give her one per day!:wink:


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## Kassandra (Jun 6, 2012)

Okay, well now I know EXACTLY what you mean! I use a tennis ball.. Charlie goes nuts for tennis balls. She's not much of an eater so we don't use many treats or anything like that anyways.


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## Kayota (Jul 21, 2012)

Scarlett_O' said:


> How much does she eat per day/meal?
> I havent come up to anything that cant be hacked up for Brody(who gets between 6 and 8 oz per day) and the kitties(who get 1lbs up has to be in chunks of 1-2oz each) from chicken, turkey(aside from turkey drumsticks...but then that can just be taken away easily and/or not fed.) And for red meats I just give them large enough bone chunks that I dont worry about them eating with just enough meat for the meal!:wink:


She gets ~4 oz per day give or take. How many ounces can this vary by? She could have a whole chicken drumstick for one meal. That's what I was feeding today and I really couldn't get it away from her, when I approached her she just crunched it up and ate it in less than two-three minutes, I was pretty freaked out. But it was only like an ounce more than she really needed so I'm not too worried.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Kayota said:


> She gets ~4 oz per day give or take. How many ounces can this vary by? She could have a whole chicken drumstick for one meal. That's what I was feeding today and I really couldn't get it away from her, when I approached her she just crunched it up and ate it in less than two-three minutes, I was pretty freaked out. But it was only like an ounce more than she really needed so I'm not too worried.


Ya, you cant take something like a drumstick away from Brody...I mean he takes a TOTAL MAX of 2 min to finish ANY meal, even when he is lucky to get 10oz!LOL
If you even try he WILL choke him self by trying to swallow it!:wacko:

You can always just remove a chunk rather then chance feeding her too much...which is what we do for Brody, or just not feed him that much the next day. So say he is on 8oz days and I have a 10oz chunk then the next day he will get 6oz!:wink:


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## Kayota (Jul 21, 2012)

That makes sense! Thank you for your help! I remember one of the Dane owners here saying it's easier to feed a bigger dog raw... I can see why lol!


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Kayota said:


> That makes sense! Thank you for your help! I remember one of the Dane owners here saying it's easier to feed a bigger dog raw... I can see why lol!


It can be VERY much so easier to feed big!!HAHA But knowing how to hack, and remembering what I fed last and what I plan on feeding the next day helps me a TON!!:thumb:

I have Brody who eats 6-8oz, Dixi who eats 10-13oz, Leo eats 16oz, Keeva who eats 32oz, Rhett who eats 40-50oz and then the kitties who eat 16oz all together and need it cut up into 1-2oz chunks!:wink:


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## Diva_Ziva (Jul 5, 2012)

I"m new to raw and I have a large girl... Ziva great dane about 130lbs right now she is getting 2 1/2lbs I could not imagine feeding in a oz's size meals .... lol


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Diva_Ziva said:


> I"m new to raw and I have a large girl... Ziva great dane about 130lbs right now she is getting 2 1/2lbs I could not imagine feeding in a oz's size meals .... lol


Thats what my Rhett eats.....and he is "only" 55lbs!LOL :lol:

Like its always said, the 2-3% is ONLY a guide line!HAHA


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## Diva_Ziva (Jul 5, 2012)

I wanted to start low starting off as I was told it was a good idea until she is handling it all ok ... and if I remember right I think the amount will be 3lbs but I maybe off on that... I know I like the changes I see in her so far no too much in the way of her teeth as he teeth were pretty white and no tater but I was told most likely it is because she is only 9months old 

I'll also say I think I'm kind of following the %'s almost like a rule book right now as I keep learning and letting go of the nerves ... which I must say has been pretty easy to do with the help I've gotten and keep getting from others here


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## BearMurphy (Feb 29, 2012)

I tell my dog to drop it before we trade so I'm not taking anything out of his mouth. He is trained to do that with any item though thanks to his terrible puppy days


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## Kayota (Jul 21, 2012)

Mine also knows drop it and was doing that well until tonight, when instead of dropping it she just ate it...


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

My dogs are also trained for "drop" and it works most of the time. Good Luck


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## Kayota (Jul 21, 2012)

I just gave her all of today's meal at once, I think she liked it that way lol!


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## RedneckCowgirl (Oct 28, 2011)

I never take my dogs meals away now that they are raw fed. If they get a little extra, then they get a little extra, then they won't get as much the next day. I also have big dogs (both 90ish pounds) that eat about 2 pounds a day, but even if they were small, I wouldn't stress. Raw is about long term balance, not daily balance :smile:


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