# I have REAL DOGS!



## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

I gave the beasties their first ever real bones today! Chelsy is 13 and has somehow never had a bone in her life. She has horrible jaw problems and I didn't think she could handle one.

Rocky has only had bully sticks. So today they got their first beef ribs. They both looked at me like I was nuts! Chelsy stared at hers for ten straight minutes occassionally poking it with her nose, before she finally went to town on it and chewed at it for about 15 minutes. That wore her out so I put it away for awhile.

Rocky licked his for ten minutes like he was worried he would hurt it. Then he gently nibbled all the meat off it. He finally got brave enough to gnaw the meat off but after twenty minutes of loving the thing and polishing the whole bone, he quit on it and looked all pleased with himself, He never actually bit down hard enough to crack the bone. I'll give it back to him later and see if he ever figures out that he can actually bite the bone. Here are pictures of them being 'dogs' for the first time. Maybe now when I give them some meat they will know what to do with it :smile:


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Too funny! They will be beggin for those chew bones again, believe me!


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## Animal Quackers (Jul 10, 2010)

Good dogs!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Isn't it fun to see how much dogs love raw meat? Especially red meat like beef LOL

We just leave the bones laying around for about a week and then we give them a new batch. You could probably do the same. 

Also, I saw that you put a blanket down to protect the carpet. Guaranteed you wouldn't even see a trace of meat left if you didn't use the blanket. Its incredible how well dogs clean up after themselves! We have trained our dogs to eat on their dog beds which we clean every few weeks or so.

Thanks for sharing!!!


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## bdb5853 (May 21, 2010)

That second picture has me cracking up!! You can just see the question on her face, "is this really for me?!" LOL!! Great. Loved it.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

It amazes me how an older dog so naturally reverts back to basic instinct even when it has never tasted fresh meat in it's life.
Really cute pups.


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

Great pictures! Our raw fed babies, got their first beef ribs on thursday, it was so amazing to watch Zoey (4# chihuahua) attack that bone and rip the meat off. Definitely got her mouth workout in. Shellie loved it, it kept her occupied for nearly an hour, she ate probably 1/2 of the bone as well.


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## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

lol. Reminds me of Amaya. She got a piece of pork last night in dinner, and she completely stripped away the meat before going to town on the bone. Completely cleans up her front teeth when she does it, because she bares her lips and nibbles on it, basically scraping away the meat, then she goes to the side and does the same thing. I should get video. haha. Though I'm sure all of y'all already know what it looks like, but it'd be a great reference video for skeptics, on the process of how it keeps dogs' teeth clean. XDD My dogs' teeth are whiter than mine!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

your dogs are so cute.....

how do you feel now that you've given them their first taste?


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Nice pics! The first raw meal is so exciting isn't it? :biggrin:


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

magicre said:


> your dogs are so cute.....
> 
> how do you feel now that you've given them their first taste?


It was funny, I used to give my dogs soup bones years ago, and of course have been reading the forum here for years. BUT.....my 20 year old son though I was going to poison the dogs! He thought for sure I was suppose to cook the bones first. He just couldn't imagine giving them a raw bone. I kept telling him that they were DOGS!! 

We actually used to give our dogs frozen soup bones to help them cool off in the old days in Florida when we didn't have air conditioning. I guess I'm lucky no one broke a tooth on them. Then I went to vet tech school and 'learned' too much from all the vets telling me to never give dogs a bone again. They'd tell us all these horror stories about bones killing dogs so I stuck to rawhides from then on. 

Personally......I think the beef ribs were a WHOLE let better for them yesterday then a rawhide from China :smile: (not that I ever bought any made in China). If I had started Chelsy on them years ago she might have a few more teeth left in her head then she has now. At least she can work on the few she has left and she did seem to enjoy it. I'll give it to her again today and maybe she'll actually work her way down to the bone part. She has to stand up to chew them so it's a whole body workout for the old lady!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

> We actually used to give our dogs frozen soup bones to help them cool off in the old days in Florida when we didn't have air conditioning. I guess I'm lucky no one broke a tooth on them. Then I went to vet tech school and 'learned' too much from all the vets telling me to never give dogs a bone again. They'd tell us all these horror stories about bones killing dogs so I stuck to rawhides from then on.


i know just how you feel...sometimes too much information can be just as dangerous as not enough....especially when you see the surgeries, the dental problems and don't make the association....

it'll be interesting to see how chelsy does....


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

magicre said:


> it'll be interesting to see how chelsy does....


I tried to give Chelsy her beef rib again tonight and she just looked at it and walked away. I feel really bad for her that she can't chew on the bones with her jaw and lack of teeth. She is able to eat small dog biscuits and things that she can get to the back where her molars are, so in theory she should be able to chew a bone, maybe the beef ribs are just too big for her? She actually chokes down a lot of her food without chewing it most of the time. 

The good news is that Rocky is happily chewing away on Chelsy's bone :smile: Maybe Chelsy will nibble on it once he makes it smaller. I really don't plan or want to ever put her thru a dental procedure again at her age.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

chowder said:


> I tried to give Chelsy her beef rib again tonight and she just looked at it and walked away. I feel really bad for her that she can't chew on the bones with her jaw and lack of teeth. She is able to eat small dog biscuits and things that she can get to the back where her molars are, so in theory she should be able to chew a bone, maybe the beef ribs are just too big for her? She actually chokes down a lot of her food without chewing it most of the time.
> 
> The good news is that Rocky is happily chewing away on Chelsy's bone :smile: Maybe Chelsy will nibble on it once he makes it smaller. I really don't plan or want to ever put her thru a dental procedure again at her age.


nichi's age is why we went to home cooked....she had such bad teeth....no amount of dentals worked...within two weeks her teeth would look as bad if not worse than before the dental..by thirteen, we were done putting her under anaesthesia....

..in hindsight, i would have pulled all of her teeth and fed her grinds....


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Can you give her something like a chicken wing or drumstick, but whack it a bit with a hammer first? She should be able to handle pre-crunched chicken bones...


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

danemama08 said:


> Can you give her something like a chicken wing or drumstick, but whack it a bit with a hammer first? She should be able to handle pre-crunched chicken bones...


If I whack up a chicken wing for her, will working on that help her teeth? You don't think she'll choke on it do you? She used to try and chew on little bully sticks and sometimes could gnaw the edges until they got soft but I think she's just gotten discouraged and doesn't try anymore. It really sucks to get old. 

She shows interest and will always go over and check out what Rocky has but then when I give her something of her own she just stares at it. I"ll pick up some chicken wings tomorrow and just watch her really close with them I guess. That'll be something else that my husband will think is for him and I"ll have to tell him is for the dog! Maybe I'll get the BJ's size pack and let him have some of his own ! :biggrin:


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I'm pretty sure that a chicken wing would be appropriate for her, just by looking at the picture you posted. How much does she weigh?

Definitely eating raw will help her teeth. If she has always been a decent chewer, I'm sure she will handle it just fine. But there is a chance she will have no idea what to do with it.

Keep us posted.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

danemama08 said:


> I'm pretty sure that a chicken wing would be appropriate for her, just by looking at the picture you posted. How much does she weigh?
> 
> Definitely eating raw will help her teeth. If she has always been a decent chewer, I'm sure she will handle it just fine. But there is a chance she will have no idea what to do with it.
> 
> Keep us posted.


She's 20 pounds but should only be about 16. She's gained weight since I put her on a grain free diet. She has trouble eating canned food straight from a can because it's too soft to get off the plate, but can eat kibble and chunks of cold canned food just fine. I can hear her crunching the EVO kibbles so I know she can chew with her back molars if she can just get the food back there. 

She also has severe bloody colitis when she eats certain things. So far it's only occurred with certain kibbles (Orijen being one) and canned foods. I think it's from salmon and olive oil. She shouldn't have any problem with a chicken wing since she eats mostly chicken based foods. The poor dog is a mess and the vets haven't helped. Her eyes are bloodshot and filled with gunk and they say it's just dry eye and wont' give me anything else for it except artificial tears (which aren't doing anything). I think it's allergies since it cleared up completely when we were out west but what do I know, I only live with her  Her little back is giving out again so I have extra B vitamins for that, and every 4th day I slip her a Rimadyl and then feel guilty over that. I'm just trying to keep her going because there are days when she is bouncy and happy and still going strong. 

I'll let you know how she does with the chicken wing. I'll give her a few chances with it and try and keep Rocky from stealing it (he's really getting into this bone thing!)


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

oh, definitely try it......whack a wing and see what she does with it....just watch her...

problem is, her mouth probably hurts....from her dental problems....

and if that doesn't work....maybe the primal grinds....they, i think might be the closest and at least they are raw....with bone.


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