I have had Barney and Jas on raw for about 2 months now. Jasmine's been on raw off and on several times and we've never really had any problems with it. Even when feeding kibble, I would usually throw in a chicken thigh once a week or so. I made the switch to exclusively raw when Barney started having major diarrhea on kibble. So far everything has been going great except last night I had a major scare.

I was feeding them in their separate quarters as usual. I had given Jasmine a chicken thigh and a piece of pork without any bone a little bigger than my fist. When she ate the pork apparently she attempted to eat it without chewing. It got stuck in her throat and I kind of just watched her try to get it up at first. It didnt take long for me to realize she was in REAL trouble and wasn't able to breathe. I grabbed her and reached into the back of her throat and pulled the piece of meat out. What scares me is that if I wouldnt have been standing there I have no doubt she would have died.

I'm just a bit discouraged at this point. I have read the pros and cons of raw verses kibble and I have deffinitely seen the benefits. But if there is that much risk/danger feeding raw, I'm just left asking myself if it's really worth it. I'm not done with raw....I WANT to keep them on it.

What can I do to keep this from happening again?

I was at my grama's the other day and Barney hacked up a small piece of bone. He hadn't eaten in several hours and gave no indications of struggle or discomfort. I worry about the risk of compaction or perforation. I have read quite a bit about the risk of this with raw feeding.

If anyone who has had some extensive experience with raw has any answers...I would greatly appreciate it!

When I feed my boy boneless, I have to chop it up into smaller hunks. He has done the same thing with trying to swallow large pieces whole.

You need to teach her how to safely eat meat. One way to do that, which can be gross to some, is to hold the meat while they try to chew it out of your hand. As you practice this, they develop the habit of chewing the meat into smaller chunks before swallowing, and with enough repetitions you can phase out holding the meat.

I feed frozen it takes her longer to take the time and chew the meat otherwise she inhales the whole thing without chewing