Val,

What does your husky's raw diet consist of...?

Did you feed him/her the raw diet since he/she was a pup?

Scott, I don't follow a true PMR diet. My dogs are on partial raw and get a variety of parts from chicken, turkey, pork, beef, and sometimes lamb. And I adopted all of my dogs as adults, so I have never brought up a puppy on raw.

Can an 8 week old puppy have chicken necks whole for a raw diet or should they be ground up?

My puppy has been on kibble since I got her from the breeder two days ago. I switched her to raw chicken breasts after fasting her for 12 hours. She happily ate her first 3 meals of 8 oz. She weighs 11 lbs so I am giving her about a pound of raw meat per day (2 feedings 8 oz each). She had 2 bouts of firm stools and 3 bouts of softer stools (I am assuming this is her body adjusting from what I have read.)

I started her on cut up pieces of raw chicken breasts for 2 days. I was able to get a case of chicken necks for very cheap which I want to start her on tomorrow morning.

I am concerned about giving the 8 week old pup these necks whole. Should I be grinding them up for her since she is so young? I WANT TO AVOID CHOKING and the raw bones hurting her.

Any advice/Guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Scott and Kaia

The necks should be fine, I'd hold them at first to ensure your pup chews rather than swallows it whole.

So there was this good deal on Goat meat yesterday. When I tried to give it to Luna she smelled it and walk away. She would go back and walk away. My question is, are dog picky about meat or are there some meat they just wont eat?

There are a number of reasons why she might be ignoring the food. Assuming there is nothing wrong with the meat I'd show a little tough love. You could also try searing the meat a tiny bit to make it smell and taste more appealing. Some people resort to toppings like parmesan cheese to entice them but I don't recommend it as you don't want them to expect toppers.

Cheyenne isn't big on some meats, but once I realized that I started putting that out first and holding off on the rest until she ate it. Still not her favorite but she eats it with little hesitation now.

Before I start a thread for questions specific to Cal, I wanted to ask if I should even consider raw for her at this time? I was reading through some of the other threads and the links Val gave in the first post and it mentioned that the bacteria in meat CAN affect a dog if their immune system is compromised. Well, Callie's is. Does this mean raw should never be considered for her? Or do I just have to take care of her demodex mange before trying it? Raw appeals to me because it can boost her immune system, which is what she really needs. She's on Wellness and takes a daily vitamin supplement and neither of those have helped prevent the mange from flaring up. Raw feeding is the only other thing I can think of to boost her immune system.

I wouldn't think that starting a raw diet would affect the mange. Although I never like to change diets when my dogs are being treated for something, but that's just me.

Okay. Hm. I'm going to look into it more and then I'll report back here with any questions.

I started raw initially because Mickey had demodex. Supposedly it promotes a healthier body and mange mites are less likely to return to the point of flare up on a raw fed dog. Since being on raw Mickey only flares up once every 6 months and it's managed down to nothing within a week. Never goes past his paws.

Thank you, Kristina! It helps to hear that it's successfully worked on other dogs without a problem. I've found a couple blog posts basically saying the same thing so I think I'll try it with Callie once I know for sure what I'm doing with raw. 1 week to calm it down is nothing compared to the month it's been with Callie, and she only just started her treatment last week so probably another month of fighting with the mange. At least that gives me time to find out more about feeding raw.

I know it's tough. We went months without a real diagnosis with Mickey finally a skin scrape came up positive for demodex and with the oral ivermectin he was healing within a few weeks. For his flare ups, I use a skin wash called PanOxyl and a warm water and tea tree oil rinse. Within 2-3 days of daily washing his paws it's nearly gone.

I'll definitely try that if the advantage multi doesn't work. Thanks so much! She gets it in the oddest places which is why I didn't think it was mange but the skin scrape confirmed it.

http://blog.timesunion.com/petsandvets/759/raw-food-policy-will-we-ever-know-the-real-story/ Nice blog on raw feeding. Thought I'd share.

I have been reading this thread and I have a question about the raw and bones. I have always been told that chicken bones are no good for dogs because they can splinter and now yall are saying you mix the bones and the meat together. So is chicken bones good or do they just need to be broken or ground up? Thanks.

Huskydad wrote:

I have been reading this thread and I have a question about the raw and bones. I have always been told that chicken bones are no good for dogs because they can splinter and now yall are saying you mix the bones and the meat together. So is chicken bones good or do they just need to be broken or ground up? Thanks.

Only splinter when cooked

They are perfectly fine raw. Both my pups are on raw. My female has been eating chicken bones since she was 4 weeks old.

Hayden_69 wrote:

Huskydad wrote:

I have been reading this thread and I have a question about the raw and bones. I have always been told that chicken bones are no good for dogs because they can splinter and now yall are saying you mix the bones and the meat together. So is chicken bones good or do they just need to be broken or ground up? Thanks.

Only splinter when cooked

They are perfectly fine raw. Both my pups are on raw. My female has been eating chicken bones since she was 4 weeks old.

Thanks, did not know that. So i can give her a chicken breast or leg raw and it is good for her?

If you haven't given her raw before, i'm not sure. I know there are other thread's talking about how to start on raw. Look into it a bit more before starting her on it cold turkey.

Hayden_69 wrote:

If you haven't given her raw before, i'm not sure. I know there are other thread's talking about how to start on raw. Look into it a bit more before starting her on it cold turkey.

OK, thanks

When I got my pup at 7 weeks I started raw cold turkey. The first couple days the poop will be runny but it should firm up quickly. I use chicken thighs and the occasional chicken drumstick. I just take the skin off and trim some of the fat and its good to go!

Garebear wrote:

When I got my pup at 7 weeks I started raw cold turkey. The first couple days the poop will be runny but it should firm up quickly. I use chicken thighs and the occasional chicken drumstick. I just take the skin off and trim some of the fat and its good to go!

Some say you can start cold turkey and other's say to slowly introduce it. To each their own I suppose

Ok i got a question... I dont plan on feeding my dog raw, even though i wish i could, i live with my rents and i can just picture my mom freaking out over it.. And we dont have much freezer or fridge space, cause i have a big family.. When i get my own house down the road ill look more into te raw diet (i hope my GF doesnt read this thread lol) but anyway my wuestion is is it safe for my dog if i feed him kibble, and ocasinly give him some kind of raw treat.. If so is there any type of raw i should avoid or favor so i dont get him sick since ill only do it every once in a while?

Ericobeasto wrote:

my wuestion is is it safe for my dog if i feed him kibble, and ocasinly give him some kind of raw treat.. If so is there any type of raw i should avoid or favor so i dont get him sick since ill only do it every once in a while?

It is absolutely fine and safe to supplement raw occasionally on a kibble based diet. That's how I got started on raw in the first place since I didn't have a freezer to just make the switch cold turkey. I wouldn't say that there is anything to avoid but I would be careful if you introduce organ as it can be very rich and can give a dog the runs if they are not accustomed to it. I stuck with non-organ meats when I was feeding a primarily kibble based diet and had no problems whatsoever.

Ok.. So bascially any meat with the bone is ok just becareful of organs.. Ok that makes sense.. Most of the time ill probably give like chick or steak or some ground beef.. I also read somewhere that sardines are really good for huskies and that they love them! Have you ever gave them sardines and what is your take on those?