# Alternatives to raw chicken



## DeltaAlpha (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi,

I have a 4mo old puppy and I was recommended to start feeding her raw chicken. They said eating raw chicken will help create strong and clean teeth. I would rather not feed the puppy raw chicken because I’m worried about food born bacteria like salmonella.

Are there alternatives to feeding raw chicken?

Thanks, 
Jay


----------



## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

It really depends on what you are trying to do. What you are refering to is known as RAW feeding or BARF there is a ton of information about it this question would actually do much better under the raw section we have on the board. 

Read through a lot of the threads there alsoing raw is great for a dog but can be very bad if you do it wrong. It takes alot of different things not just chicken. The dog isn't going to get sick from eating raw chicken their bodies are designed different then ours to handle is. However just chicken will not give your pup the nutrients it needs and you also need a good ratio of meat to bone as well as organs there is a lot involved before you start feeding it. Would definitely go under the raw/barf forum we have and also google it and just learning about it. One of the people here have a site rawdogranch.com (think thats the right site) and it has tons of information about it also.


----------



## GSD07 (Feb 23, 2007)

I think the OP was recommended to give the pup raw chicken in addition to kibble feeding. I do not see anything wrong with that.


----------



## DeltaAlpha (Nov 22, 2010)

Thanks for directing me to the right part of the site. I’ve done some reading and I’ve heard great points from both a raw diet and a high quality kibble. I’m not looking to get bacteria (from raw meat) all over my house and I don’t want to feed the puppy outside in the cold twice a day. I’ve given her some mackerel and buffalo bones as a bonus every now and then. Maybe she’ll have a spring chicken sometime soon. =) For now, I’m sticking with good kibble,


----------



## silvertongued17 (Dec 2, 2010)

Jay I know this is an old thread but what I do is use a washable flexible cutting mat, you can get them most anywhere it seems. When you first start feeding raw, your dog might try to take it to another location and eat it, but it's very easy to teach them to only eat on the mat. For example, mine's blue and stands out quite nicely from the white tile of our kitchen, and he knows that if the food goes off the mat he has to put it back on it or it'll be taken away. Trick for bacteria, buy in bulk and freeze portion sizes in ziplock, let them thaw overnight and just open them onto the mat, wash the bags if you want to reuse them or just throw them out, and clean the rest as you would normally clean a cutting board. From a biological stand point there really isn't a 'high quality' kibble. Just as there isn't 'high quality' cooked vegetables. The processing of the food is just as important as the food itself. Raw is how they were meant to eat, and if you can provide that for her I highly suggest it. The differences are night and day, coat shine, no nasty dog smell, higher/natural energy, dental hygiene, proper growth. It's crazy how wrong we had it for so many years.


----------

