# First Raw Feeding...Yay!



## Chloedancer (Mar 13, 2008)

Ok, so they had their first raw food last night. I gave them each a chicken quarter.

I figured Chloe may not take to it at first, but she immediately grabbed it and crunched away.

Eik is my gulper, so I was surprised he actually took his time with crunching up the bone before swallowing it all.

They both were looking around for more when finished, especially my puppy Eik.

I have been watching for their poop :crazy: but haven't seen any yet. That is worrying me a bit but will continue waiting, lol.

This morning it went the same as last night but this time they ate even faster. I had to grab the leg when Eik was eating. He was able to get it from me and swallowed it whole. He started choking aranoid: and them it came up immediately, thank goodness. So then I grabbed it again and that time he crunched it up.

Seems they both eat the leg quarters so fast! Once again, they were both hunting around, all excited, looking for more. 

I just wonder if its okay for them to eat it so fast and maybe I should smash the bones for Eik next time? He was able to quickly pull it away from me when I attempted to hold it.

Even with that, I think it went well, better than I expected. :happyboogie:


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Dogs teeth are NOT for chewing. Their jaws and mouth are designed for ripping, tearing and crunching just enough to get it down their throat.

My boy Mauser is a chewer. He will spend several minutes working on a chicken leg.

With Sasha, our GSD mix rescue girl, if I hear 2 crunches before it goes down I'm happy. 

Don't worry about the poop. They will be going less often and producing less stools.

They will also be drinking less water. Kibble is dry and makes them thirsty. Raw is wet and doesn't. 

Pretty soon they will be doing the Raw Fed Happy Dog Dance BEFORE you start feeding them!!


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## DeeMcB (Nov 28, 2010)

Sounds like success to me! Ezra eating a chicken quarter sounds like this "Chomp, chomp, gulp". You can feed it frozen and it'll take a little longer, but it sounds perfectly normal. If he can't get it down his throat, he'll hark it back up and try again.


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## Chloedancer (Mar 13, 2008)

He chomped the thigh up but had left the leg portion whole when he downed it. After it came back up, that's when I held it so he could chomp it a bit before swallowing again. That's the only part that worries me, him swallowing it without chomping it some first.

I guess I am just still nervous about this since I have no experience with it.

I did notice they both are not drinking water like they normally do. Usually they are water hogs. 

When they are still acting hungry when finished, is that normal? Just excited because they liked it and want more?


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## Lesley1905 (Aug 25, 2010)

My friend has a dog that loves to gulp things down..she now holds the chicken thighs and lets him bite off pieces!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Two of my dogs will gulp down a leg or thigh, they may crunch a bit while it goes down, but not chewed for any length of time. If they can't digest it, it will come back up and they eat it again. With time they may slow down, but in the beginning most just are so overwhelmed with the goodness of what they are eating they gulp. 
If you feed separately, it may also slow the dog down, competition has been removed, so no need to rush.


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## Chloedancer (Mar 13, 2008)

Thanks for the advice. I am going to feed them separately tonight and also try to get a better grip while holding it for him. I think I read somewhere on here, to hold it with a paper towel.

When do I add organ meat? A week or two?


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## Animage (Dec 5, 2010)

Depending on where you are getting the quarters and how well they are "cleaned" you may still have a bit of organ meat attached which is part of the reason the quarters are a good starter as they are a pretty well rounded meal in and of themselves.


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## Bunch of Rascals (Dec 27, 2010)

The reason that they are drinking less water than they normally do is that they are getting more from their actual meal. Kibble is dry and makes them thirsty so they drink more than when on a raw diet. 

As far as organ meat...when we started Frankie on raw we did chicken quarters first as well. When he was well adjusted to that, three says, we added organ in. We started with beef livers and started SLOW. Half a finger size the first couple meals and eventually increasing to the correct oz per day. We then started adding more protein sources after he was adjusted to that. We strive for at least 3 different ones per week. Good luck with raw! It is so good for yours pups  I am feeding my sister in law links right now weekly!


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## natalie559 (Feb 4, 2005)

Glad they enjoyed their meal!

I use a vinyl tablecloth (bought a big rectangular one and cut it in half for the 2 dogs) that goes under their food. Makes clean up easy.


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## Chloedancer (Mar 13, 2008)

I like the idea of the tablecloth...easier to clean up.

Well, this evening after our walk, Eik had liquid brown diarrhea and gas, eek! So, I really didn't want to fast him and gave him white rice and pumpkin tonight only. He's been getting pumpkin daily already. Maybe I should have fasted him, but I know he would have acted like he was dying, lol. 

I am hoping the problem is that I am probably not getting accurate weights on the food. The scale I have is very old and hard to work with. Last night I had given, instead of quarters, chicken backs and gizzards and breast meat. My proportions were probably off. 

So, tomorrow I am off to buy a better, and digital, scale. I am unsure of what to do in the morning (what to feed him), if he still has liquid poop.

Oh, I had also given a small amount of grain free kibble early this morning before my classes. I don't have time on Tuesdays and Thurs. to babysit them while they eat in the morning, and they both will throw up yellow bile if hungry. So, I had thought that giving them a small amount of kibble would hold them over until I got back around noon. I gave the usual leg quarters then.

Minor setback hopefully?????????


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## SchDDR (Dec 29, 2010)

Are you pulling the skin off the chicken?
When dogs are still adjusting to a raw diet, the skin can cause the issues you're describing. Usually you start with skinless, and slowly add the skin in increments to allow the dog to adjust.

Did he previously have a gastro issue that was causing you to feed pumpkin daily?

I wouldn't give organ meat so soon. Hold off for another week or two.


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## Chloedancer (Mar 13, 2008)

His poop was normal this morning, so he got a chicken quarter again. I pulled off any noticeable fat and extra skin.

I thought gizzards were MM? When I gave them gizzards, I did so because I had given backs, which are very bony, so added gizzard and some skinless breast meat.

Back to quarters for a while.

Also, I thought pumpkin was recommended a few times a week or even daily.

This gets so confusing...


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

The #1 reason for loose stools on raw is OVERfeeding.

Pumpkin is not needed unless a dog has loose stools or is very constipated.

Gizzards ARE muscle meat.

Leave the fat and skin ON as they have valuable nutrients.

Clear as mud, right?


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## Chloedancer (Mar 13, 2008)

Hahahahahaha I took the extra fat and skin off of Eik's today. 

Will skip the pumpkin unless needed. I thought I had read where people gave it on a regular basis. My bad.

I couldn't get around to the new scale today nor will it be tomorrow, but I think that's most of the problem. I don't think he was getting too much food when it was just the quarters but maybe so when I gave a back, gizzards, and some breast meat all at once...even though I had attempted to get an accurate measurement and proportions. 

Will see how it goes and hopefully will be able to pick up that new scale Friday. The only place close to me is Walmart and they don't have any.


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