# Bone substitute?



## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

So I am having a tremendous amount of trouble getting my boy to eat RMBs.. I have tried Turkey neck, chicken neck, Chicken Quarters, Chicken Drumsticks, and Chicken backs. He does best with the Chicken back and Drumstick, won't even bother with the necks. He doesn't seem to like the raw chicken or anything with that texture. He won't eat the meat and often times will pretty much debone the drumstick and eat the bones. It is a constant battle getting him to eat RMBs. LOVES every other aspect of the diet, veggies, MM, OM, fish, fruits, etc.. but not RMBs. I thought at first he just wasn't used to to chewing since he doesn't like rawhides and hasn't chewed his toys as of late but I got him a Marrow bone and he goes to town! So I really think that he just doesn't like it. As of late, I will give him the RMB first and if he doesn't eat it he just doesn't get the rest. Often times when i feed him the next meal he will eat the RMB because he's hungry then he gets the rest of the meal. but in doing this he is not getting the right amount of nutrients even over time.. 

Is there any substitute for RMBs? I really don't want to battle with him every single meal. I work full time and he has SAR Training weekly. We are too busy for feeding time to be an hour of me trying to get him to eat.. 

Help please...


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Do his teeth hurt? He no longer chews his toys and that is a recent development? 

Can you get pork necks or lamb necks? Duck necks? If he does best with chicken backs, then I would just use that. You might talk to a local butcher and see if you can get bone dust from when they saw through the bones. Or, you could get a grinder and grind the RMBs. WE use a Tasin.


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## jprice103 (Feb 16, 2011)

I give my dog pork necks...they are RMBs. She HATES chicken...will not eat any raw chicken, but loves all other raw meat. Because of this I have held off on moving her to all raw, but she will eat pork necks. I get them at the grocery store, and they are pretty cheap.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

there are many butchers that grind the chicken frames , meat, fat and bone into a hamburger type consistency . Might try that for a while . Bone dust is good , very high in the fat marrow though.

Carmen
Carmspack Working German Shepherd Dogs


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Just to make your life easier, he does not need veggies and fruit. They can serve as a treat, but should not be more than a occasional part of the diet. 

Grinding is an option though most grinders, unless you go with a large commercial grinder, won't handle anything except poultry bones. Friend of mine does this because he has a dog with EPI so he grinds for them all. Another option would be to go with the preground products that are available. You can get whole chickens, turkeys, lamb, mutton, beef, pork and many other meats. They can be expensive, but sometimes the best option and not bad when feeding only one dog. 

Bone dust tends to go rancid VERY quickly. I remember talking to the butcher that did our beef about this. The best source of bone is, well, bone.


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

When we moved here he stopped chewing his chews. Took him to the vet and she said nothing was wrong. He LOVES chewing his Marrow bone. So I know it's not a teeth thing. And by does best with Chicken backs.. is he might eat them if hehe feels like it. the necks is out of the question. he wants nothing to do with it.. sniffs and walks away. Like right now.. he didn't eat the drumstick.. didn't want anythign to do with it this morning so I didn't give him the rest of his food, but now he's chewing on his bone.. I haven't been able to find anyone that is willing to help with that stuff. No one here sells green tripe, no one butchers chickens so I can't even get the deboned chicken.. I am at a loss and it's so frustrating.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

You might also look into getting green tripe and making this part of your dog's diet. 

I also feed a lot of pork neck. It is more expensive than chicken, but cheaper than turkey. I also feed mutton, but it is one of the more expensive RMB. Another suggestion would be rabbit.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Friend of mine has a dog that will NOT eat chicken in the mornings.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Where, general area, are you located?


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

lhczth said:


> Just to make your life easier, he does not need veggies and fruit. They can serve as a treat, but should not be more than a occasional part of the diet.
> 
> Grinding is an option though most grinders, unless you go with a large commercial grinder, won't handle anything except poultry bones. Friend of mine does this because he has a dog with EPI so he grinds for them all. Another option would be to go with the preground products that are available. You can get whole chickens, turkeys, lamb, mutton, beef, pork and many other meats. They can be expensive, but sometimes the best option and not bad when feeding only one dog.
> 
> Bone dust tends to go rancid VERY quickly. I remember talking to the butcher that did our beef about this. The best source of bone is, well, bone.


Interesting about the fruits and veggies.. I have had a few people tell me that it's not a balanced diet without it and even on the BARF website, BARF Diet Specifics - Bones, Meat, Offal, Vegetables, Fruits & Other Nutrition Food Products for Pet, it states a lot about fruits and veggies being important. So he generally gets a fruit in the morning and a veggie at night. I suppose I can try Pork necks.. but I am very doubtful about it as he hasn't even show interest in the other necks I have tried.


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

lhczth said:


> Where, general area, are you located?


Up in the Florida Panhandle.


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## billsharp (May 3, 2011)

It's not RMBs your dog doesn't like, it's chicken. Liesl is the same. Try the pork necks, those worked for us. Also, while grinding will get the dog the bone, it won't satisfy the need to chew and break bones, which helps clean the teeth. One significant advantage of a raw diet is clean teeth from the crushed bones scraping the tartar off the teeth. 

FWIW try whole raw fish. Liesl loves whole tilapia, which is really cheap, and gives her some bone and fish oil.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Dogs are carnivores and while small amounts of veggies or fruit will not hurt them they are not necessary for a healthy diet. This site has some very good links.

The Many Myths of Raw Feeding


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