Only Eats Meat

[Darkrai]

For awhile now lucius only eats meat or canned dog food (imy's kinda the same)...

If you give them dry dog food still might be there at the end of the day...

If you give them any type of meat BAM!!!!! its gone...

Is it ok to give a growing puppy just meat ie Chicken necks/wings, lamb ribs/necks etc (i don't feed my dogs much beef) as i know if i give him meat he'll eat it...

Also if i put vitamin/minerals etc on they wont touch it unless you stand there and watch them :D

[KitKat]

Perhaps start reading up on BARF and RAW diets and go from there?

[t-time]

Palane - try mincing the meat, add a bit of olive oil and plain yoghurt and mix it in with the kibble

When I'm being lazy and haven't made up my Barf mixture, the dogs get their meat with kibble - and they will leave the kibble in preference for the meat. I give them good quality kibble so I don't want them missing out on valuable nutrients in that. Mixing it all together solves that issue and everything in the bowl is scoffed.

(And there's bound to be someone who doesn't agree with serving dry and wet food together )

[Prydenjoy]

Hello Palane

If you're just feeding the necks/wings/meat you'll probably end up with deficiencies.

You might want to read up on some raw and home cooked diets. It can all be a little over whelming at first and you do have to do a lot of research. I'm guessing Lucious is another Afghan? If so it's extra important that you get it right, as large breeds can be subject to all sorts of skeletal issues if they don't get the right calcium to phosphorus ratio when they are young.

A word from experience, if you have picky eaters you may consider cooking their evening meal ie feeding chicken wings in the morning and a cooked meal at night. My guys tend to turn their nose up at a raw "slop" which is made from meat, offal and veggies. Now I opt for a balanced cooked menue for their dinner, with meat, offal (liver, heart - they love heart!, kidney etc), some grains and supplements such as fish oil, vitamin B, vitamin C, Evening Primrose Oil (which I'll be swapping over to Emu oil shortly), kelp and cod liver oil. I also add vitamin E a few times a week, which is important to add on the day because if you freeze it it inactivates it.

If I am wrong can someone please correct me? But I think the correct calcium to phosphorus ratio is 1.2:1.

You will see at this website the calcium to phosphorus ratio for a chicken wing, it is pretty spot on as to what they require. Therefore, you need to make sure their evening meal has the correct calcium to phosphorus ratio as well. If you enter the ingredients in here you'll be able to see the amounts of calcium:phosphorus and add egg shells or something such as cottage cheese to make the difference up (they are more likely to be high in phosphorus - I think 1tsp of ground egg shells = 2000mg calcium). Make the recipe using about 20% meat (turkey meat and roo meat are good choices for meat, roasting retains most of the vitamins and makes the meat more tasty), 20% offal (of that use about 50% liver, and 50% a combination of kidney, heart and giblets), about 40% cooked and then pureed veggies (sweet potato and pumpkin are good as a base, and whatever is in season), 10% grains (controversial topic, my guys like a bit of grain in their diet and it doesn't do them any harm - Use things such as brown rice, pearl barley, and oats), and then 10% of extras, such as eggs, cottage cheese, sardines or salmon. If you go to the nutritiondata.com website you can type in all the amounts of the ingredients and you'll be able to work out the calcium to phosphorus ratios! It's a good idea to make a few recipes that vary slightly to provide variety. I cook the offal with the grains (my guys get a higher percentage of grains than what I suggested to you) and it makes it tastier for them. My boys love their cooked meals, Montie would never eat the raw meals I made for him and practically lived off RMB's for a while, lucky he didn't get sick from it! Now I've found something that works I'm sticking to it. As for the controversy re raw vs cooked, cooked is more palatable and the nutrients (particularly in the veggies) are more readily available to the dog. I think it is still important for them to eat a bone a day (and yes I do eat an apple a day myself! LOL) so they get that for their teeth and to keep their immune systems strong

Do your research, see what you think... I hope what I have just done is outline some basics for you in an easy to understand way to get you on track.

You need to feed your dog what works for them, and if they aren't eating something, no matter how nutritious it is, it isn't working for them is it? So you have to try the next thing, and the next, until you're satisfied with what you see

Good luck!

[jconlon]

I sometimes mix raw egg with dry food this works for me

[Red Mal]

Not sure if someone has pointed out the home cooked food is fine regarding meat, providing NO cooked bones are given. They are dangerous and dogs shuldn't be given cooked bones ever !

Feeding chicken wings etc, is fine from a pup and I know many breeders who wean their dogs this way.

Try reading "Grow your pup with Bones". It will explain a lot and help you out

[Poodle wrangler]

My standard poodle tried this one on me earlier on, too. He would eventually eat the kibble, though, when it was obvious no other raw stuff was forthcoming . His weight's OK, so I don't worry when he ignores the dry food- I give it back to him later on.

Kibble= food of last resort .

[Static'sMum]

Static eats pretty much anything, but we did have a period of time when he would pick out certain biscuits and spit them on the ground.

I found the best way around it was a smidge of gravy. I use pedigree puppy gravy at the moment (as its the only one i have found - and human gravy is a bit salty for him i think)

I could get him to eat anything i wanted, if i added gravy.

I usually cook up some vegies then drain 90% of the water once they're done, and then add some gravy to the hot water. Mix that through his dry biscuits, and he's licking his bowl clean, and his lips for about ten minutes afterwards.

I also think that if your dog is hungry, it will eat biscuits if you don't give it too many options. You possibly just need to find a biscuit that is appealing enough.

I don't think it is acceptable to feed only meat. they don't need large amounts of vegies etc, but I do think the diet will be lacking if it is only meat.

[The Mack]

I feed my dogs a mixture of minced kangaroo or beef or tuna..

hand full of cooked pasta

some greated carrot

what ever cooked vegies i have lying around.

dry dog food, then pour some boiling water over it all.. let it cool a little.. mix it all up with my hands

if im in a good mood, an egg will make an appearance

they love it.. and its a good way to get them to eat a bit of everything.. i started this as early as i could.

as a result i have a german shepherd who loves whole avocardos... lol..by themself.

[Prydenjoy]

.. mix it all up with my hands

I'll bet that's pleasant for you... The things we do for our dogs!!

On avocado though, you might want to read this

[scubadog30]

If you were to offer a child a plate of Mars Bars or a plate of Broccoli.

Most kids would take the chocolate, not because it's better for them, it's just what they would prefer.

As dog owners we have to make the choices for what is best for our dogs.

Make sure that the diet is complete & Balance with all Vitamins, Nutrients, Minerals, Carbs & Protiens etc.

Now if you use Dry Food or Barf or Home Cooked it doesn't matter as long as it has everything that your dog requires to grow in a healthy way.

Whatever you choose, it should always look for the diet to be "Complete & Balanced"

I was always taught that you should never leave food down for a dog to graze on all day either.

I was told to give your dog a certain amount of time to eat their food and if they don't eat it then it should be taken away.

This will tell them that if they don't eat their food when given to them, they will miss out. and your dog should start to eat whatever you put down for them.