Chicken Necks And Other Foods

[inbox]

Hi everyone

I have a japanese spitz who is 7months old now. Just wanted some clarification whether giving chicken necks to my pup will be good or not for dinner. I asked my vet is she told me she wouldnt advise to give it at all since the small bones can damage his throat or cause choking. Although I've read elsewhere it should be fine. Any ideas? Its just that i want him to eat some meaty things instead of just the wet food and kibble i give. Or should I get the chicken necks but crush them myself?

What other meat produce should i give to my pup that is good for his diet and natural for him? I was thinking mince, do I need to cook it b4 i give it to him to eat?

And in regards for food that he can chew n clean with, any suggestions? He is a very heavy chewer and most toys I've given him have been broken and thrown away now.

Some other random questions

Whenever I give my pup his food for dinner, it takes awhile for him to eat, like 20minutes or so, the thing is when I'm next to him or holding the plate then he would eat faster and finish his food. I've made him eat alone and took his food away after 15minutes and that was it, but I'm worried i will be underfeeding him as he will only eat around half of what he is suppose to eat. Any suggestions to make him eat without me being there? I'm also trying to make this not a habit but i only do it once or twice a week when he doesnt eat any at all.

Also why is it do i need to boil eggs to give to eat?

Thanks

[persephone]

You do NOT need to boil eggs for him at all .

he can eat lots of bones... but I would agree with your vet re the chciken necks. They are exactlyy the right size to get stuck in a dog's throat

Give him WHOLE, RAW chicken wings and turkey wings, lamb flaps/brisket bones, beef brisket bones..WHOLE,uncut lamb necks

Any suggestions to make him eat without me being there

Give him stuff he enjoys :rolleyes:

don't 'hover'

don't send off anxiety vibes ....

make sure he has plenty of exercise, and not many treats before meals.

use the meaty bones as a meal- not a treat.

get him a kong... and fill it with a mixture of yummy things... he will chew and roll it around... and not wreck it :rolleyes:

[WreckitWhippet]

Stop worrying and thinking that you are under feeding him. He's now done the majority of his growing and does not require the amounts of food that a fast growing baby does.

[megan_]

Feeding a RAW diet is great for your dog. Before you go down this path though, you need to find out what is good/bad (that's why you're posting I guess!) - otherwise you can do more harm than good. For example, mince with no bone is a bad idea for dogs as the phosphorus (meat) and calcium (bones) balance is out of whack.

I would recommend getting a copy of Ian Billinghurst's "Give a Dog a Bone". It explains what to give/what not to give and gives some background on RAW feeding. Bear in mind that there are many different schools of thought when it comes to raw feeding (eg BARF and the prey model are different). I found the information overwhelming, all had pros and cons, so I chose BARF and stuck to that. You can also use the search function on the forum as there is plenty of information here.

In terms of feeding time, many people recommend limiting it to 15 mins. I don't do this as I feed RAW and my dog needs time to chew the bones properly. I don't want to rush him lest he chokes. In terms of over/underfeeding, if you can see his ribs he is too thin. Standing behind him you should be able to see a clear waist, and feel his ribs without pushing too hard. A few studies have shown that it is better to be on the lighter side than overweight.

Even if you don't go down the RAW path, giving your dog a raw bone to chew (not marrow as it is very rich) will help clean its teath.

[MissAloof]

20 mintues? maybe your dog's just not food oriented. Sometimes I barely get into another room and sit down and my girl's charging in next to me. My girl eats her food really quickly, eats what she wants and drops the rest on the floor - as if saying, don't give me that again.

I don't want to hijack this thread but how do you know the right amounts to give young dogs? Does that mentioned book go into all that?

[Garden Girl]

I read somewhre - possibly on here - that the thing about boiling eggs was to get the bacteria off the shell. Having said that I have never boiled an egg - I just give the whole thing to the dog shell and all. Sometimes I semi-freeze them, raw, as a hot day treat - but never bothered to cook them.

Edited January 3, 2009 by JME

[Teebs]

20 mintues? maybe your dog's just not food oriented. Sometimes I barely get into another room and sit down and my girl's charging in next to me. My girl eats her food really quickly, eats what she wants and drops the rest on the floor - as if saying, don't give me that again.

I don't want to hijack this thread but how do you know the right amounts to give young dogs? Does that mentioned book go into all that?

I have one like that, the other is now getting the same, cause if he doesnt finish, she tries to steal it! Atlas would graze all day before Kaos came into the house!

As for food, i dont have a set amount, for my dogs or the dogs i care for (unless the owners say they want the dog fed EXACTLY this amount)

I go by what the dog looks like, Atlas tends to put weight on, where Kaos loses it. SO if At is looking a bit tubby, i feed him 1/2 a cup not 1 cup, if kaos is looking skinny, i feed her more then normal.

[puggy_puggy]

I chop the pugs chicken necks up into smaller pieces so they can't choke on them. You can buy minced chicken carcusses from places like Lennards.

If you are wanting to feed a BARF or Raw diet you need to read, read, read and inform yourself on what to do and not what to do.

[inbox]

Thanks for all the replies so far

Give him WHOLE, RAW chicken wings and turkey wings, lamb flaps/brisket bones, beef brisket bones..WHOLE,uncut lamb necks

get him a kong... and fill it with a mixture of yummy things... he will chew and roll it around... and not wreck it

I just gave him some chicken wings today, the thing that worries me alot is when he breaks it up into smaller bones and then there are sharps ends which could cut himself while eating. It doesn't seem like he will choke but being cut either in the mouth or throat. Should I be worried with this?

But good news today, he finally ate all his food and left the wing last to eat, kinda different cause he would usually eat the good stuff first.

I also bought some lamb flaps, I don't suppose they would be the same as the chicken wings? they look really big(cut into smaller places) and good which ill give tomorrow.

Also I have the kong and love using it which has been great.

In terms of feeding time, many people recommend limiting it to 15 mins. I don't do this as I feed RAW and my dog needs time to chew the bones properly. I don't want to rush him lest he chokes. In terms of over/underfeeding, if you can see his ribs he is too thin. Standing behind him you should be able to see a clear waist, and feel his ribs without pushing too hard. A few studies have shown that it is better to be on the lighter side than overweight.

Even if you don't go down the RAW path, giving your dog a raw bone to chew (not marrow as it is very rich) will help clean its teath.

I do regularly check his ribs and it has been normal, not thin nor fat. I also limit his feeding time to 15mins and take away his food then, but it just worries me sometimes he just wouldn't even eat half. I leave him alone to eat all the time as well so there isn't really distractions, sometimes i check on him and see he just lies on the ground.

What kind of raw bone should I give to him for chewing to clean? I'm unsure thats all with the names, I have given marrows in the past so other good alternatives will be great.

[Guest Tess32]

Nope don't worry about him being cut by chicken wing bones, dogs know how to eat properly (most of the time)

All raw bones that they chew and crunch clean the teeth

[bozthepup]

Nope don't worry about him being cut by chicken wing bones, dogs know how to eat properly (most of the time)

All raw bones that they chew and crunch clean the teeth

Hi All

I bought some chicken necks for (then) 8 wk old pup - I googled it and read to supervise him while eating. I physically sat down next to him while he ate it, looked away for 2 Seconds and he'd swallowed whole. It freaked me, I rang the vet and she roused on me for giving him necks. Anyway, now I have a bag full of necks which I'm sure he'd love, albeit it they only cost me 3 bucks. I cut them one into three bits yesterday which he could work with, but then the 'exposed' small bones were very sharp. Is this okay ?

[persephone]

Chicken necks are not ideal for any but tiny pups/dogs.

if you do use them.. buy large ones,and feed them frozen )

don't cut them up.. there is more ikelihood of a dog swallowing a chunk

The reason I see them as unsuitable,as that their diameter is about the same as a dog's throat... and they can get stuck!

I tried them with my boy when he was a pup.. didn't last long after a scare!

[Aubrey]

We've been giving them to Aubrey since she was about 5 months old and she loves them.

She is good with them though, bites them and crunches them up before swallowing them.

We do watch her though, at a distance, just to make sure there aren't any issues.

In fact, we watch her when she has anything that could cause issues and don't leave her alone with anything that could.

She does love the bones and the chicken frames too!

[MissAloof]

Buju's had them for ages too, and loves them. She seems to know the words too (or just wishful thinking on my part). She starts crunching at one end and continually crunches until she's mashed the whole thing up. I do keep half an eye on her just in case though. I also gave her a chicken wing a while ago and she chewed and crunched that the same way.

[inbox]

I was just wandering, how is everyones experience with lamb flaps? My pup takes around 20minutes to eat it all, seems to cut it down slowly but seems to swallow some pieces when they are small (i think). Just new to this raw meat and only concern is choking or bones that may hurt him.

Is there a time frame i should be giving him to eat them? well any raw meat? Just worried about bacteria as well that may form while eating it?

[mooki]

Hi everyone

I have a japanese spitz who is 7months old now. Just wanted some clarification whether giving chicken necks to my pup will be good or not for dinner. I asked my vet is she told me she wouldnt advise to give it at all since the small bones can damage his throat or cause choking. Although I've read elsewhere it should be fine. Any ideas? Its just that i want him to eat some meaty things instead of just the wet food and kibble i give. Or should I get the chicken necks but crush them myself?

hi inbox

i gave my staffy pup chicken necks when he was 5 months old and would not do it again. he stopped eating for a few days and it was so scary. i took him to the vet and they felt some hard blockage around his abdomen most likely cause by the chicken necks. i felt like SUCH a bad mum (btw they said the hot weather didn't help and might've helped them calcify in his stomach.)

they gave him a needle and then i had to give him laxatives for the next couple of days beucase he was constipated - the poor thing! over the next week his eating picked up but i wanted to be 100% sure there were no bones inside him so i went back and got an xray. luckily there wasn't. but after lots of worrying and a bit of $$ i learnt my lesson - no more chicken necks!!

if you're not sure don't risk it

good luck!

Edited January 7, 2009 by mooki