julzjc Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Hey everyone! As the the title states, how do you teach a dog to eat a bone? Mala is an approx 6mth old Dane x Mastiff, supposedly (ears say there is some Amstaff in there too though). She absolutly LOVES her kibble, takes a bit of persuasion to get her to eat raw meat, completly unsure what she is ment to do with it but gets the jist eventually. Bones however,even covered in meat, are a completly different matter. I can not even get her to lick them, she isnt scared of them as such, but I might aswell be trying to get her to lick/eat a DVD she is that indifferent to it. Ive tried hand feeding her, waiting untill she is very hungry, lots of praise, putting my other dogs near her (safely) with their bones, taking her inside with it/leaving the other two outside so they cant see each other, giving them her bone when they are finished their own, putting it in her bed with her. Nothing is working, slight problem problem when a fair portion of their diet consists of meaty bones etc. She doesnt even glance at her bone if another dog comes near, no body language to even acknowledge the bone's existence. Would rather be anywhere other than near the bone, not in a fear type way, just boredom. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Does she like peanut butter/vegemite/fish paste/sardines? paint some of the bone with that ..and make it a really exciting treat , perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julzjc Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 Does she like peanut butter/vegemite/fish paste/sardines? paint some of the bone with that ..and make it a really exciting treat , perhaps? Give me 2minutes and I will get back to you on that Pers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julzjc Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 With the exception of the Sardines which I dont have in the house, its a "You expect me to eat that mess?!" from Mala Indie and Astrid however send their thanks for all the yummy bones they just scored Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julzjc Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 With the exception of bread, she wont really eat anything that isnt kibble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_PL_ Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 You can just 'sear' the meaty parts in a hot pan. The bone and most of the meat will remain raw but sometimes just changing the smell/texture can be enough to kick start a fussy chewer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 ah well..it just may take a while .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andisa Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 (edited) Skip a meal or two and she will look differently at the bone ;) :D ETA: when Hamish came back home at 15 mo his teeth were in disgusting condition, he had been on kibble for 10 months and it showed. He lacked interest in the raw diet when he came back, I was pulling my hair out over this dog and he was loosing weight - I bought a bag of RC that he had been on and he still did not want that. Anyway after sitting down with him calling him all sorts of names for making me feel like I am failing him one day he got hungry and ate. He hasn't looked back since. In fact he has gone from the dog who would happily walk away from the others if food was being offered to holding his ground making sure he will not miss out. Good luck - she will get there when she is ready. Edited August 5, 2011 by Andisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakway Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Maybe the dog is not hungry enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytmate Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Skip a meal or two and she will look differently at the bone ;) :D That's right. She is not eating the meat because she has the option of eating kibble. If you don't want a fussy dog, don't offer it a smorgasbord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I would treat her like a cat that hadn't eaten raw - she needs to be familiar and confident with raw before moving onto bones. Get the tiniest amount of mince (minced frames are good for mineral balance) and mix it with her dry food. Slowly increase the amount of mince until it's about half and half. Feed it every day to normalise it. Maybe also get her "working" for her food by stuffing the mixture in Kongs loosely - sometimes they just want the easy way out! Then add in a couple of very small pieces of meat, increasing the size until she can confidently and enthusiastically chew a chunk of meat. Then I'd start her on chicken wings (I start cats on the tips only) - maybe warm them slightly to get the aroma going. I also play chasey games with the wing tip to get cats interested. Otherwise you'll just have to invest in a toothbrush ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julzjc Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 She hasnt been fed since Wed night in the hope of making her eat bones today. Dont worry, not afraid to make her skip a few meals for her to learn its this or nothing lol. Offered her bones on and off yesterday, if she didnt take it after 5min, it was put away again or given to the other dogs. Just wondering if anyone had any tips before she goes hungry again today. Just tried searing the meat on the bone, just pushed it away with her foot and went to sleep. Tell you what though, I am starving now! Absoluting drooling at the smell of seared lamb...mmmmm yummy! ps Dont tell my OH I was searing bones for the dog before Ive had my own breaky ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SezzNJunebug Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 (edited) I found running a bit of warm water over them make them smell a bit more as well as making the texture a bit more interesting worked for my amstaff and my cat. I sometime also cut them a little bit so they have little bit to grab onto to get them started. Edited August 5, 2011 by Sezz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyE Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I agree with what was written above. Don't offer anything but the meat and if she wont eat it within 10mins or so pick it up and put it into the fridge, try again a bit later. With my Sibe it was the opposite, all for raw/bones but not for kibble and it took a lot of patience to get her to eat it. Though in some cases dogs just don't like bones/raw.. kind of remind's me of my horse.. he doesn't like apples only carrots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julzjc Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 I would treat her like a cat that hadn't eaten raw - she needs to be familiar and confident with raw before moving onto bones. Get the tiniest amount of mince (minced frames are good for mineral balance) and mix it with her dry food. Slowly increase the amount of mince until it's about half and half. Feed it every day to normalise it. Maybe also get her "working" for her food by stuffing the mixture in Kongs loosely - sometimes they just want the easy way out! Then add in a couple of very small pieces of meat, increasing the size until she can confidently and enthusiastically chew a chunk of meat. Then I'd start her on chicken wings (I start cats on the tips only) - maybe warm them slightly to get the aroma going. I also play chasey games with the wing tip to get cats interested. Otherwise you'll just have to invest in a toothbrush ;) Thanks spotted devil, Ill start trying that tomorrow, thankyou. She was a surrender, has been VERY well cared for and alot of effort has gone into training and socialising her, most amazing girl, just obviously has only ever had kibble. Will persevere will her and get her over her fussy eating, case of "Eat what is on your plate or not atall" for all under this roof, skin kids included lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 (edited) You could also maybe try a stronger/different smelling meat. I've noticed Kiff gets bored with his lamb meals every couple of weeks and will just put it on his bed and stare sadly at it. I'd try chicken or roo. For our dogs, chicken is like crack- normally they take food nicely and don't gulp it but when it's chicken wings or frames, you literally do have to watch your fingers. The roo meat they aren't quite so keen on but it does tend to have a more meaty smell than lamb and I've found it useful in getting new foster dogs to start eating raw. It's very lean though so our dogs only get about 20% of their diet in roo (we get the tails from a friend who shoots roo for human food- the tails are quite meaty up the top and have lots of sinew to chew so they can't just gulp them down). Typo Edited August 5, 2011 by Hardy's Angel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I would treat her like a cat that hadn't eaten raw - she needs to be familiar and confident with raw before moving onto bones. Get the tiniest amount of mince (minced frames are good for mineral balance) and mix it with her dry food. Slowly increase the amount of mince until it's about half and half. Feed it every day to normalise it. Maybe also get her "working" for her food by stuffing the mixture in Kongs loosely - sometimes they just want the easy way out! Then add in a couple of very small pieces of meat, increasing the size until she can confidently and enthusiastically chew a chunk of meat. Then I'd start her on chicken wings (I start cats on the tips only) - maybe warm them slightly to get the aroma going. I also play chasey games with the wing tip to get cats interested. Otherwise you'll just have to invest in a toothbrush ;) Thanks spotted devil, Ill start trying that tomorrow, thankyou. She was a surrender, has been VERY well cared for and alot of effort has gone into training and socialising her, most amazing girl, just obviously has only ever had kibble. Will persevere will her and get her over her fussy eating, case of "Eat what is on your plate or not atall" for all under this roof, skin kids included lol. One of my cats came to me at age 2 from a breeder - speyed because she had birthing difficulties. She was so stressed by the time she arrived (her kittens had died) that she was eating one dry biscuit at a time. Literally. She would not have a bar of raw and it is dangerous to starve a cat. Last night she jumped on the kitchen bench, grabbed a chicken neck with her paw and tried to steal it because I was taking too long with her dinner :D If it worked with her I'd say you have a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 You can just 'sear' the meaty parts in a hot pan. The bone and most of the meat will remain raw but sometimes just changing the smell/texture can be enough to kick start a fussy chewer. Sorry to OT but I just wanted to thank Powerlegs for this tip! We recently got a lot of cheap roo bones and while my boy loves them, my girl just looks at us like "yes, where are the real bones please?" (she is fine with raw beef, lamb and chicken just not roo). She will then wait until our boy has stripped the roo meat off his bone and try to steal it to chew But we seared the outside and she got stuck in straight away! One less issue between our dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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