4paws4me Posted November 28, 2016 Share Posted November 28, 2016 I'm currently fostering a dog who likes to be destructive and chew what he can when left on his own. He doesn't get left on his own often. It's his only vice and would love to get this sorted before he goes to his permanent home. I raw feed. He gets a chicken carcass or pork trotter in the morning and some mince and offal at night (think I need to cut him back as he is now a healthy weight) I did have a treat ball, and was using that with some dry food that I still have in my cupboard from when my dog before foster dog fell ill with cancer and needed to her just to eat anything to keep her alive. However the treat ball was making a sore on his nose, as he loved it so much, but the hard plastic of the ball became scratched up and this is what was causing the sore. Then I tried a goats horn, he doesn't mind it, but don't think it's enough to keep him from chewing everything else! I have a large black Kong in my cupboard, and wondered how I would fill it considering im a raw feeder. Any advice would be appreciated. I still have some eagle pack in my cupboard and happy to use it for this purpose. TIA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 28, 2016 Share Posted November 28, 2016 Try beef tendons or pizzle sticks :) Also make iceblocks ..ice cream container (large) 3/4 fill with water ..drop in a sliced apple , a few bits of jerky , some meat chunks and a chicken wing. Freeze for 24 hrs ... put it outside ..leave him to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crazydoglady99 Posted November 28, 2016 Share Posted November 28, 2016 I use barf patties in my kongs. Just freeze it before giving it. Outside of that, dried kangaroo, pigs ears etc. Mine gets empty milk cartons (the 1litre) ones, rinse well, fill with a little bit of food (any kind) and let him rip it up to get contents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roova Posted November 28, 2016 Share Posted November 28, 2016 I dehydrated meats for treats and to create my own version of kibble because I was a bit stuck what to feed too. Cut to the right size they work fine in food puzzle cubes. How about a big meaty bone if he wants to get his teeth in to something? Maybe pop some food in a cardboard box and tape it up well. Once he get's good at ripping through that you can put smaller boxes in bigger boxes too. Maybe a kids wading pool full of water or maybe sand with treats \ toys buried within? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted November 29, 2016 Share Posted November 29, 2016 I tell you Roova you are the enrichment Queen! I had a large bobalot which Mac used to love - and I filled it with pieces of dried tripe treat - worked well. Should be able to pick one up around the $30 mark if you hunt around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roova Posted November 29, 2016 Share Posted November 29, 2016 You're so sweet Westiemum! I forgot to mention you can also make something similar to Salmon crack (lots of recipes on the web) which gets cooked. You can make healthy version and once cooled break it in to small pieces. You could pop some pieces in an empty soft drink bottle which can keep a dog busy crunching and trying to get the food out. Maybe test out what he does if you scatter his food in a large area which can lead to hiding it too keep him busy a while? If he likes chewing maybe you test out one of those hard-core tug toys you can set up for a dog to jump and play with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4paws4me Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 Try beef tendons or pizzle sticks :) Also make iceblocks ..ice cream container (large) 3/4 fill with water ..drop in a sliced apple , a few bits of jerky , some meat chunks and a chicken wing. Freeze for 24 hrs ... put it outside ..leave him to it! Omg...definately trying the iceblocks considering the heatwave we have at the moment!!! Thanks for the tip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4paws4me Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 I use barf patties in my kongs. Just freeze it before giving it. Outside of that, dried kangaroo, pigs ears etc. Mine gets empty milk cartons (the 1litre) ones, rinse well, fill with a little bit of food (any kind) and let him rip it up to get contents. So the barf patties I'm thinking would be similar to me just putting his meat feed into the Kong. Do you find that get it all out? I suppose you just wash it each day? I've just done the milk carton thing now and he just loves pushing these things around! Thanks for the tips! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4paws4me Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 I dehydrated meats for treats and to create my own version of kibble because I was a bit stuck what to feed too. Cut to the right size they work fine in food puzzle cubes. How about a big meaty bone if he wants to get his teeth in to something? Maybe pop some food in a cardboard box and tape it up well. Once he get's good at ripping through that you can put smaller boxes in bigger boxes too. Maybe a kids wading pool full of water or maybe sand with treats \ toys buried within? The boxes are a great idea aswell, and I'll just get the kids onto cleaning up the mess haha!!! Thanks for the tip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4paws4me Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 I tell you Roova you are the enrichment Queen! I had a large bobalot which Mac used to love - and I filled it with pieces of dried tripe treat - worked well. Should be able to pick one up around the $30 mark if you hunt around. I think I had something similar to this once... will hunt around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4paws4me Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 I tell you Roova you are the enrichment Queen! I had a large bobalot which Mac used to love - and I filled it with pieces of dried tripe treat - worked well. Should be able to pick one up around the $30 mark if you hunt around. I think I had something similar to this once... will hunt around. Thanks for the tip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crazydoglady99 Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Yes definitely! It takes them a while if you freeze them, but they love it. I would probably be dividing up his chicken carcass or whatever into a few portions and make him work hard to get them. My 'mr chew everything' gets his food in small portions that he has to work for. Barf in kongs, rib bones, chicken carcass in small bits stuffed in empty carton or paper towel roll etc. Seems to satisfy him! My kids get a real kick out of making him pthings to rip apart covered in layers of paper and sticky tape! Mine is getting a kong wobbla for xmas, but we got $5 food dispensing ball from kmart. It's not the most challenging thing on earth, but still gives him something to do. We put home made liver & pumpkin treats (dehydrated) in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappi&Monty Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 We had one of those Kmart food balls, it was good for a while but somehow it's gone missing. I've smooshed up banana and peanut butter and honey and frozen in a kong, they liked that. I've also seen people use 100% fruit purée and freeze that. If you're fine with using up that old kibble then you can soak it in warm water like porridge and put that in and freeze it. (Makes a hard frozen kibble piece sorta) Or a high quality tinned food or barf patties. (I've used some big dog patty once in a kong) Or I've seen treat balls that you can buy that have a soft rubber outer layer? Or you could simply just scatter kibble or dehydrated treats in tiny pieces around on the ground outside to sniff out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4paws4me Posted December 6, 2016 Author Share Posted December 6, 2016 We had one of those Kmart food balls, it was good for a while but somehow it's gone missing. I've smooshed up banana and peanut butter and honey and frozen in a kong, they liked that. I've also seen people use 100% fruit purée and freeze that. If you're fine with using up that old kibble then you can soak it in warm water like porridge and put that in and freeze it. (Makes a hard frozen kibble piece sorta) Or a high quality tinned food or barf patties. (I've used some big dog patty once in a kong) Or I've seen treat balls that you can buy that have a soft rubber outer layer? Or you could simply just scatter kibble or dehydrated treats in tiny pieces around on the ground outside to sniff out. So, i have done milk bottles with holes in them and kibble inside. He like those, but now it doesn't seem to be doing the job. I have a frozen treat block to give him tomorrow while I am out and will see how he goes with that. Next I will be trying the kong!!! Its starting to drive me bonkers lol. I'm thinking he needs more physical activity too. So hoping to ramp that up some more too. Thanks for all the tips :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roova Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 Trick training and obedience can also be mentally exhausting outside of physical activity and will help make him an extra awesome dog :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 ;) a word .. or several about increased running /playing . it is a terrific tool - to make a FITTER dog, who then needs MORE running/playing to achieve that relaxed/tired state ;) as roova said ..trick /obedience work -BRAIN training is a good tool to relax a pup/dog . Several short sessions each day ... then again.. he MAY be hard wired to have way too much nervous energy ....and it may be difficult to teach him to be calm and relaxed ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crazydoglady99 Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 (edited) Ya know, I agree that what you are saying is true perse. But I also think it varies so much dog to dog. And age is certainly a major factor. My boy gets a 10km run, half of which is off leash exploring the bush, often including a swim. Plus hours of crazy play with his doggie sister. He is amazingly fit and looking fantastic! But the difference between having or not having a walk is very obvious. I've tested it too, walking at different times of the day, or not walking at all. With a walk -he is a bit hyper after, and like to have something to do /rip apart / chew. But does chill after a few hours. Without a walk - he gets cabin fever by the afternoon and it's difficult to find enough for him to do. With an adaptil collar on he is much calmer, so most likely anxiety is a contributor. But mine is also kelpie x shephard, so there's the very active working dog that needs to keep busy. Well that's what I think anyway! It can get a bit taxing constantly making (and cleaning up) chew/rip apart food type toys. And thinking up new ideas. I spend hours making and inventing different things. Keep up your hard work. Good on you for trying so hard :) Edited December 6, 2016 by crazydoglady99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Raw feeding and kongs is easy :) Use any mince, meat chunks you normally would and pack it in tight then freeze/semi freeze. I have even managed to wrangle a chicken wing in and leave the tip sticking out then jam mince all round it and freeze. Took them ages to be able to get it all out. If you use yoghurt you can also mix that through too. If you do veggie mix (I know some people do, some people don't) you can put that in there too if the dog likes it. I used to mix tinned sardines, yoghurt and egg in. If too runny just add some meat. Just make sure the kongs are washed regularly in case they don't get it all out - to make it easier to start with you can feed them fresh not frozen and then up the difficulty s the dog gets better at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misconceived_paws Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Hi there I'm a huge raw feeding advocate and owner and I'm lucky to know many many tips and tricks for raw feeding due to many years of raw feedin and being a member of the raw feeding community online :). You said he chews excessively? Ok personally in my experience dehydrated and dried bones etc do not do much for chewers they actually seem to make it easier due to the crumbly texture. Kongs and such can be temporary enrichment however like yours they can easily destroy them or simply they grow bored of them. Dogs take much more of an interest in things they can consume wholey. I have six dogs in total medium to large breed dogs with powerful jaws. I freeze bones in the summer period. Some people may say this increases teeth fractures it can but use common sense. Don't give a small dog a frozen boulder bone or even a medium dog dont generally give boulder bones anyway for the most part they're useless and only good for teeth damage. Always use bones that have a high meat content rather then bone content to freeze I. E chicken carcass is perfect. I've put down a list of bones I have found over the years acceptable to freeze and give without any damage to teeth: - beef brisket - kangaroo tails - chicken carcass - frozen tripe yes as it is already hard to chew with its rubbery texture freezing it makes it ideal - lamb spines - lamb necks - pig trotters If these bones are hard to source I will suggest freezing your organs. If your dog is fed a complete raw diet he or she should be getting a percentage of organ meats in their diet. These are a list of organs to feed and freeze for your boy which when completely frozen will make a hard snack to eat: - beef heart - beef liver - beef kidney This can also be lamb also. They must not be commercial organs I. E from woollies as these are far too small try to source from your local abbatoir OR butcher the larger the better. My vet also sells goat heads etc. I freeze those and my dogs eat everything fur and all and just leave the teeth. See if you can source any live stocks head or have any hunting friends and freeze them (hunted animals need to be frozen a minimum of 2 weeks). Hopefully this helps a little :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul777 Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 (edited) G'day Misconceived_paws. You offer some very good suggestions. I'm also a raw meaty bone diet fan. My Rotti in spirit loved a frozen chicken carcass or lamb brisket on a hot day. He treated them like an ice block, licking them in the shade of a tree for ages before ripping into them. But I do draw the line at "I will suggest freezing your organs". Nuh-uh, not while I'm still using them : ) Edited December 19, 2016 by Paul777 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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