Feeding Mince Without Bone...

[espinay2]

How much more meat on the bone should they get? I'd been using Billinghurts' comment that as a bottom line pups can do well on chicken wings and random bits & pieces as a sort of safety net

If you have a read, you will see even Billinghurst really recommends more than just the meat on wings etc, as he also advocates the 'meat meal' - both in his first book, and in the two subsequent books in the form of 'patties'.

Even a prey animal, which often will have a little less meat on in that a commercially raised animal, will have more meat on it than a chicken frame or wing. Look at the wild rabbits next time you are in the butcher for example, or imagine how much meat a dog may get when eating his share of a kangaroo or an elk. Yes, some days they will get less, and feeding wings or carcasses on their own for a few days is no problem. I do that too. But IMO also feeding meatier meals whether on the bone (eg big meaty lamb necks or pork hocks or half a whole chicken or meaty chicken pieces) or off the bone (in the form of muscle meat chunks or mince) provides a better balance over time.

do those of you who use it have a cheaper way of buying codliver and flaxseed oil and brewer's yeast and rescue remedy than from the health food shop?

I dont use brewers yeast which some dogs can be allergic to. Vit B can be provided through organ meats etc. I dont use cod liver oil. Instead of flaxseed oil I use fish oil capsules which I buy from my local chemist (Gunghalin for Canberra folks) who sell 2 large bottles for under $30. I find there is less wastage with the capsules. If you want to stick to flax seed oil though, you can order directly from Stoney Creek Oils which may be more economical. Do a google search and you should find their website. As for rescue remedy, you can buy a small bottle of the concentrate and make it up yourself using spring water and alcohol. You have to spend a bit more in the beginning, but it may cost you less in the end if you use it frequently.

[Mana]

Thankyou espinay -

I've had Give Your Dog a Bone for a couple of months but Grow Your Pups and The Barf Diet just arrived a couple of days ago so I'm still poking through them!

They sometimes get chicken thighs too, now I think about it, and drumsticks, which are a bit meatier, and they've have had half whole chickens once, and lamb shanks too, but someone said the bones in shanks might be too hard for pups.

But I'll keep the extra meat in mind. I'm hoping to someday stumble across a butcher who has whole rabbit carcasses in bulk lots!

They're still occasionally passing whole chicken vertebrae and bits of bone out in their poo though... seems like they digest half of the bones and half just slide on through unchanged... in the Barf Diet he says this should gradually change to full digestion, but these pups have had chicken wings from shortly after weaning and bones the whole time they've been with me... Do you still find bone shards from your dogs who have been on BARF for ages?

Thanks for the hint about the oils and RR - I haven't used RR before but was going to see if it helped an older dog with separation anxiety.

[Guest LittlePixie]

Thanks guys... will start adding some mince to the diet too.

[CavsRcute]

Jed, if you are really interested in Cavaliers teeth.....Lani is 2 and the only thing I can thank the breeder for, is that she started her early on chicken necks. She now eats chicken carcasses, lamb shanks(cut in half lengthwise), lamb neck and forequarters, beef brisket bones. The tougher the better Her teeth are sparkling white.

Hope she has all her teeth when she is 8

Edited August 12, 2005 by CavsRcute

[mongrel scum]

Most Lenards sell chicken frames for around 30c each.

ms

[sas]

Cost me $14 for it and should last her 5-6 days after I mix it with rice+veges and give her bones.

I was under the impression rice off sets the balance in barf and pasta is better?

[espinay2]

Actually neither is better. Dogs do not require carboydratesand in fact studieshave shown that froman energy point of view, dogs perform better on a no/low carb diet. Even that tome'The Nutrient Requirements of Dogs' which sets out information to assist commercial food manufacturers formulate their products staates that carbohydrates/grains are added because they are 'economical', and not because they are best.