Raw feeding advised needed

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meggit
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Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:48 pm

Raw feeding advised needed

Post by meggit »

buddy is nearly 5 now and has been raw feed from about 14 weeks old and took to it like a duck to water ive not had many problems with it at all now tilly on the other hand was put on to raw feeding as soon as she arrived here at 8 weeks old it took her a little time to figure out how to eat the chicken wing and it would take her half an hour to chomp through it at first now she is 13 weeks old and and for the last 2 days has been swallowing the chicken wing virtually whole she chomps the end off it then just swallows i tried holding it tonight so she had to chew and she was growling and not happy at all and my fingers (cant find a pair of pliers any where) were in serious risk so had to let go so she just swallowed it then started to cough till she bought it back up so is this something i should be concerned about and how do i slow her down both dogs are seperated at feeding time and buddy is put on stay till she has finished so she has not had a reason to feel she must eat it quick i stand quietly between the two feeding areas and have done this since day one she is on 3 meals a day and is growing nicely any help would be very much appreciated
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Nettle
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Re: Raw feeding advised needed

Post by Nettle »

Feed in places where they cannot see each other, such as separate rooms or one inside one outside. Saves putting Buddy in a 'stay' which is extremely stressful for both.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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meggit
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Re: Raw feeding advised needed

Post by meggit »

should i worry about her swallowing large chunks of chicken wing
Erica
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Re: Raw feeding advised needed

Post by Erica »

Do you feed her anything but chicken wings? Backs might be larger for the same weight and require chewing on her part. They're very bony, but you could balance that out with boneless meat at another meal. Have you tried feeding frozen, or if you do feed frozen, feeding raw? Sometimes switching from one to the other encourages chewing. Delta's usually good at chewing, but once in a while he's swallowed a large bone (like, rabbit femur - not a beef rib or anything!) and in those cases he sometimes regurgitates it later. I try to discourage swallowing bones whole because it can be uncomfortable; I don't know if it's dangerous.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
delladooo
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Re: Raw feeding advised needed

Post by delladooo »

Not sure on how big Tilly is in comparison to my two but possibly try necks too? Both of mine will chew a neck although not always into separate pieces the bones do have a good crunching before swallowing
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Nettle
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Re: Raw feeding advised needed

Post by Nettle »

meggit wrote:should i worry about her swallowing large chunks of chicken wing


Anything can happen at any time with any dog and any diet. Dogs have choked on kibble. Nothing is 100% safe. If you are bothered by this, cut the wing up very very small. Revisit the concept of a whole wing a week or so later.

However I strongly suspect that when the other dog is out of sight, she won't feel the need to bolt down her food.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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meggit
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Re: Raw feeding advised needed

Post by meggit »

ok have triend several things now if i removed either dog from their normal eating place they would pick up the food and wander round my house hubby didnt like that idea at all so looked at the situation carefully she only swallows large chunks when buddy has fininshed his and allthough he dosnt go near her he does watch her so now as soon as hes finished hes taken out of sight and sound she then relaxes a little and dosnt bolt the rest of her food but i have allso put her on frozen chicken wings to slow her down any way but now we have a new thing and thats growling at me if i go any where near her and my goodness did that cause problems this morning as hubby informs me we must stop her from doing that
JudyN
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Re: Raw feeding advised needed

Post by JudyN »

Meggit, have a read of this article on resource guarding: https://positively.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=18074 It should help you deal with the growling, but do ask if you have any questions. Is it only when she has food that she growls at you?
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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Nettle
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Re: Raw feeding advised needed

Post by Nettle »

Also - explain to hubby that we must never ever seek to stop a dog growling. The growl is a gift. Growling is communication. When a dog growls:

1. Stop what you are doing and back off

2. Figure out why the dog is growling and what it is trying to communicate

3. Arrange matters so that it does not have to growl in future.

Never be offended by a growl. Never get all human-ego about it. Just see it for what it is - communication.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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jacksdad
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Re: Raw feeding advised needed

Post by jacksdad »

LOVE them growls...and barks.

responding as Nettle suggests, saved me from being bit about a month ago.
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