Boarding and Raw Feeding

[MyBoyChamp]

Champ is nine months old now and reading through this forum, I'm thinking about switching him to a raw diet. I already know that DH will think I'm nuts and protest, so I want to find the answers to some questions that I know he will have.

First, can I feed Champ a raw diet and then when he is boarded while we're on vacation (8 days), have him eat kibble? I don't know if there will be a problem going from one to the other and back. He doesn't get boarded that often but still will need to sometimes.

Another question is how do you keep your dogs from bringing their meal into the livingroom and gnawing on the meaty bone on the carpet? I wouldn't want to crate him and I don't have a divider big enough to cross from the kitchen where he eats to the living room.

Last question is, do you all just get your meat from the packages that are already made up? Or do you ask the butcher specifically?

Won't small bones like chicken bones be a choking hazzard?

Here are my pros to tell DH... someone mentioned that eye boogers are allergy related... I'm not aware of Champ having allergies but he does have eye boogers and it would be great if he didn't! Keeping his teeth in good shape and not needing dental cleanings would be wonderful! Someone mentioned shedding less... does anyone else notice that? I just want him to be happy and healthy and although he appears to be, if I can do better by him, I'd like to.

Thanks!

Patty

[Kaybie's Mom]

A lot of boarding places will actually accomodate raw feeding now so it might be worth asking before thinking of switching back to kibble for that period of time. But if not, then I don't think it will hurt him to go eat kibble for a while. He might get a bit of digestive upset and loose stools but nothing that will truly hurt him. But if it were me, I'd look into finding a boarding place that accomodates raw feeding.....remember, you're paying them to watch your dog......they should follow your wishes for how you'd like him fed.

About keeping them in one place to eat..........just train them. My dogs eat on a towel in the basement and I just throw a chicken leg quarter (or whatever) on the towel and they stay there and eat it. At first, they wandered a little bit and would end up on the floor rather than the towel but neither of them ever tried to run off with the food. And when they went off the towel, I would just pick up the meat and say, "Towel" and put it back on the towel. Now, if I see one of them getting close to the edge of their towel, I just say, "Towel" and they pick up the meat on their own and bring it back to the center of the towel. It's actually quite easy and they catch on very quickly.

I get most of my meat for free from posting ads on craigslist and freecycle asking people for their freezer burned meat that they are going to throw away......people are very willing to hand over their meat. The dogs don't mind the freezer burn at all! The only thing I buy sometimes is chicken leg quarters as most people give me boneless meat and I need them to be eating some bones. I feed a prey model diet, not a BARF diet. About 80% meat, 10% bones, 10% organs. And I don't weigh/measure anything, just approximate over time and they are doing wonderful!

As far as if small chicken bones would be a choking hazard.......it shouldn't be.......you should feed large items that require the dog to chew/crunch the bones. I wouldn't feed things like chicken wings, but rather, whole chicken leg quarters. A rule of thumb is that if you want them to crunch their food more, feed bigger, not smaller.

About eye boogers.........my dogs really don't have any......one of them used to but they've pretty much disappeared......maybe only a little when she wakes up. Their teeth are in very good condition also. Neither of my dogs shed at all....they used to but not since going to a raw diet.

Another BIG bonus to feeding a raw diet is that their poop is far less and they go far less often. My pup went from pooping literally 5-8 times a day and now they both usually go once a day, if that. And it's small and odorless. And it turns white and crumbles if left for a day or two. I haven't picked up dog poop in months because it disappears before I get a chance! It's wonderful!!!!!

[MyBoyChamp]

Thanks! I'm away at my sisters this weekend but I can't wait to get back and start Champ on a raw diet. I'll be sure to post his progress!

Patty