Question for the Dog Whisperers....

[HapaLee]

I have a 5yr old Mini-Dachshund. I was walking with him last night, and an old lady came running out of her house. She goes on, and on how she's been breeding weiner dogs for 20 years. She asked me if I give him RAW CHICKEN, BONES AND ALL? I told her that I thought chicken bones splinter, and thus, bad for them.
She goes on to tell me that as long as the chicken is raw, there is no cause for alarm. Raw chicken is the best thing for their teeth, and for their diet. Before I go and buy drumsticks and wings, I was hoping for some insight from the dog guys here. Any thoughts? Thanks again!

Lee

 

[CoventryCat86]

I think she's lying. She really hates dogs and hopes that you'll kill your dog by feeding it chicken bones. :laugh:

Seriously, from what little I know, I think RAW chicken bones are okay but not cooked ones.

 

[Infinity]

IMHO, the only chicken bone you should be concerned about
before handing it over to a kid, is the sharp one that runs
along the side of the drumstick. Dogs are the same, just remove the
sharp bone in question. Dogs love chicken bones.

Brian.

Edit to add - as you can see from my sig below, it's the chicken
that should be worried :laugh: :laugh:

 

[BlindedByScience]

I just Googled "feed dogs raw chicken" and it turns out there's a ton of info on line. Whoda thunk.....

Our four mutts have had nothing but IAMS since they were pups and are doing great, FWIW.

Regards - B.B.S.

 

[Devil Doc]

My Vet has repeadetly told me not to feed my dog any bones. Leather chews and pigs ears are best for their teeth.

Doc.

 

[NullSmurf]

I've picked up and practiced from my Dad, no chicken or pork bones at all. Beef bones ok.

 

[ggiese]

I've picked up and practiced from my Dad, no chicken or pork bones at all. Beef bones ok.

I think that's based on HapaLee's initial thoughts as well. NEVER feed a dog a COOKED Chicken or Pork bone. They will splinter and will cause the dog grief and aggravation. That has been my understanding until...

...what Lee was asking - is it TRUE that RAW bones are actually good for the dog. It is my understanding that RAW chicken bones are in fact VERY GOOD for a dog. I seem to remember a discussion about this very subject here not that long ago. Because I'm not an expert on this subject, I've deferred it to the experts to comment on.

 

[NullSmurf]

Love to know dogs

Its a dog WIKI with interesting information, and was written by "an experienced dog handler and breeder". She thinks that what my Dad taught me is a lie propagated by dog food manufacturers who would rather we buy their food. I did find a few other interesting articles that made sense to me. I'll be spending more time here.

This one is a bit more substantial

Canismajor

The author references two books written by an Aussi Vet on the subject of feeding.

According to both of these links, Bill and George are right. Raw good, cooked at best is not as good.

 

[Shibumi]

I worked in an Animal Hospital a few years ago. One of the Vet techs used to give her mini poodle raw chicken all the time. I asked the vet and he told me, they don't have a problem with salmonella, because thier digestion is too fast to effect the stomach. As said above, as long as it's raw, it's cool. Cooked bones WILL splinter.

 

[HapaLee]

Thanks guys! I know Oscar Meyer Wiener is gonna be thrilled w/ his new treats!!

 

[iluvmysh]

The Raw diet aka "BARF" Biologically Appropriate Raw Food and also stands for Bones And Raw Food is perfectally healthy. Lots of people are starting to put their dogs on that diet. When the bones are cooked, then it may become harmful to your dog(s) due to splintering.

 

[Newfie]

FWIW, our dogs (Chocolate Lab and a Greyhound) get no human grub what-so-ever unless it's something we drop on the floor and they get to it before I can trash it.

 

[jstrat]

Raw meaty bones such as chicken wings and backs are fine for a dog. However, if they are not used to eating them, they can swallow them and then throw them up.

I would also advise not trying to mix a raw diet with a kibble diet. If you are going to go raw, then go raw. If you go kibble, then go kibble. Mixing raw and kibble will give the poor dog some major digestive issues.

I've gone both routes with dogs over the years and there are a lot of benefits from feeding raw, but it is a lot of work and time-consuming to do it right. To learn more, just google BARF.

If your not up for that kind of time committment then go with the best, holistic, non-grain based kibble you can buy.

 

[discdog]

This is a pretty commom practice(Barf Diet) with people who work their dogs. They claim it provides alot more nutrition which supposedly equals energy. There are two things that most of the people using this diet do: Backs only, do not use any cuts that have long bones that may splinter, the other is vitamin supplements.
Just from personal observations from being around this practice for the last 5 years, the dogs on this diet do not perform any better than the dogs on ANY dogfood diet (although, this may be the handlers fault),they do seem to handle heat and have less endurance issues, easier clean up as the waste goes straight through the dog - there seems to be less and it is extremely biodegradable.
The downside, very expensive (especially the supplements) and this practice normally increases the food aggressive behavior as you have to feed them less. Most of the dogs on this diet are very thin,a dog that would normally be in the 50lb range is typically 32/35lbs. Again, this is probably a handler issue, but it seems to make the dogs very aggressive.
Again, this is just my observations and the dogs have only been on this diet for a couple of years. But we have dogs on our circuit who are 10-11 years old and eating only normal dogfood and still perform well, although they do not win anymore, they are still very active. Jury is still out on the chicken diet for long term effects or benefits.

 

[Gonz]

Huh, no kidding. I would have thought raw chicken would be just as bad for your dog as it would be for you and I. I guess not. The only cooked bone my dog gets is the t-bone from a big steak I just finished.

 

[ggiese]

This is a pretty commom practice(Barf Diet) with people who work their dogs. They claim it provides alot more nutrition which supposedly equals energy. There are two things that most of the people using this diet do: Backs only, do not use any cuts that have long bones that may splinter, the other is vitamin supplements.
Just from personal observations from being around this practice for the last 5 years, the dogs on this diet do not perform any better than the dogs on ANY dogfood diet (although, this may be the handlers fault),they do seem to handle heat and have less endurance issues, easier clean up as the waste goes straight through the dog - there seems to be less and it is extremely biodegradable.
The downside, very expensive (especially the supplements) and this practice normally increases the food aggressive behavior as you have to feed them less. Most of the dogs on this diet are very thin,a dog that would normally be in the 50lb range is typically 32/35lbs. Again, this is probably a handler issue, but it seems to make the dogs very aggressive.
Again, this is just my observations and the dogs have only been on this diet for a couple of years. But we have dogs on our circuit who are 10-11 years old and eating only normal dogfood and still perform well, although they do not win anymore, they are still very active. Jury is still out on the chicken diet for long term effects or benefits.

Thanks, Disc... Clearly you have an expert view on this issue. I believe this is what Lee was looking for!!! :thumbs:

 

[Shibumi]

Another downside is if Pookie is eating raw chicken and then you or your children kiss that cute furry face, it would be like kissing a raw chicken.

 

[Matt R]

As long as you are calm and assertive while feeding, you should be fine. :sign:

 

[PetersCreek]

I'm acquainted with a fella on a dog-related (chocolate lab) forum who's quite enthusiastic about and apparently successful with the BARF diet he feeds his dog. Contrary to discdog's experience, his lab maintains a healthy, appropriate weight and he's also reported no difficulties with aggression...except possibly where potential meals are concerned. It seems that the dog recently found a small and very much alive rabbit (which are a part of his BARF diet) in their backyard and he made a snack of it.

Our dog, he's a kibble kind of guy. The only thing raw that he gets is an egg among his supplemental feedings.

 

[discdog]

I'm acquainted with a fella on a dog-related (chocolate lab) forum who's quite enthusiastic about and apparently successful with the BARF diet he feeds his dog. Contrary to discdog's experience, his lab maintains a healthy, appropriate weight and he's also reported no difficulties with aggression...except possibly where potential meals are concerned. It seems that the dog recently found a small and very much alive rabbit (which are a part of his BARF diet) in their backyard and he made a snack of it.

Our dog, he's a kibble kind of guy. The only thing raw that he gets is an egg among his supplemental feedings.

That's the reason I think the weight issue is handler/owner related. Most of these people have stunts they perform with the dog bouncing or launching off of them, so they don't want a large dog. Both of my dogs are in the 50-56 lb class and I don't have a problem, but I'm not what you would call small framed. I don't have the problem with endurance either, but I work my dogs daily, rain or shine, and they swim everyday for at least an hour unless there's lightning. I don't know many non-competitors who use this diet and stick with it as it is time consuming and pretty expensive.

As for the aggression, it's mainly food related. Typical store bought food will expand in a dogs stomach giving it the sensation of being full, just like us, so the dog will eat & stop. The BARF diet doesn't allow this (normally) so the dog always wants to eat & is never satisfied. This aggression is almost always directed toward other animals or children but I have a rescue right now that growls and snarls the whole time she is eating, at anything or anyone (yes me too) that moves while she is eating. I get around this by hand feeding her, she'll be fine eventually, but it will take some time.

I'm no expert on this or any other subject, but some of the people I hang out with are the best in the nation. They live & breathe this stuff like we do cigars. I have yet to hear one of them say anything bad about this diet but they are not all jumping on the band wagon yet either. Guess we'll just have to wait & see.

By the way, both of my Aussies are kinda partial to squirrel. We used to have quite a few of them around here, now they are getting rare.