The bones are a MUST HAVE for our carnivores. Dogs do not thrive on meat alone but need to have bones included in their diet, alongside organ meats.
80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organs is the preferred ratio of prey model feeding. If not for bone, where else would your dog get his/her needed calcium from? Cooked bones are bad, raw bones are good! Of course the ratios can vary a little, depending on the dog's particular needs. You needn't toss out your chicken necks but as it has been mentioned before, fed ALONE, not a very good meal as neck bones offer little meat with too much bone and skin. A turkey neck for example is rather large so I don't think a yorkie can consume it all in one sitting. You can split it into more size appropriate pieces (always aim for bigger than the dog's mouth) but I would not feed that alone. You will need to add more meat to the next meal if your dog only had the neck at a previous meal. If you feed the necks for breakfast, then feed a boneless cut of chicken or turkey at dinner. Whatever you dog cannot consume at one sitting, you put back in the fridge for the next meal. You're dog will let you know if he's still hungry. If she gets too fat, cut back the rations if she looks too skinny then feed her more. You want to be able to feel a dog's ribs, NOT see them! Weigh your dog every couple of days if you'd like so you can gauge this better.
Take your time and read through all of the previous posts. The "how much to feed" has been addressed several times and is discussed in great detail for different weights. Stay away from weight bearing bones that came from large ungulates; pretty much all beef bones are too hard and might chip a dog's teeth except for certain ribs. All poultry bones, pork bones, lamb bones; all ok to give!
(I'm probably forgetting something to mention, but you get the idea)
Go to your local grocery store/meat market/butcher and see what they have on sale for under or around $1 per pound. That's how prey model is done. No need to buy any *specially packaged for pets* bones at the Pet Store!
Nadia
Quote:
Originally Posted by miss_marley  Thanks so much everyone for all the great information. Thinking back, I probably shouldn't have broken up the turkey necks into smaller pieces...I'm afraid she might choke now. Do you think she could eat a whole turkey neck? Would that be a full meal? She's about 9 pounds. I'm confused how much to feed when it's not the patties. If you give them something large, and they don't finish it, do you just put it back in the fridge?
I'm not going to trust the person at the pet store again, she told me to buy the chicken necks. I still have a lot left, are the ok to keep giving until they're gone? Also, are the raw bones on everything I can buy ok to eat? That concept still doesn't seem right to me as we're always told no bones (which I know is the cooked ones).
I want to keep her on the raw, and then when she goes in for her next checkup, see how the vet thinks she looks, without telling her what she eats. She's against raw, so I want her to give me an unbiased opinion. |
</IMG></IMG>