First raw chicken leg (Chic-O-Stick!)
 

After he didn't eat any of his kibble for last half of yesterday (he does this occasionally, no worries) I decided today to give him his first taste of raw meat to see how he liked it and how he handled it.

I've been researching this whole raw feeding bit for some time now, so don't worry, I know that chicken legs aren't a balanced diet. But everybody has to start somewhere, and this was our little trial. Back to kibble this evening, and tomorrow too probably, while my DH and I work out what our next step will be. I'm pleased to say that I was only marginally nauseous watching him just at first, and was even brave enough to hold on to it for him when he started having trouble because he is apparently too dainty and proper to use his paws, lol. Cool. :-)

The one thing that really surprised me was how different the layers of a chicken leg look, raw versus cooked. The coolest part was watching him crunch on the bone - in terms of texture, it looked just like eating a chic-o-stick looks, but the outside is bone colored and the inside is red gross guts colored.

But anyways, poops were softer and lighter colored today after the chicken, but nothing too extreme I suppose, and Nikko had lots of energy along with a nice long nap. He also really really loved eating the chicken, lol. Some schoolkids walked by which he normally would have raced over to bark a few times at, but instead he just let out a couple half-hearted barks from where he was, with the leg still crammed inside his mouth. :rolleyes: Just wanted to share our first experience with feeding raw meat.

Lauren & Nikko

I always try and keep him away from chicken bones, too scared it will harm him. :D

You're right that cooked chicken bones are very dangerous - they will splinter and have serious potential for harming your lil' one. But completely raw chicken bones, so long as your dog is a chewer instead of a gulper, can be very good for his dental health, and even possibly provide some great nutrition (depending on who you talk to).

We are in the process of experimenting with/researching/working toward a diet that I believe to be a better alternative to dry kibble... but all points in doggie diet are debatable honestly, due to a lack of solid scientific research, so it is a difficult bunch of research I have been diving into and trying to sort through. We are not by any stretch of the imagination finished with this whole food quest, but this was our first baby step into finding out how Nikko might handle food that is as similar as possible to the food his "ancestors" less than 100 years ago were probably eating. It is very interesting.

Lauren & Nikko

I never knew that raw chicken bones are not dangerous. Very interesting!!

Don't get me wrong, there is some debate about on this topic still. I think the main issue is that cooked chicken bones are very dangerous. Raw chicken bones, like I mentioned, break apart somewhat like a chick-o-stick. Remember those? It's really kinda creepy, lol.

But just like there are horror stories about dogs choking on hard kibble bits, you will also still be able to find horror stories about even raw chicken bones. Wading through common sense, research, and dog-food marketing is beyond difficult - IMO, it's impossible. But like I said, we are working on figuring out what is best for our pup's physical health, mental health, and dental health. It's not easy, and it's not happening overnight either unfortunately. :-)

Lauren & Nikko