Feeding prey model raw?
 

I'm switching my dogs from BARF raw to prey model raw at the end of the month and I found a butcher with a great variety of meats.

My question to other prey model feeders is: what exactly do you feed your Yorkie? What are the best parts to feed? I've tried asking this question in other raw feeding groups, but they focus on bigger breeds.

I really like to feed chicken wings. It's one of my staples when I feed raw. I also use ground pork, ground beef, ground buffalo. They like ribs. We also use eggs (I cook them cause they love scrambled eggs). I leave the shell raw though.

I make the meatballs myself with organ meat. I also give them tripe because they love it. Beware, it stinks, BAD!

Thanks for the advice, LDMomma.

I just finished reading an article that says that chicken wings aren't good to give dogs because the size makes it easy for them to choke. They said the same about chicken necks. I've been giving both of these to my dogs with no real issues, but I have to cut up the chicken necks as one of my little ones has trouble eating them whole. Here's the article if you're interested: Myths About Raw: Can toy breeds and small dogs eat a raw diet?

I also give lots of eggs in different consistencies. Sometimes scrambled, sometimes raw. The next thing I want to try is giving the egg with the shell intact. I saw a video on youtube and the dog has a great time figuring out how to open the egg.

I can't feed ground meat on a prey model diet since it totally goes against the principle. One of the differences between BARF and the prey model is that the prey model requires everything to be whole or as close to it as possible. Dogs clean their teeth while chewing on the meat and bones and this advantage is lost if you feed ground meats. There's nothing wrong with feeding like that! It's great because it's raw, but I want to try the prey model specifically because of the teeth problem.

I'll still have to decide if I can stomach giving them tripe. It grosses me out completely! Where do you get the tripe?

I get it at a local pet boutique. There are some places that also carry it online though.


I use(d) the ground meats because if I give bone-in everytime, they get to much bone and have really odd poops. To keep with the desired percentages, I use the ground meat.

The key to the above statement is "know thy dog".

My 12lb'er has no problem with chicken wings. If you trim the wing to your feeding size and your Yorkie is gulping it and not chewing it, it may be a sign that you have a "gulper". You may need to feed larger portions and allow your dog to eat his normal ration, then take the wing (or whatever cut) away or trade for a small treat.

It sounds like your Yorkie is fine with wings and necks, so I would not worry.

One thing I will add, in my experience, it is the boneless meals that are of more concern when it comes to choking risk. I choose to dice any boneless that I feed and will not give my dog a 1/4 lb chunk. The fact that the boneless obviously has no bone seems to discourage chewing. This then tends to result in the dog attempting to swallow the chunk whole. I dont take that risk, I just dice it.

I took my dog off of the prey model after over 3 years and switched her to the pre made frozen raw. I was against this for a long time but my little one kept having so many intestinal/digestive problems...throwing up, runny poo, etc... since we have switched she doing SO good, no problems at all.

i do still give her bones to gnaw on. she is only a little over 3 lbs. so it's hard to find something she can actually handle munching on. i use chicken leg bones, usually with one end cut off. she can handle those. i also use short rib bones with a little meat on them. i have to split them down the middle cause they are too big for her.

i'm not against the prey model but for Brea, it just wasn't working.

as far as choking on the bone in pre made frozen, i always break up the
amount i give her into smaller bites. she looks at me like i'm crazy if i give
her a whole or half one. lol.

the best parts to feed? any part of the animal is good. the key is to have a variety over time. i fed beef heart a lot, chicken, pork, other beef, lamb, turkey if it wasn't enhanced. just about anything. then you have to add some liver...just a tiny, tiny bit at a time or you'll have lots to clean up.:rolleyes:
i did try tripe ONCE... never again. i don't care how much dogs like it, i almost threw up feeding it to them, but i have a sensitive smeller too.

I feed Lexie chicken wings, drumettes, legs, backs divided in half,thighs and necks. i find its much easier to portion it out that way, she gets her boney meals from chicken, cornish hens, quail and pork(ribs). Other meats she gets are beef,lamb,beef heart,turkey,pork, beef liver, beef kidney, sometimes rabbit if its on sale or other exotic meats if i can find them..i don't feed tripe..i cut up her boneless meals into smaller pieces. She also gets canned fish and an egg once a week. Oh and unless you're really good at eyeballing i'd invest in a small kitchen scale, i was totally lost until i bought one.

Congrats on switching to PMR :)

Excellent!

Red meat is not preferable for little dogs too rich for them.

Chicken, any poultry.

I like how one expert put it, if the dog couldn't catch/kill it in the wild the should be eating it RAW.

huh I apologies in advance for this but hmmmmmmmmm we are talking Yorkies, shouldn't we be feeding them rats & mice? No seriously.

In theory, you're right. Yorkies could live on rodents and small birds, but unless you're going to raise them yourself, it will become quite expensive to feed them on rats and mice alone.

I think in practice it's better to feed poultry and certain bones from other animals, like beef liver and pork ribs. I fed my dogs some chicken this week - whole bone-in wings, breasts and thighs - and they devoured it. Next I want to buy a whole chicken and just let my four babies at it :)

[QUOTE=concretegurl;3693315

I like how one expert put it, if the dog couldn't catch/kill it in the wild the should be eating it RAW.
[/QUOTE]
CORRECTION: ...if they can't catch/kill it in the wild they shouldn't be eating it....


huh they could find an occasional left over from another kill besides Yorkies were never in the wild we invested them far after we were semi-tamed ourselves


Apparently cow marrow is the best but red meat is the worst-puzzle that one out.

Elvis snapped a chicken thigh in half in one snatch and swallowed the joint end whole-we decided after the shock wore off we'd never get between Elvis & chicken again he could easily cause us to only count to 4 on a hand...:eek::D

Oh-the field several blocks away at the park provides plenty of mice the kind with a little bushy at the end of it's tail but I caught it in the snap trap (thankfully) before the dogs were able to catch it and whatever disease it may carry...I'm still unsure of how the rat in my garden met it's demise-it was however not eaten...again thankfully.

I don't know about the cow marrow, but I do know that the bones that the cow stands on (aka his legs) shouldn't be given to any dog. These weight-carrying bones are too dense and could easily cause fractures to your dog's teeth.

The marrow is usually very rich too and causes upset tummies quickly. I'd rather give lean meat and hearts for the meat portion of the diet. Marrow contains way too much fat anyway.

I haven't experienced any problems with my dogs and red meat, but we've been feeding mainly white meats, so I'll have to see how their tummies handle it. It's going to be a whole process to switch them to this diet, but I'm hopeful that it's for the best.

I have never actually given my dog raw red meat only white meats: a friend feeds her's BARF-they are also NOT Yorkies.

As part of the BARF diet, I also used to feed my dogs red meat meals twice a month for two days at a time. Their tummies didn't appear to become upset, although I did notice a bit more gooeyness in their poops. I'll keep an eye on them when I feed any red meats from on.

We're changing from BARF to the Prey Model in the next few weeks. We're finishing our last bag of packaged BARF food tomorrow :)

like someone else said, know your dog. they are all different. try things out and see what reaction they have.

I have been feeding Dexter an altered version of PMR for 4 years. he mainly eats checken drumsticks (meat is important in PMR and wings don't usually have enough meat for a proper diet) chicken thighs, backs, necks, beef and lamb and raw eggs are the main sources of meat with any sort of heats, liver, kidneys, etc mixed in there too. i feed with ocationally feeding duck, cornish hen, buffalo or elk. the main staple is chicken and poultry since those are the smallest bones and easiest for him to eat. he eats red meat without a problem. he won't eat raw fish, but i buy the dehydrated salmon treats and also suppliment with fish oils. the onbly other suppliment i use is probiotics. the only meat i don't feed is pork. pork is one of the only meats that can carry a parasite that is capable of killing a person. i don't eat it and its just a personal choice not to buy it for my kids.

i say i do avariation because i also feed chopped up veggies with chopped up meat or ground meat ocationally. dexter loves his veggies and i always have these sort of meals in bags in the freezer in case something comes up and i dont have the time to hang out while he eats. (he WILL hide the meat around the house of i don't watch him.

i also have Peppermint eatting raw meats and bone, but she is soooo tiny that i need to cut it all up into small pieces for her, so it's not technically PMR. cutting up the bone takes time, but to me its worth it. she loves it and actuially started feeding herself raw meats when she was a puppy by sneaking into dexters meals and trying to eat his food :)

one of the reason the PMR can be helpful to a dog's digestive system is because they take their time. their bodies are meant to take their time to eat, not gulping down a meal of kibble in seconds flat. they start with licking the meat which gets their digestive juices flowing and preparing their tummies for digestion. that is why ground meats aren't part of a pMR diet since they can gulp that down just as quickly.

good luck with your switch! let me know if you have any questions! :)