Raw food query

[Arizahn]

Question: is there any danger in feeding dogs raw chicken fillet or raw fish? Also, can dogs cope with whole fish or does it need to be filleted?

[tlanextli]

My dogs are raw-fed and are thriving. They had mackerel for the first time the other week actually and they very much enjoyed it. If the fish is fresh/thawed from frozen in water until just defrosted, then the bones will be very soft and as long as you feed it whole there should be no problem.
but
fish to avoid due to high mercury levels: swordfish, snapper, lake trout, king mackerel, marlin, bass, white perch, orange roughy, pickerel, fresh tuna, halibut
I've also read that it's not safe to feed alaskan salmon raw due to a specific parasite, I just don't feed any raw salmon..as if I could afford to haha!

[tlanextli]

oops I forgot to add
I don't know what you are currently feeding; but definitely don't mix raw food and grain-containing dog food because the raw and grain digest at different rates and the dog could end up getting bloat

[LadyDaniela]

Raw chicken is OK. We feed raw chicken quarters with bone in. The bones are great for their teeth. While anything that goes into the mouth can be considered a choking hazard, the danger with chicken bones is if they are cooked because they splinter.

If we can find it, we feed whole fish. Ours LOVE the heads. As already mentioned there's also danger from feeding salmonids from the Pac NW. And as already mentioned, if I'm going to buy good salmon, I'm eating it myself We give the dogs mackeral, sardines, basa (swai) and occasionally tilapia.

[Arizahn]

I had no idea that you couldn't give them grain with raw! They had some left over boiled rice and veggies yesterday, along with their meat but thankfully they only ate the meat. Can they have veggies ok or do they not really need them?

Oh boy they like raw meat! Loki is a little vacuum cleaner regarding food, so I've been making them sit and handing them each their share a bit at a time. Let's me work on sits and waits too. Chiefly though it controls who eats what so everyone gets enough, lol!
Shadow doesn't seem to know what to do with whole fish; the skin seems to have her baffled. So far I've been splitting pieces open for her but she still eats them very slowly. Although she may be savouring the flavour I suppose! Any tips on feeding fish to a dog? The other two happily crunch away and then try to nab whatever Shadow is nibbling on. I'm thinking of feeding them separately so she can take her time.

As Shadow is an older dog (8.5), does she need any supplements on top of raw or added grain free senior food, etc?

Thanks again

[only-borders]

A few sites that might answer some of your questions.


http://www.barfworld.com/html/barf_diet/...ific.shtml

http://www.barfworld.com/html/barf_diet/barfdiet.shtml

http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

[Arizahn]

Thanks very much for these

[LadyDaniela]

Tucker was horrified when I gave him a whole fish the first time. Offended even. I cut it up into smaller pieces and tried a whole one again. He recognized it as dinner the next time around

[Arizahn]

Lol, yup that sounds like our Shadow too! They can be so dainty when they choose, can't they?

[tlanextli]

A little bit of vegetables won't hurt but they can't derive much (if any) nutritional benefit from them so it's not worth wasting the veg really. My collie loves oranges and carrots so I give her a bit as a treat every now and then but my other dog eats nothing but meat, bones and organs and she's the healthiest she has ever been.

[Arizahn]

Abbie has decided she loves fish...especially the heads!