Ok i am sure everyone is bored of the raw topic by now so I do apologise I have 3 cavaliers ranging from 7 weeks to 5 years and an elderly westie.  I wasn't happy with the food they were on and decided to swop to arden grange but they didnt fancy that.  I am considering going on to raw food and gave them some chicken mince tonight which went down well but I am scared of giving them bones.  They have had chicken wings on an odd ocasssion Cindy seems unable to chew them but Milo eats them too quickly and last time got one stuck across the roof of his mouth.  Can I feed raw without bones I am a big worrier anyway but I am scared they may come to some harm with the bones.  A friend said to smash up the chicken wings but I am scared that will just leave lots of sharp edges.  Any help would be greatfully recieved.

I can't answer your question as don't feed raw however I do know soe dog mince contains bones as the whole lot is minced :)  So might be worth doing it that way?

Yes you can but you do need to supply a calcium source in the diet. I keep my egg shells, dry them out overnight in a warm place and then grind them to a fine powder. Egg shells are pure calcium and approx half a teaspoon of the egg shell powder added to 1lb/454g fresh raw meat will keep things in blanace.

Karen

Yes, is the simple answer. I would suggest joining the yahoo group BritBarf, there is loads of information on there on all aspects of raw feading.

I feed raw, but don't feed chicken bones other than those in the chicken mince (either Prize Choice or Landywoods) - my lot tend to swallow wings whole! I do however feed lamb breast which gives the dogs something to crunch to keep teeth clean, about 3-4 times a week.

You can also add ground egg shells to a predominantly meat diet to balance the calcium : phospherous.

You could also try the Naturesmenu raw complete blocks of frozen food which are supposedly a complete, balanced raw diet.

Thanks to you all i will start keeping the egg shells that is great and I never thought that they might mince the bones to another great idea.  I am trying to join britbarf so thanks for that too.

One of ours doesn't crunch his bones properly so I don't give him chicken wings now as he just swallows the whole thing down in one go. He seems to manage turkey neck better and the bones are not long bones like in chicken wings, they're vertebrae and seem easier to crunch up. Also all of them eat eggs plus shells which helps.
Hope the raw diet goes well, it's often trial and error to begin with. We've been very pleased with it for our four Dogues.