ive been reading up on this and would like to give it a go ,however he wont go near any raw food (not even in the same room, its like hes scared of it ! ive tryed raw bones and chicken wings ect but hes not having any of it ,is this normal when you first start ? if not whats the best dryed food i can feed him ? he also wont touch eggs cooked or raw ???

dani, have you tried giving him some chicken mince with his normal diet ? Then slowly reducing his normal food and increasining the mince and add some veg maybe cooked for a start. Failing that naturediet might be a sensible step and progress from there.

You could try putting the chicken wings in hot water for a minute or two, he may prefer them slightly warm or even brown the outside slightly in a frying pan but not enough to cook it or the bones will go brittle. It might just get him used to the taste of them. :)

Kath.

How long have you been trying it and are you feeding him anything else?  The dog I rehomed had never seen raw food before and had no idea what to do with it.  However after 3 days of having nothing to eat he started on a wing and from that moment on the food barely touched the floor! :D

Generally I find that with most dogs they can afford to be fussy cos they have never been hungry :D

hi guys and thanks for the replys :) i havnt tryed chicken mince yet but will do . he will eat nature diet tho ,hes eating Bakers at the moment but i would rather feed him raw. ive only had him for a couple of months and just switched to bakers but his temprement has changed and his skin and coat look awfull on it ,and as ive herd so much said regarding the BARF diet i thought i would give it a go and see how well he does on it .i just wanted to know if thats a normal reaction really ? he actually wet in the house because he wouldnt walk past the bone in the hallway !  well ill keep trying to gradually ween him to it and im off to get my self some books on the subject today you guys recomend any good ones that talk english !!!!!! Also should i just stop his normal food then ??

Well I certainly would not feed Bakers because of the salt, sugar and food colourings not mention several other things.  I would move him onto Nature Diet for the moment as he is eating it and it has to be one of the best commercial foods containing only meat, rice and veggies.  Before plunging into the whole raw thing it is best to read up about it properly because it is a big commitment and you have to decide whether you want to follow this regime and you need to understand how to make sure the dog gets everything it needs; not difficult but preferable to start from a knowledge base.

The best and most accessible book on raw feeding IMHO is Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy Shulze, it is easily readable with charts to show where all nutrients can be found and a demo of the prey model or food pyramid with suggested meals etc.  The next most easily read book is The BARF Diet by Ian Billingshurst, much better written IMHO than his original Give your Dog a Bone.

You will find various web sites devoted to raw feeding and willing to help.  Yahoo sites such as Britbarf, K9nutrition (US based) and BowChow are 3 of the best.

HTH

Hi Dani

Put a couple of eggs in the garden under a bush or somewhere he goes frequently - he may well then help himself.  Mine will take them out of the chicken houses and eat shells and all but if I offer them a whole egg they look at me as if I am mad and want it broken open for them

I have read a lot of the posts re the BARF and other other raw food diets with great interest.  Our Cocker has always had a very delicate tummy and we had simply resigned ourself to this.  When she goes to the toilet she will defecate at least 5 times with the later ones being slightly coated in a type of discharge.  She is a real scrounger and often ends up at the vets about 6 times a year just for this reason.  So, having read the pros (and for some, cons) I am seriously considering trying to wean her to a BARF diet.

My one concern is that on the occassion she has managed to scavenge bones she has coughed blood and become constipated and ended up on a course of antibiotics. 

She has managed to get to raw bones before and we ended up with her becoming constipated.  With this in mind do you think it appropriate to try her on BARF or perhaps consult our vet before introducing a new diet?  To be honest, before joining this forum I always thought feeding dogs on raw meat and especially bones was the kiss of death, so perhaps I am being too sensitive.  However, her bowel movements are so extreme in comparison with our other dog I would really like to try this.

Thanks

Were the bones she ate before marrow bones - these can make dogs constipated.

I was a bit concerned about switching over to totally raw with my male as he has had two operations to remove "foreign bodies" one top part of a large kong and another unidentifiable bit of rubber, and I spoke to the vet before I gave him any of the "edible" bones such as lamb breast/neck and chicken.  My vet was all for me switching over and has become more in favour as time has gone by.

Not all vets think this way though !

Hello Kerioak

We have given both of our dogs in the past marrow bones (cooked) and the Cocker became constipated and the other one became very loose (it was a fun time!)  We stopped giving them these bones although we haven't tried them on raw marrow bones.

When the Cocker manages to scavenge the bins it's difficult to tell what on earth she's been eating along with the bones so perhaps that might be it, the other stuff she manages to get.  It seems whenever we walk her over the park she manages to find something that makes her vomit/constipate and always seems to be on these 'general' pink tablets, the name of which I foget at the moment, for a week and on boiled chicken and rice.

At the moment both dogs are on Butchers tripe and this certainly helped calm her tummy down having switched from PC but as I mentioned, her frequant toilets covered in the discharge are still happening.  She doesn't seem to be in any discomfort and the vet is not concerned, but towards the last few stools she produces she strains an incredible amount.

I must say, it's going to take some time getting used to feeding raw though, it was always such a massive taboo for us, NEVER FEED THE DOGS RAW BONES , especially chicken as they'll splinter.  It has come as a real surprise but I'm going to read up further, have a chat with the vet and take it from there. 

COOKED bones are very dangerous, cooking makes them dry and brittle.  raw bones are fine.  i was a bit nervous when i changed to raw ( i work in a vets who thinks hills the be all and end all and that i will kill my dogs by feeding them raw meat LOL) and used to give them minced carcass or grind up wings etc myself.  over time i have relaxed and now quite happily throw them a whole carcass, wing or neck. 

too much bone will make a dog constipated, BALANCE is very important with the raw diet.  the idea is to feed raw MEATY bones, too many boney bones and not enough meat is not balanced and will cause problems.  there are lots of good books and info on the net on how to acheive a balanced raw diet.  very few vets believe in or advocate a raw diet, be prepared for them to put you off,
kelly

hi Maudlily I started my cocker on BARF six months ago and never looked back. At first he didn't know what to do with his first chicken wing then when he did eat it he wolfed it so fast that he brought it back up! My dog was 4 years old when I started raw feeding so I really think if you want to start BARF read as much as you can about it get loads of info and help from these boards and once you have the whole feeding 'regime' in full swing it's so easy... as easy as opening a bag ! You can freeze your veggies and buy  your meat in bulk then defrost as needed. There are so many different views on this subject and at the end of the day it's what suits your dog (and you)
Hope this helps
Edith

Thanks Edith, certainly going to read a bit more.  I think I'll have the same problem with her wolfing down the first lot if I do decide to go ahead.  It's nice not to have a fussy eater but when you get a real piglet it can be just as much hassle!

Your very welcome Maudlily I promise you once she gets the hang of eating her wings etc she will crunch and munch them and truly enjoy it! Personally I think it's a cocker thing they are born scavangers!
All the best
Edith