For those who feed ground-in bone formulas

[Sampson]

Hi everyone,
we have one dog on a 100% RAW diet, and our english bulldog, Sampson, is being transitioned (currently doing a meal of sojos a day). Sampson inhales his food and we (mainly my bf) is not willing to feed Sampson raw bones so we are looking at the formulas with the bones ground in. The only concern then is his teeth. How do people who dont feed bones clean their dogs teeth? how often? etc... Also, we give our dogs nyla bones and they have deer antlers all of which they chew regularly. Also, our mastiff will not crunch up bones UNLESS the meat is removed. I dont want to risk any perforation from bones fragments so I am thinking about switching her to a formula with the bone ground in it. Or just buying ground up chicken backs and mixing that with the meat organ mix.

any thoughts, suggestions?

thanks in advance.

 

[Scueva]

[MENTION=7947]Sampson[/MENTION] what type of raw will you be feeding? Home prepared or a pre packaged like. Natures. Variety frozen raw? I feed home prepared raw and grind all bones! Its a bit time consuming and. BE sure to invest in the the best/most expensive grinder you can afford, it will pay for itself with ease of actually grinding the bones! The pre packaged raw formulas have ground bone already in them and they are ccomplete diets but are super expensive I as spending between $80-$100 per week depending on protein. Now you feeding a bully and a mastiff Wowsers that will add up quick. I'm currently spending $1 or less per lb for doing the raw at home myself. For the teeth I give nylabones and. Brush teeth couple times per week.

 

[Sampson]

I prepare all of the mastiffs meals. Sampson will most likely get pre-packaged. But actually, if we are grinding up the bones with a home grinder then I will make both dogs their meals. What bones can you grind in your grinder? only chicken? we also like to buy some pre-packaged complete meals for ocassional feedings just because they have some added vitamins and stuff that our dogs may not be getting, even though I do supplement. Oh and my mastiff is extremely expensive to feed as is lol. It come with the territory of having a giant breed lol, I expected to pay a lot. So, the brushing and nyla bones should suffice for teething cleaning?

 

[Scueva]

[MENTION=7947]Sampson[/MENTION] I can grind duck & chicken necks. I grind whole duck, whole rabbit, whole chicken. Whole salmon, sardines. That's about all I grind for bone. I use alot of heart as muscle meat with those bones as its pretty cheap. I havent had teeth issues thus far with only using nylabones and regular teeth brushings.

 

[Sampson]

Thanks! I never even thought to grind duck and rabbit! I just didnt want to only give them bones from chickens. Thanks again. Im feeling like this is the best option for us. Ive had some people give me a hard time for wanting to feed ground up bones but the fact of the matter is one dog hates chewing the bones (unless the meat is removed, which isnt very safe) and the other dog will straight inhale them, and we have already lost a dog to choking. So, will clean their teeth frequently if thats what we need to do in order to feed the ground in bone

 

[Scueva]

[MENTION=7947]Sampson[/MENTION] I remember reading an old post of yours about losing a bulky to choking. I had two almost fatal choking incidents trying to "teach" her not to inhale after being urged that grinding bones wasn't proper and they needed whole bone to clean their teeth and mental stimulation. Screw that I tried it and it didn't work so duchess will. Never get anything that isnt ground again! I garauntee you her teeth are still cleaner than alot of dogs that eat kibble!

 

[ame16]

Another thing you need to be careful with, especially with store bought blends, is that they don't have too much bone in the mix.

 

[Sampson]

Another thing you need to be careful with, especially with store bought blends, is that they don't have too much bone in the mix.

I have noticed some of the calcium levels in premade can be off. I already add meat or add bone if the calcium and phosphorus levels are not what I want. But if I buy a grinder then I'll be doing most of it myself. There is so much to learn about RAW feeding! I'm just thankful for forums like these