Bought a Grinder

[tekstrand24]

It really is great food and we have not had any allergy problems with it.

 

[laurendoodler]

I am so jealous of you all and your grinders! I want one.

I buy most of my meat at a local meat market. Sometimes from Hy-Vee when they have things on special. and honestly, I get a lot of free stuff from hunters.

 

[anatess]

Is there any particular reason why you are opting to grind the food? Dog's teeth are pretty efficient grinders.

When it comes to raw feeding, I go by the philosophy that simpler is better. My dogs can eat an entire rabbit without me doing more to it than just ripping off the skin, opening the belly and taking out the intestines and the gal bladder. I don't even really need to do that. I can just give the rabbit, fur and all, and let them have at it but it's a pain to have to clean up all the ripped up fur and I'm not fond of my dog eating intestines with stuff inside it even if I do trust the source and sometimes they end up breaking the gal bladder instead of just swallowing it whole which gives them that bitter taste and they stop eating (okay, I've never really experienced this, but some folks on the co-op have).

 

[Baxter Tiberius]

Is there any particular reason why you are opting to grind the food? Dog's teeth are pretty efficient grinders.

Noooooo lol ... flat teeth are grinding teeth. Baxters mouth has nothing but "puncture" teeth, intended for ripping and pulling meat. Then eating it whole. Which he does. He doesn't chew, as you really can't chew with that type of teeth, and he definitely can't grind anything. So it all goes down whole from what I've seen. Grinding I believe relieves tons of strain on the digestive system. You're totally right about the rabbit, and how they would do it in the wild. But I figure why not help a little more. It would be like a human ripping apart a pig in the forest, or getting the pork in a nice pork chop with apple sauce. Spoiling them is fun

 

[anatess]

Noooooo lol ... flat teeth are grinding teeth. Baxters mouth has nothing but "puncture" teeth, intended for ripping and pulling meat. Then eating it whole. Which he does. He doesn't chew, as you really can't chew with that type of teeth, and he definitely can't grind anything. So it all goes down whole from what I've seen. Grinding I believe relieves tons of strain on the digestive system. You're totally right about the rabbit, and how they would do it in the wild. But I figure why not help a little more. It would be like a human ripping apart a pig in the forest, or getting the pork in a nice pork chop with apple sauce. Spoiling them is fun

Yes, yes. You're right. They don't grind. They rip and tear. They don't really need to grind their food. They only need to make it small enough to fit through the esophagus and the digestive acids does the rest.

Yes, grinding the food makes it easier to process. It's just too much work and it takes away some of the advantages of prey-model raw - the mental stimulation involved in ripping carcass and its benefits to dental health, so I don't bother with it. It's also distressing to those just starting out with raw feeding who are used to scooping out kibbles and calling it a day. I only chop the meat/bones so that it fits the single-serving containers so that my husband and kids and dog sitter can feed the dogs. If not for that, I won't even bother with chopping the lot. It took me 4 hours to chop 2 months worth of food for my 3 dogs yesterday. Well, okay, 4 hours for 2 months... not really a lot of work considering. But, that's 4 hours I could've spent throwing frisbees. LOL.

But yes, there is that risk of the dog not being able to regurg food that did not get chomped on enough. They have very sensitive regurg instinct but when they're used to kibbles, it takes a little while for them to reclaim their natural instincts. I've heard of dogs that died choking on their food... I think I heard it here on EBN even.

I have to say... these Bullies are worth whatever effort it takes for us to keep them healthy and have peace of mind!

 

[anatess]

P.S. Speaking of distressing... I'm going to derail the thread a little bit...

I came by my simple-is-good philosophy when I decided to breastfeed my baby. You would think it comes naturally and you basically just plop the baby on your breast and off he goes. It did not start out that well for me. I was super uncomfortable trying to be really discreet about breastfeeding... bought the nursing shirts and nursing bra and nursing pads and nursing cover and took the seminar and practiced with a doll... Well, my baby refused to go under the covers and he would wail and scream stressing me out. My brother and I went on a short trip and I was trying to feed my baby at the McDonald's. There are no mother-rooms at McDonald's and I got my nursing shirt stained so I was wearing a regular shirt. Anyway, the baby was hungry, he was screaming, and I was trying to get my brother to help me cover me up and everything. I was at my wits end and I finally told my brother I'm quitting this thing. I'm switching to formula. My brother finally said - look, nobody cares if you feed your baby right in the middle of McDonald's. Throw away that baby cover and feed that kid! So I did... whipped up my shirt pulled down my bra and fed the kid. And nobody even noticed! And it was such a relief that I was able to continue nursing until my kid weaned himself off of it at around 18 months. For the 2nd baby, I can go to a football game at the stadium wearing a football jersey, without carrying anything but a diaper in one backpocket, wet wipes in the other, a burpee slung over one shoulder, and have that baby fed while cheering on the team... It was great.

But then, I spent a day in China, fed my baby in the middle of the restaurant and almost got put in jail... didn't realize it is illegal to do that in public there. Hah.