[nicoley2132]

when feeding raw food diet to small dogs,5 lbs, which bones do you use that are small enough? Ive seen some very small chicken parts and some small like garnish hens..what else is good for those little guys possibly smaller drumsticks? ...mine is a guzzle im pretty sure, he inhales the meat without chewing and oh boy does he want to be on the raw diet like the big dogs!

 

[OldGnarlHead]

For the gulping problem, try feeding the meat frozen or mostly frozen. It really helped mine learn to chew. Also, you can find Cornish game hens, and you can feed thing like turkey and duck ribs. Chicken necks and feet are also good for small dogs. Duck feet would probably be appropriately sized as well. Not to mention, you can get pork, beef, lamb, and goat bones from online raw dog food suppliers in ground form and feed those occasionally to provide a variety of bones, as well as feeding the other whole-bone items so you still get the dental and mental benefits.

 

[naturalfeddogs]

Chicken necks
chicken wings
cornish hens
chicken feet
frog legs
pork riblets(some are boneless, but some also have easy to chew bones)
rabbit
squirrel

Sometimes you can help them with the chewing by taking a kitchen mallet or meat tenderizer and smash the bones, backing off the smashing as they get better at chewing.

 

[Celt]

I've feed chicken thigh bones, but the amount is a bit much for one meal. I, generally, cut off most of the meat (I leave a good "coating of meat on it), and chop the bone in half. Then I measure to "fill out" the bone with more flesh. This way they get the benefit of chewing bone without being "light" on the meat part. Of course, you could also make it bonier by feeding "just" the bone. I fed this to a 3lb puppy. Most of my pups are bigger, but chicken thighs are cheaper than most "appropriate" bones. Usually, a whole thigh is more than what they need for a meal which is easily fixed by trimming off meat until it's the right amount. I save the meat fore boneless meals or to make jerky.

 

[OtherGuy]

I've never fed a 5 lb dog, but I'm wondering if one took chicken breasts (with skin and bone) flipped them so the rib side was "up," and then cut them into portions with a heavy knife (cutting parallel to the ribs), and then individually freezing, if this wouldn't make fora very nice bone-in source?

Bill

 

[naturalfeddogs]

That probably would work. I haven't ever fed a five pound dog either, but I think sometimes you would have to get creative with it.

 

[Celt]

I've never tried bone in chicken breasts, thank you for the idea. Chicken wings can be good for bone, but you usually need to add some meat for balance. They're good for feeding as a bony meal with organs. One thing that the puppy and one of my others have a problem with is chicken skin. They seem to have difficulty chewing through it. One of the few times my pups choke was because of the skin. The other times were purely due to stupidity on their part.

 

[Serenaplusjackson]

Wow thank you very much for this information. I am looking to give my little Chi a raw diet and I was worried about the bones:/ this is a very relieving feeling, I will be sure to post updates.

 

[nameusermen]

This is why I sometimes hate flying on commercial airlines. The maintenance that they do to their planes is not up to par with private airline companies. I would rather pay huge sums of money to avoid these situations when I am traveling than to endure it along with hundreds of other passengers who are just itching to hit the panic button and start a stampede in the plane. I think security and convenience are worth the price of chartering a private jet to move around the country. Not only that, I can get to play roblox pc and here while on the plane since they are not as strict as the commercial ones.