Half raw

[Watson's Mom]

Dumb question. How do you feed a raw chicken neck or thigh? Do you cut it up first? How do you deal with the mess? I read all the threads, and I would really like to include raw in Zulu's diet, but I never see any talk about how you actually feed it to your dog.

If it's bone and all, I just hand it to him and make him stay on the tile floor. Wipe the floor mess with clorox and his fur with baby wipes. If it's just meat it goes in his bowl.

 

[Liza0714]

Dumb question. How do you feed a raw chicken neck or thigh? Do you cut it up first? How do you deal with the mess? I read all the threads, and I would really like to include raw in Zulu's diet, but I never see any talk about how you actually feed it to your dog.

With pups, we start them on ground bone in fairly young, and just increase the size over time. Watching to make sure they are not wolfing their food and are cracking bones.

With older dogs I usually start with wings but chicken necks work too. Once the dog seems interested, I hold a freshly washed wing in my hand with most of the wing in my hand and only a couple of inches sticking out. I call the dog over, make him sit, and then offer just the edge. Most dogs will try to pull the wing, but I hold on well enough and he starts using the side teeth to crack the bone and pull off the piece it can reach.

Then I advance more of the wing out of my hand. Sort of like chicken wing pez. Once you are sure the dog is cracking the bones, you can leave them in the bowl.

None of my dogs have ever been aggressive with food, and are regularly fed by hand even as pups. If your dog is food aggressive, or you do not regularly feed them by hand I would not try this.