Raw Meaty Bones

[Nette]

Anyone feeding their dogs the RMB diet?

We just started w/ our two girls this past Monday. We have a one yo Brittany and an a-lot-older-than-the-2-years-the-rescue-group-told-us Golden Retriever who is significantly overweight. So far they are doing great, but we've learned that the big dog (Star) needs bigger pieces than chicken thighs (or they need to be frozen) or she pretty much gulps them. Yikes!

What are your experiences? What are your dogs' favorite RMBs?

Photos:

Star:

Lizzy:

Disclaimer: I'm NOT looking for a debate here. I've done my research and several of my friends are also feeding RMBs successfully, so there is really no changing my mind.

 

[Yankeemouse]

Nette, I'd be interested in this as well. Can you guide me to where I can research this topic? We have a two year old yellow lab, she's a beautiful girl!

 

[Nette]

Well, I started at http://rawmeatybones.com

There are two books by the person (Tom Lonsdale) that runs that site Raw Meaty Bones and Work Wonders. I got Work Wonders, and most of the info in it is also on the website.

It's been less than a week and we've already noticed two of the benefits that our friends rave about. The first is their breath is soo much better. All that chewing really must be like brushing their teeth. The second is their stools are much smaller and mostly bone, so not stinky.

Also the insatiable Golden seems finally satisfied. I'm already really happy w/ how it's going and just curious how other people are doing on the raw diet.

 

[Nette]

*bumpity bump* Anyone else have any experience w/ RMBs?

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

This is really interesting. I have always wondered why dogfood has vegetables in it. Dogs and cats are true carnivores except for what we give them. My Zoey has some kind of bad skin condition that the vet thinks is allergies. I will have to ask him about this diet.

Where do you get your bones, what kind, etc? Is it messy? I hope you don't mind me asking.

I learn so many new ideas here on the Dis!

 

[Nette]

Well, we've only been feeding this way since Monday, so I'm not sure how valuable my opinion is. We bought some whole chickens at our grocery store (they were on sale for $.88/lb). So far the messiest part was quartering the chickens and putting them in baggies for each days food (1/2 chicken per day for our two girls).

As far as the dogs making a mess, they get handed their food outdoors now, and they drag it out in the grass and get it full of dirt while they eat it. But I guess they don't care much about that... Actually Lizzy does shake leaves off of hers if she gets any on it. Neither of them will hold the bone w/ their paws either... it's really kinda funny watching them be all prissy while eating a big chunk of raw meat.

Depending on the size of your dog could dictate what you need to buy for them. Whole chickens seem to work better for us than more cut up parts because the golden wolfs down the smaller pieces.

Don't be surprised if your vet freaks out about this. Apparently that's fairly common. My friend's had an old, overweight, mean tempered dog with really dirty teeth. They told the vet they were going to try RMBs and the vet was skeptical but went along with it. When they took her back to the vet about 6 weeks after starting the diet, the vet was AMAZED at how much weight the dog had lost and how clean her teeth were. She also seems to be less mean tempered... actually lets people walk past her w/o growling now.

I guess you have to decide what is going to work for you and your pet. So far I'm amazed at how well the dogs are handling the change (cold turkey as the book recommends) and wonder why it took me so long to make the switch.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I don't feel RMB exclusively but I do supplement using beef marrow bones (recreational, mostly) and turkey necks. Turkey necks are great for gulpers because they're big enough that they do have to chew them, and the bones in the neck are small and soft enough that it would be tough for a dog to injure itself swallowing part of a neck whole. We get our turkey necks frozen at our grocery store for 79 cents a lb - which is expensive, but everything in Seattle seems to be more expensive. Silly mountain passes.

I really wish we could go all raw, but I'm just not ready to make the commitment yet. Our dogs are both 80-90 lbs (German Shepherds) and eat a lot of food, and I don't currently have the time, money, or stomach strength to deal with preparing that much raw food. Our dogs do eat about $140 a month in kibble (Orijen - if I can't go raw, I figure I might as well buy the best kibble we can afford!) so I'm not sure what the price difference would be for us.

Good luck to you, though!

 

[java]

I always thought you were not supposed to give chicken bones to dogs because they too easy break? Am I wrong?
Does the meat smell?

 

[Nette]

I always thought you were not supposed to give chicken bones to dogs because they too easy break? Am I wrong?
Does the meat smell?

Cooked chicken bones splinter... Raw do not.

Oddly, the dogs breath is WAAY better on the raw meat than kibble. Probably because eating all that bone and stuff is cleaning their teeth.

 

[Nette]

I don't feel RMB exclusively but I do supplement using beef marrow bones (recreational, mostly) and turkey necks. Turkey necks are great for gulpers because they're big enough that they do have to chew them, and the bones in the neck are small and soft enough that it would be tough for a dog to injure itself swallowing part of a neck whole. We get our turkey necks frozen at our grocery store for 79 cents a lb - which is expensive, but everything in Seattle seems to be more expensive. Silly mountain passes.

I really wish we could go all raw, but I'm just not ready to make the commitment yet. Our dogs are both 80-90 lbs (German Shepherds) and eat a lot of food, and I don't currently have the time, money, or stomach strength to deal with preparing that much raw food. Our dogs do eat about $140 a month in kibble (Orijen - if I can't go raw, I figure I might as well buy the best kibble we can afford!) so I'm not sure what the price difference would be for us.

Good luck to you, though!

I almost bet the raw would be less $$. We were spending about $60 for a 40 lb bag every 3 weeks (Solid Gold). And I figure if we can keep getting meat for about $1/lb we'll still come out ahead (need about 16lbs of meat per week for our dogs -- 10 for Star, 6 for Liz.)

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

My dogs are about the size of a golden. The old boy is fat, and Zoey (2) has those awful skin problems. I am curious and may try this. Their temperments are fine, but it makes sense that natural food would be the best thing to cure this skin thing.

I have to admit though, giving them raw poultry is going to skeeve me out big time.

From what I was briefly reading on the link provided, it sounds like there doesn't have to be a lot of meat. Do you give them all the meat and bones from the chicken, or do you strip some of the meat off?

I am going to run this by my DH. He is very pragmatic and this theory is very logical. Our kibble is $35-40 for 40 pounds (Nature's recipe-fish and potatoes) and that is cheap compared to the Iams version which is around $69 for a 30 pound bag!

 

[Nette]

We've been giving them all the meat too... seems to be enough bone to get their waste to the correct "state".

 

[padams]

We feed our 25 pound wheaten terrier RMBs. We strip some of the meat off the bones. He is fed outside to cut down on the mess. He likes to take his food from the bowl and enjoy it elsewhere. His favorite is lamb. We do supplement with kibble because otherwise it would cost more to feed the dog than the kids. We've been doing RMBs for about 5 months.

His breath is good for a dog, and the stools are mostly bone and don't smell as much.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Ok, since we are geting into the down and dirty part of this, how often do they poop per day? Mine go about 2, sometimes 3 times/day. When we had them on other brands of kibble they would poop 4 times/day!

Output is always a consideration when I choose a dogfood!

pasams, I Wheaten Terriers!

 

[padams]

Our dog typically goes twice a day. Morning and evening.

 

[padams]

I have to admit though, giving them raw poultry is going to skeeve me out big time.

Forgot to mention that I sometimes freeze the RMBs so it's less messy and I'm not as "skeeved" out. It also allows me to not shop as often for dog meals. The dog seems to enjoy the cold aspect of his meal.

 

[Nette]

Ok, since we are geting into the down and dirty part of this, how often do they poop per day? Mine go about 2, sometimes 3 times/day. When we had them on other brands of kibble they would poop 4 times/day!

Output is always a consideration when I choose a dogfood!

pasams, I Wheaten Terriers!

I can't tell you how often they go yet... but the volume is definitely smaller.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I almost bet the raw would be less $$. We were spending about $60 for a 40 lb bag every 3 weeks (Solid Gold). And I figure if we can keep getting meat for about $1/lb we'll still come out ahead (need about 16lbs of meat per week for our dogs -- 10 for Star, 6 for Liz.)

You know, you might be right - we pay $60 for a 30 lb bag of Orijen and go through 2 and a bit a month. I'm not sure I could get anything other than turkey necks for less than $1 a lb, here, though. Whole chickens are normally around $1.30-$1.50 a lb and everything else is more expensive than that.

I also am not sure how much time I'd be will to devote to handling raw meat. Especially with a baby on the way, the ease of scooping kibble is addicting...

 

[Nette]

You know, you might be right - we pay $60 for a 30 lb bag of Orijen and go through 2 and a bit a month. I'm not sure I could get anything other than turkey necks for less than $1 a lb, here, though. Whole chickens are normally around $1.30-$1.50 a lb and everything else is more expensive than that.

I also am not sure how much time I'd be will to devote to handling raw meat. Especially with a baby on the way, the ease of scooping kibble is addicting...

I know what you mean. Fortunately, my sweet DH did most of the chicken cutting the other night... I just held the bags open. Need to find some containers that we can use instead so we're not using so many baggies.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Forgot to mention that I sometimes freeze the RMBs so it's less messy and I'm not as "skeeved" out. It also allows me to not shop as often for dog meals. The dog seems to enjoy the cold aspect of his meal.

a chicken popsicle!