Question for those who feed their dogs raw food

[Wyndie]

What if the dog is really super furry around the face... as in a shih tzu? My parents want to switch their new puppy to raw but don't want messiness all over the place. Now when I fed my dog raw it wasn't a problem, but he wasn't fuzzy. She needs advice; what can she do? Is there a way to "pin up" the dogs ears while she eats? Or is washing her down after the only option?

 

Thanks for any advice.

[Mom25girls]

We've been feeding raw for over a decade (first BARF and now the "Species Appropriate" method (RMB). We have Goldens so isn't a problem but I have heard of people just wiping off their pups mouths after a meal. Our current boy cleans up by rolling around excessively (when all goes well, OUTSIDE).

Dogs are surprisingly clean when eating. Congrats to your parents and good for them for feeding raw!!!

[SonshineLearner]

You might want to do some type of cleaning every couple of days or so.... You can play ball with a bucket of water... and drop the ball in... so that the dog dips in....

:)

[Wyndie]

Cute idea Carrie!! I love it!

 

I agree with just wiping her face off; my mom wanted me to ask for more suggestions. So I'll tell her you agree with me Mom25girls. lol

 

Thanks ladies!!

[hornblower]

My English Setter has long ears with even longer hair & they sometimes drop into the bowl.

 

One thing I do is serve his ground meals in a very small bowl & mound the food up; this way his ears generally stay on the outside of the bowl. His raw meaty bones are served on a flat towel & generally he doesn't get that messy with those. I know some people clip their dog's droopy ears back but I could never be bothered with that.

 

If I notice his ears or fur are goopy, I just use a damp washcloth to clean him up. I pick up bowls when the dogs are done so it's easy to just make that part of the routine (kinda like feeding toddlers - wipe face, take away dish, remind them to 'Say thank you.' :lol:)

 

It rains here a lot so generally he just rinses more on his outings.

[Wyndie]

Ah, thanks Hornblower. I think that's a good idea to mound it up and use a really small bowl; as soon as I read that part to my mom, she went to her bowl stash and pulled out a really small one. :D. And we both laughed at the thought of teaching the puppy to say thank you when she's done. :) I think she just has to come to terms with the fact that she'll have to wipe her face and maybe ears off until she gets a little older.

 

Thank you all for your advice/suggestions!

[Peela]

We have a shihtzu cross jack russell- quite furry- dh trims the dog's face (and rear end too!) to prevent messiness. I dont tihnk its much of a problem anyway- eating a chicken wing or mince meat is less revolting by far than eating tinned food. I guess it is messier than dry dog food.

[Wyndie]

Oh great suggestion Peela! My mom said she will definately do that too. Thanks!

[justamouse]

Wow, where do I learn about feeding my dogs raw food? Does it help with their skin and coats? I have a Dobie and a chocolate Lab.

[RainbowSprinkles]

Wow, where do I learn about feeding my dogs raw food? Does it help with their skin and coats? I have a Dobie and a chocolate Lab.

 

:lurk5:

[*Jen*]

My Irish setter with long ears wears a snood - Which are basically a tube of fabric with elastic at both ends. It goes around their necks and then above their ears. It keeps her ears contained so all we have to do is wipe up her mouth when she is done eating.

 

You can google dog snood to get a better idea of what they look like.

[hornblower]

It helps tremendously with coats, skin & especially teeth.

 

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/

 

& http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html are good places to start.

 

There is a lot of variations in how people feed raw. Some add a bit of green veg, others are adamant that you shouldn't. There are huge internet wars on topics like this :D.

 

btw, I do add green veggies- but not always :). I'm not a purist on this, & I think MY dogs are much more omnivorous than carnivorous. I do think it can be quite individual - just like some people do better on certain foods than others, it's the same with dogs.

 

My guys spend a large chunk of the spring finding neglected gardnes with tall tufts of grass to eat. Sometimes I think I'm walking a bunch of cattle & not dogs b/e they'll concregate on a large clump & just stand there nibbling the grass for ages. Yum, yum they seem to be saying.

 

The one thing I do try to avoid is grains, esp with my male who gets the occasional hot spot. My female otoh, LOVES carbs and will work very hard for toast, crackers, pop corn & as she has a gut made of iron & no coat issues, I often fill her training bag with junk like that. Pepperoni & liver are ho-hum to her, but pull out a stale bagel and she's all 'what!!? what do you want me to do?!!! I'll do it! Anything!'

 

I feed ground as well as whole raw meaty bone (RMB). I get ground chicken, turkey, and beef. Occasionally I'll splurge on duck or some game meat. The chicken & turkey are ground with the bones. I also add the occasional egg, some plain yogurt, green tripe, & organ meats to their diets.

 

I also supplement daily with salmon oil capsules.

 

For your size dogs, you can feed a whole chicken back, turkey necks, lamb necks & chicken leg w/ thigh attached (I get this on sale a lot at a regular shop; I remove skin as it's too fatty for my guys) as raw meaty bones (RMB's). Oxtails are good too.

 

I also give recreational bones. For Darwin lamb shanks & buffalo ribs are a good size for him to gnaw a long time. Daisy is a huge chomping machine and she splinters that sort of bone way too easily so she needs larger stuff like a large chunk of 'older' lamb/mutton neck or buffalo knuckles.

 

Be wary of giving weight bearing bones - they are the densest & most likely to cause a dog to break a tooth. Also note that knuckles from commercial cows are completely different than knuckles from free range cows or buffalo. The factory farmed ones are much more brittle......

 

Never give smoked or cooked bones. Just raw. And watch your dogs at first to see how they handle them & what they do etc.

[hornblower]

My Irish setter with long ears wears a snood.

 

My English Setter says hello to your Irish Setter :seeya:

 

:D

[Wyndie]

Thanks for the info on the snood! I'll look that up. :)