Feeding bones?

Recently switched Penelope over to raw, I had been feeding prize choice/natures menu mince with powdered eggshell, fruit, veg and natural probiotic yogurt.

I ran out of mince and getting more isn't really possible as its nearly a fiver just for the bus fare!

Would it be safe to pop down to the co op and get some lamb chops, a lamb leg and some beef mince until I can get to the pet shop....?

I'm nervous incase she chokes on the bone, it's raw and I know lots of people say raw bones are safe but if she does choke I can't afford to get her to a vet!

I also know hubby will likely have a heart attack at the thought of giving her a bone.

Hmm.

I think raw bones are definitely safe so long as she doesn't try to swallow it all in one go!
My foxies love their chicken wings and have no trouble with them

She won't get the proper benefits from raw unless you do include bones. ALL the puppies I have bred have had bones from a few weeks old and nothing has ever happened to them
Here is Keshi at around 3-4 weeks with a bone

I think going buying lamb chops, legs of lamb etc is going to work out pretty expensive, chicken or turkey mince would be cheaper, chicken wings, thighs or drumsticks would be worth buying as well. Have you thought about getting your food delivered on a regular basis, it works out a heck of a lot cheaper and there is loads of variety on offer.

I bought a pack of chicken drumsticks and thighs and a pack of lamb chops, I have just given her a drumstick.
I think she's a bit confused as to what to do......

I tried holding it and she lost interest so I put it on the floor, she licked it a bit and then gave me that 'what on earth is THAT' type of look.

Although she is lying down and chewing it on it now.

I just fed it straight from the pack, was I supposed to cut anything off it or remove the skin or anything because I haven't?

No leave it as it is, she will get the hang of it, she's obviously never seen 'real' food as it were so the texture and taste will be very different.
You leave the skin and everything on, if she had caught it for herself there wouldn't be anyone there to tidy it up for her.
You need a mortgage for lamb these days, eat them yourself!!!!
Tinned sardines in tomato sauce, pilchards or mackerel or tuna (rinsed off if it is in brine) are all good to feed, you can add cottage cheese or live bio yogurt to her food as well as steamed grated veg.
Stop hovering over her, and let her get on with it, go and do something else.

Agree with the rest, raw bones will be fine. If you're worried that she'll choke then just keep an eye on her while she eats it. I wouldn't give too much canned/tinned meat and fish made for human consumption though - it usually contains (hidden) salt (it does where I live anyway).

Laura, see if you can get hold of fresh chicken carcasses or backs - I buy them fresh from my poulterer and freeze them individually and Pereg has them straight from the freezer for her second meal.

Chicken or turkey necks are also good but with turkey necks you would need to cut them in half or even thirds. Chicken wings are also good.

I do not give Pereg any canned fish - the sardines or whatever else I can get are bought fresh from the fish van when it turns up and are open frozen - and fed to her straight from the freezer.

For meat, see if you can buy chicken or turkey gizzards and hearts - if you have a Halal butcher near you you should be able to buy them fairly cheaply. Same goes for carcases and probably lamb or beef bones.

The only thing I do with Pereg's raw meat/bones now is remove any excess fat as she recently had a bad bout of pancreatitis, but that was probably due to her condition and probably too much fat.

My giant breed pup was weaned onto raw, but she still used to swallow things whole when she first came here (I twice had to pull a wing out of her throat, scared the hell out of me. And a pork rib went down in one) so I used to hold onto one end while she ate it so she couldn't swallow it. She got used to chewing the free end, and only when she'd crunched up to my fingers did I let go. Now she knows to chew things slowly so I don't need to do that anymore. Although if I give her wings I do snap the joint so that it's straight and not in a sort of zig-zag, if that makes sense. Just a habit of mine so if she does decide to swallow it without chewing, it's less likely to get stuck.

Oh yes, and I buy whole chickens from the supermarket and joint them myself. I keep the breast, leg and thighs for me and I freeze the wings and back for her. Much cheaper way of getting chicken joints for yourself than buying them pre-packaged.

I have only recently discovered a chicken wholesaler near to me and I get the most amazing stuff for unbelievable prices.
Chicken wings 50p a kilo for instance!!!! So worth seeing if you have one in your area. Get as much as you can fit in your freezer and put them in meal size bags. For instance I have 4 girlies, so the carcasses with necks are frozen in lots of 4, the wings are frozen in bags of 8 so every couple of days they get ones just defrosted so no time for them to go off.

A leg of lamb here costs around 20 odd quid! It would be cheaper for me to take the dog to the vet lol!

Seriously good luck. My dog is tiny and she has raw bones with no ill effect. I've always understood it was only cooked bones that presented a danger. However, if she is ever given any bones other than and bigger than what are in Froz. chicken wings, I do watch her with them and take them away if she is getting a big too enthusiastic or managing to break off bits too big to swallow - just in case. But she is only 10ins high and weighs just over 4kg. I'm sure bigger dogs cope just fine.