Mine weren't interested in wings either when I first offered them, apart from my oldest girlie who munched them down quite happily. The youngest two just sniffed them and wandered off. They are all queuing up for them now!

I feed mine bones once to twice a week, they really dont need bones too often (a mistake I made at the start which ment Ben has such hard poo he was crying when he went to the loo ) chicken is a good start cos it is a softer bone, might be an idea to get them started on chicken chunks to start with, then kinda cut into the flesh a little bit so they can get started on it
I know with Ben I put peanut butter on them to start with - he just wasnt used to something that big so didnt realise it was food lol

Bone is absolultely necessary if feeding raw otherwise the diet will be calcium deficient. You can feed mince which contains bone eg prize choice, or you can feed an eggshell a day but this must be powdered otherwise it will go straight through the dog.

Dogs often turn their noses up at chicken wings at first because they have no idea what to do with them if they have never come across them.

The solution to this of course is not to give them an alternative, hunger is wonderfully motivating!

My dogs always have a choice (as did my cat and daughter) eat what you are given or starve, funnily enough none of them thus grew up to be fussy!

when im feeding raw,my lot dont get the choice of bone or not as i follow the rmb diet as opposed to barf ...i dont tend to use mince.

marrow bones really should only be used as 'rec' as they can wear down teeth etc
now now

i hope you are referring to raw bones and not cooked?cooked are lethal
rule of thumb with bones is use non weight bearing bones,small raw bones(as in chicken etc) are no problem as they are very soft and you should even be able to cut with scissors..i also use the rule the rmb should be roughly the size of your dogs head
also if not fully eaten..pick up and pop back in freezer for the next day.
i also do not always thaw out the rmb my lot like beef ribs frozen and turkey wings(exp in the summer)

BARF stands for Biologically appropriate Raw Feeding or Bones and Raw Food, so you can call your diet anything you like, it is individuals who interpret the acronym to suite themselves.

Marrow bones are excellent source of marrow, which is very nutritious. Mince is very useful for some meals as it is easy to combine vegetables etc into it for those dogs who are not keen on eating them.

Chicken legs, thighs and Turkey legs are of course weight bearing bones, they bear the weight of the animal they transport around!

My dogs eat pigs trotters (another weight bearing bone) etc etc.

There are no hard and fast rules, like everything, what suits one dog/person will not suit another.

Food fascists exists in both pro and anti raw feeding!

Dogs have died from injuries sustained by raw food and dogs have died from eating kibble. There is no ONE right way, but a variety of methods which are appropriate in different contexts.

aimed at me eh smokeybear? you so friendly arnt you?

how is a toe nail a weight bearing bone

quite a few peeps on here interpret barf as meaning with veg etc,thats why i stated it like i did
....but then again im not a know it all newbie and would know that..

hows about being a bit friendlier


eta ... officially on ignore now.

At the end of the day whether you call it Barf, RMB, Prey Model.....its what suits your dog which is what I like about it.
For me, personally, I do not see the point in feeding veg as it comes out as it goes in and if they were designed to digest it then they would produce the enzyme to break down the cellulose, which they don't. Saying that, variety is key and Im not against a little leftover veg going into the dog bowl now and again. I just dont include that as a regular or important part of his diet.

They need to have bone included in the diet regularly. The best way to know how they are doing, is going by (maybe not the nicest sounding here..) what comes out the other end. If they are white, powdery etc, add more meat as thats too much bone, if they are soft, add more bone as there isnt enough.


Personally, I dont give too many weight bearing bones as even the young bones of a lamb can be sharp, I let the softer joint parts be consumed and then throw the middle part away as Iv seen that part break into sharp shards and also seen them come out that way, so not worth the risk really and he has started to learn thats when I take them as now he will just leave them at that point.

If they get a nice meaty bone then the meat itself (I think) 'flosses' the teeth too, as they rip, tear etc on the meat and then finish off by knawing the bone down.

dog can actually absorb nutrients from vegetables and fruit provided that they are either frozen, pulped or cooked to break down the cellular walls................

Nutrients they need and cant get from meat bone and offal?