# Raw feeding a gulping puppy?!



## UKpoodle (Jul 22, 2015)

I'd really love to put my 18 week old spoo, Gustav, on a raw diet, but have serious worries after seeing the way he inhales his food at lightening speed without chewing!
I'd like to consider myself quite knowledgeable about feeding raw, as after lots of obsessive research I started my other spoo Gunther (now 2 yrs old) on a raw diet when he was about 16 weeks old and he really thrived on it. With Gunther it was quite easy as he has always been a very delicate eater - he will chew all his food carefully and always takes time to 'consider' any food/treat that's offered to him, before politely and very gently taking it from your hand....unlike Gustav who is like a dog possessed around food and everything and anything gets inhaled without a second thought!
Unfortunately Gunther is no longer on a full raw diet - as he got older he became a rather picky eater and starting refusing a lot of his meals for days on end and he would always leave the offal, so I've resorted to giving him a quality kibble in the morning and some chicken pieces on the bone in the evening, to make sure he's getting a balanced diet along with the teeth cleaning/poo reducing benefits of raw bones!
The fact that Gustav loves 'all' food is great as I'm sure it means that, unlike Gunther, he'll be able to enjoy a really healthy, varied raw diet. Knowing his eating style though I'm sure he will just try and gulp down the bones and possibly end up choking himself, so this is the only thing that's holding me back. I am working on his food manners with regular training, but he really does have an obsessive, manic drive for food which is something I'm not used to.
Any tips on starting a food crazed pup on raw? Would I be better starting with the bigger bones, such as whole chicken legs or thighs which would be harder for him to gulp down in one go? I started Gunther on chicken wings and he used to spend about an hour in his crate very carefully eating them, but I have a feeling Gustav would just inhale them!


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## Verve (Oct 31, 2016)

I've heard of people holding one end of a piece of chicken to encourage a dog or puppy to methodically crunch crunch crunch. Alternatively, you can use ground food so large chunks of bone aren't a concern.


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## oshagcj914 (Jun 12, 2016)

If he's a gulper, then simply feed large things that he can't swallow without chewing, like whole chicken leg quarters, half chickens, whole chickens, whole pork butts, stuff like that. Holding the food at first will also help. I don't do much in the way of grinds because it does nothing for their teeth and they don't get any mental stimulation from chewing/ripping/tearing. Asaah will have 3 pounds of a grind gone in 20 seconds. You can also freeze small things (like turkey hearts or gizzards, etc) into a big ball so he has to gnaw on it, though I'd rather not do a lot of frozen stuff with puppies or very small dogs.


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## rikkia (Nov 5, 2011)

We have moved back to raw again today after our new boy has had nothing but trouble with every kibble we have tried him with.

Poppy is a licker and takes about an hour to eat a chicken carcass. 

Ziggy on the other hand is like your Gustav. What we have found works for Ziggy is a chicken carcass with breast meat and thighs removed, with attached neck is how we get them. It's far to big to swallow whole, which forces him to bite it into smaller chunks.


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## UKpoodle (Jul 22, 2015)

Thanks, I think I might get some chicken carcasses and watch him carefully to see how he gets on. I used to get all Gunthers food from a raw dog food company who delivered everything frozen to my door and as well as all the usual chickens necks etc they also did a variety of minced blocks of food which had a bit of everything in them, so I might try giving him a frozen one so he has to take his time eating it.
It's funny because I didn't realise just how fast a dog could eat until we got Gustav, I thought all poodles were delicate eaters like Gunther! It will be nice to see Gustav enjoying all his food though once he's on a raw diet, Gunther is such a fussy boy he'd rather starve then eat something he's not keen on. I remember buying him a load of frozen rabbit heads (eyes and all) and he SO wasn't into that!!


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## rikkia (Nov 5, 2011)

Out of curiosity which supplier did you use? 

Because we just got one months supply food for the two dogs. Including a box each of 30 1lb logs of minced chicken and minced beef both with bone ground in. 3 Boxes of chicken carcasses and some organ meat and kale powder from Bulmer for only £48 for the both of our dogs. They do deliver in Yorkshire I believe and have a 5 box minimum for deliveries.

They may be worth look at.


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## UKpoodle (Jul 22, 2015)

rikkia said:


> Out of curiosity which supplier did you use?
> 
> Because we just got one months supply food for the two dogs. Including a box each of 30 1lb logs of minced chicken and minced beef both with bone ground in. 3 Boxes of chicken carcasses and some organ meat and kale powder from Bulmer for only £48 for the both of our dogs. They do deliver in Yorkshire I believe and have a 5 box minimum for deliveries.
> 
> They may be worth look at.


Thanks for that I'll definitely check them out. I used to use DAF (Durham animal feeds). They're pretty cheap too. Obviously I haven't ordered for a while but they used to do minced blocks of green tripe (one of those doggy super foods). Goodness that stuff stinks but I remember it being the only thing that would help when Gunther had a dodgy tummy.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I use DAF - I like the range, the quality, the low minimum order, and the fact they deliver to my door! I did make a mistake once ordering some of their lamb ribs - I expected little riblets and got bones bigger than my dogs, but for a standard they would be ideal. I had some very dodgy turkey from what is now Nature's Menu, and have avoided them ever since.


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## rikkia (Nov 5, 2011)

I've just looked at DAF, I like the range they have and I'll be placing an order with them for some of the items that Bulmer does not stock however Bulmer it looks like, for the raw minced 1lb logs and carcasses at least, is almost half the cost. The downside if your not within driving range (thankfully we are) is the large order requirements.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Bulmers does look cheaper, but the bone content (20-25%) seems rather high, and the minimum quantities are, as you say, enormous - a similar order from DAF would probably get you a discounted price. If they are good and local enough to collect from that makes a huge difference of course!


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

You are so lucky to have raw volume delivery and pricing in England. In the U.S., I have used Hare Today, as have some other PF members but the shipping costs from PA are high. I found a pet boutique that would deliver, tacking on a delivery mile rate onto their modest selection making it prohibitively expensive. We do have a nice variety of grocery stores, including Asian and Middle Eastern, where you can find deals but never what fjm calls "grinds".


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