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I honestly feel silly coming to you guys with this problem but here it goes:
So after about a year of trying to get Riley to lose weight I’ve decided to take the plunge and start feeding raw. My trainer had suggested that the kibble I was feeding him was too starchy and I think she was right. I figured instead of trying to dance around looking for the right kibble, raw would be the easiest solution. I have tried gradually switching him to better brands like Orijen, and it resulted in immediate diarrhea (long hair + liquid poop = not fun).
Anyway, I’ve been feeding prey-model raw for about 3 weeks now and in terms of health, he’s doing great – he’s already slimming down, his teeth are cleaner, no dry skin, normal stool etc. However, my biggest problem is to get him to actually eat it.
As the title suggests, Riley’s a bit of a princess. He will only eat the meat if it’s cut up into bite-sized pieces and now refuses to eat the bones (I’ve been giving him chicken wings, feet and drumsticks). In the beginning everything was great, while I would still have to cut up the meat, he’d happily eat the bones by himself. Now it seems that the novelty has worn off and he no longer wants to go through the trouble of chewing his food *sigh*. And by not wanting to chew I mean, he will bite down, crunch for a bit then spit it out when a piece doesn’t break off, and walk away. He also does not want to let the meat/bone touch his paws. I’ve literally had to hold a chicken foot for him so he’d eat it. Do I spoil this dog or what?
I’m also fairly certain it’s not a dental issue because when he’s ready he’ll spend hours chewing on his antler or cow hoof.
Now Riley’s always been a grazer and was previously free-fed (still portioned, just left out for him to eat at his convenience), but I can’t do that anymore. Ideally, I’d like to feed him outside but even inside I don’t like the idea of raw meat just lying on the floor. I’ve tried taking it away and giving it back later with inconsistent success. It’s just kinda frustrating because he’s doing so well on raw but he just won’t eat it
The one thing is that I have yet to intro a new protein source. I wanted to use turkey but I can’t find it anywhere, so next grocery trip I was thinking about buying duck or quail. Maybe that will help?
So what do you guys think? Do you have any tips on getting him to eat? If I were to leave out the meat, how long would be safe?
So after about a year of trying to get Riley to lose weight I’ve decided to take the plunge and start feeding raw. My trainer had suggested that the kibble I was feeding him was too starchy and I think she was right. I figured instead of trying to dance around looking for the right kibble, raw would be the easiest solution. I have tried gradually switching him to better brands like Orijen, and it resulted in immediate diarrhea (long hair + liquid poop = not fun).
Anyway, I’ve been feeding prey-model raw for about 3 weeks now and in terms of health, he’s doing great – he’s already slimming down, his teeth are cleaner, no dry skin, normal stool etc. However, my biggest problem is to get him to actually eat it.
As the title suggests, Riley’s a bit of a princess. He will only eat the meat if it’s cut up into bite-sized pieces and now refuses to eat the bones (I’ve been giving him chicken wings, feet and drumsticks). In the beginning everything was great, while I would still have to cut up the meat, he’d happily eat the bones by himself. Now it seems that the novelty has worn off and he no longer wants to go through the trouble of chewing his food *sigh*. And by not wanting to chew I mean, he will bite down, crunch for a bit then spit it out when a piece doesn’t break off, and walk away. He also does not want to let the meat/bone touch his paws. I’ve literally had to hold a chicken foot for him so he’d eat it. Do I spoil this dog or what?
Now Riley’s always been a grazer and was previously free-fed (still portioned, just left out for him to eat at his convenience), but I can’t do that anymore. Ideally, I’d like to feed him outside but even inside I don’t like the idea of raw meat just lying on the floor. I’ve tried taking it away and giving it back later with inconsistent success. It’s just kinda frustrating because he’s doing so well on raw but he just won’t eat it
The one thing is that I have yet to intro a new protein source. I wanted to use turkey but I can’t find it anywhere, so next grocery trip I was thinking about buying duck or quail. Maybe that will help?
So what do you guys think? Do you have any tips on getting him to eat? If I were to leave out the meat, how long would be safe?