Emergency help with raw feeding please

[Shalista]

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So freddie has bad teeth. i knew that. i wanted to raw feed him some chicken to help naturally brush his teeth.

so I normally gave bax a full chicken thigh when he was raw fed but I'm only supplementing freddie so I gave him a tiny chicken drumstick (think like chicken wings)

welp.

he gummed it a bit. i heard a couple bones break. and then he swallowed the entire thing whole like anaconda.

um. help? is this a vet visit? he seems fine. he's drunk a little water since then.

 

[Shalista]

google is telling me i just killed my dog but I cant find any raw friendly sources. its all just "NOOO BONES WILL KILL THEM!"

he seems totally fine. no choking or gagging or vomiting.

 

[Shalista]

an hour later and i feel much better about this. he's eaten dinner (voraciously) drunk water, pooed (normal. for him) and peed a ton. affect remains his bright cheery self and no tenderness or discomfort around the belly.

 

[Hemlock]

If I'd been awake when you posted, I'd've said don't worry. Dogs are designed to swallow large lumps of food, and their digestive juices easily cope with bones. Or you could take a belt-and-braces approach and pound the meat and bone together, so the bone is broken down a bit.

 

[JoanneF]

@Shalista - please do remember to mind your language here. I noticed @JudyN edited one of your posts yesterday, I've just had to do it too.

 

[excuseme]

"Google" is scare mongering and talking rubbish by people with no sensible knowledge about our dogs raw requirements.
Absolutely fine our dogs swallow chicken bones whole and many other animal bones too. As mentioned by @Hemlock digestive juices help digest and soften the bones.
You are doing absolutely fine by feeding raw chicken with bones in.
Do try some raw lamb rib or pork rib bones, full length are best and with smaller dogs last for ages. Our lot eat all raw bones available from all types of animals and birds, we have never had a dog with any internal injury or blockage. We have fed raw products for a minimum of 40 years.
Cooked bones are a different matter, they splinter and can be dangerous, however there are many people who feed cooked bones without harm! BUT, Best not to use them cooked.

Let your dog continue to enjoy the raw products including bones that you offer, and you must not panic!

 

[Shalista]

@Shalista - please do remember to mind your language here. I noticed @JudyN edited one of your posts yesterday, I've just had to do it too.

Sorry didn’t realize there were rules against language. My apologies

 

[Shalista]

"Google" is scare mongering and talking rubbish by people with no sensible knowledge about our dogs raw requirements.
Absolutely fine our dogs swallow chicken bones whole and many other animal bones too. As mentioned by @Hemlock digestive juices help digest and soften the bones.
You are doing absolutely fine by feeding raw chicken with bones in.
Do try some raw lamb rib or pork rib bones, full length are best and with smaller dogs last for ages. Our lot eat all raw bones available from all types of animals and birds, we have never had a dog with any internal injury or blockage. We have fed raw products for a minimum of 40 years.
Cooked bones are a different matter, they splinter and can be dangerous, however there are many people who feed cooked bones without harm! BUT, Best not to use them cooked.

Let your dog continue to enjoy the raw products including bones that you offer, and you must not panic!

Should I be concerned that he’s swallowing them whole? Should I be feeding him larger pieces of chicken so that he has to tear them up?

I also was thinking about getting him a whole frozen Cornish game hen since there aren’t really large pieces he can swallow and the frozen nature might feel good on his gums.

 

[excuseme]

What breed is your chap is he large medium or small ?
I am sorry if I have missed out on what he is! I would like him to crunch them a couple of times before swallowing them but if he is a large type of dog a wing or piece of leg is no more than a mouthful and will be fine. As @Hemlock has already mentioned the stomach juices will rapidly soften the bone and no harm will be done.
If you make a fuss and try to take the bone away from him he is far more likely to grab it and swallow it quickly, let him get on with eating it quietly by himself. Large pieces of meat and bone are a good idea, he should have to tear them up himself and use his teeth for this purpose. Frozen meat will do him no harm, you can always try it.
If you are thinking of feeding all raw you will need more than just chicken meat and bones for the diet to be "balanced", but in the short term it will be ok.

 

[Shalista]

he a rat terrier/jack russel mix. about 11#. and I don't intend to raw feed yet, I don't have the freezer / fridge space to do it properly atm. i was just planning on supplementing to give him something to chew.

 

[excuseme]

I think that your raw chicken with bone in is as good a choice as anything, I am sure he enjoys what you are giving him, it can only be good.

 

[Shalista]

Do I need to worry about him choking when he swallows such a large piece of meat whole? I have more drumetes and flats and wing tips but I’m just worried about him choking on them now.

 

[JoanneF]

Can you hold one end while he chews on the other, would that help?

 

[Shalista]

Can you hold one end while he chews on the other, would that help?

I’d be worried about him getting frustrated. Also my ability to hold slippery meat while he’s yanking on it.

 

[Hemlock]

You can never say "never" but it is highly unlikely that he would choke. I've seen terriers eat amazing things (including half a French loaf that one little so-and-so found on the Downs when we were out walking, and shovelled down before the lurchers could get there. It was a real 'snake' job!

I think with terriers especially it's all too easy for them to resent having their food held while they eat and so try and gob it down even faster, so I'd agree not a good plan with this particular dog.

 

[Shalista]

Baxter once swallowed an entire live American toad that was the size of his face before I could stop him.

If it fits in the mouth it’s going down I guess haha.