Cant believe I'm saying this....

[Bonniesmummy]

....I think I'm going to try Raw, YUK

Bonnie has been a very frustrating eater forever!! and its driving me mad now! I really think she just doesnt like dry, I give her some wet to make it more interesting but she mostly tends to just eat/lick the meat and leaves the dry well I refuse to just feed her wet!!!

She hasnt been well over the past few days but her spirits are up today but still only eating the wet and only eating very little.... I fear she is starting to lose weight so I think a few weeks or research is in order and maybe after she is spayed I wil TRY raw ....yuk!

The thought mkes me cringe but I'll do anything for my bubba

[Heather]

don't want to put a downer on this but think very carefully about it because it doesn't sound like you're wholly convinced lol
My dogs are raw fed but it is more of a hassle than putting down some dried food and you have to be organised.
Kira loved her raw diet when I changed her over at 4 months but is a bit fussy about what she eats. Last summer she started leaving some of her food and has only started eating properly again since we got Polka (scared Polka steals her food)
Saying that I thoroughly recommend a raw diet- there's nothing like hearing your dog enjoy crunching those bones!
Good luck if that's what you decide to do!

[Bonniesmummy]

Originally Posted by Heather

don't want to put a downer on this but think very carefully about it because it doesn't sound like you're wholly convinced lol
My dogs are raw fed but it is more of a hassle than putting down some dried food and you have to be organised.
Kira loved her raw diet when I changed her over at 4 months but is a bit fussy about what she eats. Last summer she started leaving some of her food and has only started eating properly again since we got Polka (scared Polka steals her food)
Saying that I thoroughly recommend a raw diet- there's nothing like hearing your dog enjoy crunching those bones!
Good luck if that's what you decide to do!

Thanks Heather, it's not that I'm not convinced, I do believe raw is better for them it's more the thought of handling the meat I'm ok with the basics of some meats that I cook for the family but I'm not a big meat eater so that's the main issue I have with it and ease of getting hold of it.

I think if I give it a chance I'll get used to it and I'd do anything for her too

Do you think I could give her tit bits to see if she actually likes it? Like chicken wings as a treat or something???

[Jude]

I believe Bonnie is having a false pregnancy. Kira also had a phantom pregnancy following her last season in October and she ate for England from October until just before Christmas, which would have been "puppy time" and has been very picky about her food since then. I think it is a hormonal thing and the last week she has suddenly started eating properly again - she is fed a complete kibble plus a little tinned Butchers Tripe and occasional raw minced tripe and chicken plus table scraps mixed in. She too would pick out all the interesting bits and lick up any juice but leave the kibble but is now eating that again as well. She did not appear to lose any weight and although her behaviour was a bit quieter than usual it now seems to have returned to normal - i.e. full of beans and mischief! My guess is that Bonnie will start to eat better once her hormones have returned to normal.

Originally Posted by Bonniesmummy

Thanks Heather, it's not that I'm not convinced, I do believe raw is better for them it's more the thought of handling the meat I'm ok with the basics of some meats that I cook for the family but I'm not a big meat eater so that's the main issue I have with it and ease of getting hold of it.

I think if I give it a chance I'll get used to it and I'd do anything for her too

Do you think I could give her tit bits to see if she actually likes it? Like chicken wings as a treat or something???

Audrey, I don't eat meat but feed mine raw. I can't even cook meat - i never have, so just don't know how! If you're going down the raw route then maybe get some surgical gloves if you're squeamish about touching it?

The only time I wear gloves is for handling tripe, because it really stinks! I'll happily handle any meat or offal. I've gutted rabbit. But I'm very fastidious about handwashing, and I've separate utensils, chopping boards, tea-towels for dog things.

Try Bonnie on raw chickie wings - I bet she'll love them!

[Bonniesmummy]

Originally Posted by Jude

I believe Bonnie is having a false pregnancy. Kira also had a phantom pregnancy following her last season in October and she ate for England from October until just before Christmas, which would have been "puppy time" and has been very picky about her food since then. I think it is a hormonal thing and the last week she has suddenly started eating properly again - she is fed a complete kibble plus a little tinned Butchers Tripe and occasional raw minced tripe and chicken plus table scraps mixed in. She too would pick out all the interesting bits and lick up any juice but leave the kibble but is now eating that again as well. She did not appear to lose any weight and although her behaviour was a bit quieter than usual it now seems to have returned to normal - i.e. full of beans and mischief! My guess is that Bonnie will start to eat better once her hormones have returned to normal.

Thanks Jude, yeah she is having a phantom but she has always been fussy with food even before the phantom.... I know I have probably made her worse by pandering to her fussiness so Im trying V hard to get past it.
At the beginning of the phantom she ate loads which was one of the reasons I noticed things weren't right with her as she never ate that well lol and then she went back to being fussy again! The past few days she was even refusing treats!!!!

[Bonniesmummy]

Originally Posted by Anni

Audrey, I don't eat meat but feed mine raw. I can't even cook meat - i never have, so just don't know how! If you're going down the raw route then maybe get some surgical gloves if you're squeamish about touching it?

The only time I wear gloves is for handling tripe, because it really stinks! I'll happily handle any meat or offal. I've gutted rabbit. But I'm very fastidious about handwashing, and I've separate utensils, chopping boards, tea-towels for dog things.

Try Bonnie on raw chickie wings - I bet she'll love them!

Thanks for the tip Anni I can assure you I will NEVER gut no rabbit lol.... I will draw the line there!! IF I do decide to go raw Ill have someone else take care of that

Tripe is just ........uggghhhhhhh I used to work in a nursing home years ago and they served it to the oldies, the smell of it cooking was vile!!!!

Gosh maybe Im not cut out for this, I really need to do the reasearch on this so I know what I need to be giving her, where I can get if from and how much of the actual 'gutting' kinda things I will need to do or how much of this can be done for me etc.

I have an asda delivery coming in the morning so will see how much the bubba likes chicken wings

[Heather]

I don't find there's that much meat handling involved- only the bagging it up to go in the freezer- then I take it out , leave it to defrost then chuck it outside for the dogs! I don't gut anything- the rabbit I get is already gutted (and really expensive here so I don't give it that often) and as I can't get tripe then I don't have that to worry about either. I give whole fresh sardines and eggs so there's no preparation there either.

[Bonniesmummy]

Originally Posted by Heather

I don't find there's that much meat handling involved- only the bagging it up to go in the freezer- then I take it out , leave it to defrost then chuck it outside for the dogs! I don't gut anything- the rabbit I get is already gutted (and really expensive here so I don't give it that often) and as I can't get tripe then I don't have that to worry about either. I give whole fresh sardines and eggs so there's no preparation there either.

Now that sounds like my kinda feeding lol

so what would a typical meal include then? sorry I know there is loads on here already, need to do a search

Haha well i live in the sticks and we've loads of rabbits. Worse thing is taking out the guts with bits of rabbit poo still inside, yuk. My butcher gets me one's which have been ferreted, so no shot in them.

Mostly though it's chicken carcasses, and wings, plus rib / vertebrae and lamb necks.

The tripe is for the hardcore I think - it's green tripe, not the bleached stuff humans eat. So it still has bits of undigested plant material in it. Nice.