My baby is not picking on his meat (prey model) what to do?

luigisayshello

So yesterday I decided to give him some real meat with bones, after a long period of research and for my astonishment he didn't even want to try, after some insistence I was able to give him 2 meals, but hand feed and I had to "tease" him with the pieces, because he would chew for a little and he didn't want it anymore, this is a little frustrating and today I decided to take the plate out if he didn't eat his food and so it happen, but I really would like to give him some real meat on weekends without having to hand feed him and without the feeling of him doing me a favor for eating MEAT!! 

Did some of your babies did the same in the first time? How did you deal with it?

Thanks

BulliesofNC

I've haven't seen a Bull Terrier turn their nose to any form of Raw Meat. Usually it's the other way around and they will devastate the meat in seconds.

Out of curiosity, what type of raw meat was it?   :-?

Djammy

WOW! That comes unexpected! Maybe you have a vegetarian Bullie

But kidding aside...

If you don't mind me asking: Which kind of meat did you try to feed and how did you prepare it?
What was your dog's former diet and for how long has he been on it? 

Are you also feeding some additions, such as supplemental vitamins and/or fish oil?
In this case I am particularly asking for this, because not only is it healthy for the dog, but also a lot of dogs really love eating fish oil. So if that's new to him, it could be worth a try to "convince" him.

But before I make this post much longer, I'll wait for your answers. Also I think there are a lot of others around with VERY good advice! 

We have just switched Djamila to raw about a month ago and since we did it there's no longer such thing as leftovers waiting in her bowl for later. She loves her food.

I can only encourage you not to give up on the idea of feeding raw too soon - unless of course health issues for example would make that necessary (which should be in very raw cases only).

Djamila's yeast issues are continuing to clear up and lately I have noticed her fur not only becoming even more shiny than before. It has also become really dense - we still have summer heat here in Florida, so I don't really think it's the season change! And it is so much softer at the same time. She has started to feel like a plush pet now! Can't stop stroking her  

luigisayshello

So it came unexpected to me also. So my bully has 7 months old and I'm trying him on raw during weekends, because I'm still trying and seeing the errors. He is on Taste of the wild bison, no suplements, just water poured in the moment that he starts to eat, last week he is being a little picky with his kibble. 

The only times he ate raw, was last week, where I tried prey and barf, the problem was that the biological chicken that I had ordered was cut in a lot of pieces 16 if I'm not mistaken and I got scared of feeding him most of the parts, as he was swallowing the parts commando style and some of the parts had the bone with "knifes". In the dinner, I feed him crushed pork and beef mix, plus tuna on olive oil and sardines in olive oil (I know that it's cooked, but ours at least don't have chemicals, just the oil), some veggies, fruit and chicken liver. 

I found during hand feeding him the chicken, that was biologic, that he is unable to cut the meat, only crush the bones, he can only rip the meat if I'm holding the piece and him pushing to rip it apart (this was a great bonding exercise), he already had trouble eating his kibble and that's why he wasn't eating "normal". At least I suspect, I will add some photos so you can see what I'm talking about. 

luigisayshello

Oh and the chicken was fresh (killed 1 day ago, and unfrozen) and I add some great olive oil, that he loves. This weekend I think I made a few more mistakes that I'm recalling now, I add to much neck and paws to his meal (I add them for him to learn how to crush, cut and eat, they were easier to eat) and I put too much for him to eat, wayy to much. 

luigisayshello

The photos (there are 5, on top of the image there are "first image, second image," etc.)

http://imgur.com/DnNFFg9,qVsThyt,9vhkGRW,Z7b7Gcr,ibHr2pa

luigisayshello

He had been on totw since he was 8 weeks, I tried Acana (that was a emergency bag) but it was a week or so. I didn't change, I will change it now to totw salmon 4/7 of the week and 3 on raw, at least I hope so.

BulliesofNC

Why not supplement the TOTW kibble with Raw Meats as an added supplement that will help with weight gain and "should" appease his appetite?

I sent you a raw meat recipe I'd like you try and give him.

Djammy

I see that Steve has already sent you some information. Maybe my information is also still helpful.

The fact that your dog already has problems with eating his kibble makes a dental cause possible for his refusal.

I cannot really tell from the pictures. But if, for example, he has a problem with his bite, eating hard things could hurt and cause him to be picky.

If you can rule out all other causes, maybe you should have his teeth evaluated by a vet. Malocclusions are not uncommon among Bull Terriers. Most of them are not becoming a problem. But if your dog can’t eat because of it, the situation will not get better by leaving this problem unaddressed.

But first you can look into some other issues:

I understand you are feeding chicken.

One point is that a lot of dogs just don’t like chicken. It can be different with turkey or duck. So not every chicken-hater necessarily turns down all kinds of poultry.

But there are indeed a lot of other alternatives to poultry waiting in the queue.

For example, try some nicely cut pieces of lean beef, like top round and you will probably watch your dog inhale his food.

You seem to be aware of the problems coming along with chicken, but let me still leave a few more words about it here for future readers also:

Bones in general are something worth giving a second thought in a dog’s nutrition. They undoubtedly have healthy benefits, but they also can hurt your dog’s teeth or his interior.

I would always be very careful with any bird bones and also with COOKED bones in general. They’re hollow and can splinter. So, “knife ends” on cut bones are not the only possible problem. Many say that only the cooked bones are prone to splinter. Others also have reported uncooked chicken or turkey bones to do so. Many do feed chicken bones to their pets all life with nothing ever happening and many consider raw turkey necks the safe way to go. 

But there are also cases of dogs who died from a punctured stomach caused by splintered bones. 

Many argue that wolves and other wild animals are also eating raw bones every day. That’s true and it’s certainly in their nature. But just as a pet, when something goes wrong and their intestines get punctured by a bone of their prey, they are even more likely to die from it, because they don’t have vet’s. 

I don’t know what the exact odds of this event are. But honestly, if I can avoid it with my pet, why go the risky route. Just my opinion.

When feeding raw chicken frequently, removing the skin and other very fatty parts is also advisable.

I would probably even cook the chicken. But this would be more to prevent the human family members in the household from picking up salmonella.

You could also try some salmon (cooked, to eliminate parasites) every now and then.

Also you could try to garnish the meat with a (really fresh) raw egg to lure his appetite.

Adding a small (daily) amount of fish oil, such as Grizzly Salmon oil is also a healthy and tasty - at least for your dog - way to “spice things up”. Steve - the owner of this forum - has some good information on it here http://bulliesofnc.com/bull-terrier-nutrition/

Your dog is hesitant about chewing his kibble. So maybe it’s a good idea to try giving him something more soft than bone or kibble and see how that is working out for him. When feeding the meat, you could try to start with feeding boneless, cut pieces.

There is nothing bad about that. Don’t worry about your dog forgetting about how to chew like a real wolf or something. He won’t.

If you want to feed bone because of the health benefits later, you always have the option of grinding them into your dog’s food, if he doesn’t like whole bones. It will also provide all of the benefits due to calcium and the bone marrow, while the risk of splintering is just eliminated.

If you really want to switch to raw, there’s a lot to know. We have just begun to switch and still have to learn. But the information and experience I have gathered so far, could already fill a book.

If you are not sure about how much to feed to your dog when feeding raw, try this calculator for orientation:

http://www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm

Many owners feed way too much in the beginning when they switch to raw, because the real amount just looks so tiny. Using a calculator will help you determine the amount for starters. You can always adjust it, if you notice your dog gaining too much weight or loosing weight.

Remember that your dog is still considered a puppy, as he is only 7 months old, when you figure out the appropriate amount of raw food.

Beautiful dog btw.!

luigisayshello

Steve is it ok to mix the two or should I give him meat day in day out?

He had his teeth checked, his lower jaw is still not as wide as the upper part, so his lower teeth only bite 60% of the upper teeth on the back. And his "knife" teeth are still growing and this makes him unable to cut a piece of meat, instead he only chews until it's soft enough and swallows. 

He likes beef and hates cows, a perfect fit for him lol. I will try other meat, but now on Barf model (without veggies). Where can I get nutrients for his cartilages and articulations? I'm really scared for them, as he jumps a lot and too high, he does a lot of exercise regularly (mostly playing) and he runs with me. In the end of a normal day he's out playing 3-4 hours he was 20 kg when he was 6 months, it's a lot of weight for a baby articulations and cartilages. 

As for the fatty parts didn't know, as for the bones, I will not give him until he his a grown dog. Only pressed meat or deboned. Organs and other internal muscles, what are the best for them? Our cows are really good, and very well feed, as the fish, mostly sardines (some say they are the best in the world), can I give him this two at least on the weekends on a regular basis, changing the organs used? 

As for the softness, I'm giving him kibble with water, he eats it very well. 

I'm one of that owners, I don't know how, but he still had stomach to eat the kibble after 10 minutes of another dog in a friends house lol, he was electric and so agile, I probably feed him in that day way more than 1.5kg but the thing was that mostly was bone (chicken paws and necks).  

Djammy

Ugh, I feel my back. Just finished our batch for the next six weeks.

Handling such large amounts of food in a regular household is a challenge. But we keep improving our process.

Our homemade food includes (ordered by descending amount )
Top round beef, innards (chicken hearts, ox liver), lentils, carrots, sweet potatoes, eggs, pumpkin, ACV, garlic, calcium.

80% meats & innards, 20% veggies.