what do I ask the butcher for? lol!

Hi, I go past the butchers everyday walking my daughter to school, I want to ask him for some goodies for Milo but what do I ask for? Is it OK to ask for a selection of things? Do I ask for some 'meaty' bones (do I be specific?), chicken necks, wings, ox tails??

Would you please give me some suggestions for a first timers shopping list I don't want to be given garbage or get ripped off and I don't want to look like an idiot either So what should I be paying for such items please?

I'll be ordering from the barf site too I think a variety of bits for Milo to keep him guessing a\bout dinner but I also want him to have proper bones too.

Thanks in advance for any help

Caryll???????????????

Caryll where are you?...................help!! Lol!

Hello!!!!!

If you ask for a selection, you'll probably get the wrong ones! Are you feeding them as part of a raw diet, or just as a treat?

If it's part of her food, then ask for chicken wings/carcasses, duck or turkey necks, lamb ribs/necks/spines. If it's for a treat to keep her occupied for a while then any of the harder bones like knuckles/shins etc. Ask the butcher if he'll leave some meat on the bone so she can have fun tearing it off! It'll help to clean her teeth as well!

Hi, thanks Caryll, we're planning on going raw when we return from our holiday in mid June for 2 reasons one my parents will be looking after Milo for the 2 weeks we're gone. They aren't raw enclined at all and feed their 2 JRT's s.hit food and their food leftovers too, bad teeth and somewhat podgy! Also we have a giant bag of Burns to finish!

I'm basically getting prepared and organised in my head what exactly I need to do. Also I've been buying him ham bones with meat on from the pet store that have quite a bit of meat on that are vacuum packed which he adores but gets through pretty quickly, my hubby buys the rawhide knuckle bones and both last like 2 days max lol!

So I have the plan for the barf diet and the shopping list thanks what should I pay for these items (just from a costing point of view) Caryll and secondly what are good meat/bone treats for him he seems fairly intent on chewing but we do not want him to wreck his teeth. Thankyou so very much x

Firstly, I wouldn't give him too many ham bones - they're full of salt! The rawhide's ok as long as your dog chews it properly & doesn't try to swallow large pieces. The trouble with rawhide is that it swells in the stomach & a large piece could cause problems.

Things like chicken wings are really easy to get & cheap. If you can't get them from a butcher you can buy a large frozen bag from Iceland (or any supermarket) for just a couple of pounds. If you eat chicken, you could buy a whole chicken, cut the meat off before cooking & give the raw carcass, which really makes it free as you've bought it for yourselves and would have thrown the carcass away!

I get my bones from Morrisons (lambs neck/spine as Dempsey is chicken intolerant) & enough for about 4 days costs about 70p. Plus I buy bags of frozen (pet) beef chunks & tripe chunks from my local pet food store (Collins in Northampton). A 2 kilo bag costs £4 approx & lasts for 5 feeds.

I get duck & goose necks from a mail order store - I can't remember the name at the mo, but if you want it I'll find it for you - I think bigwazza uses them as well. They're also cheap.

The occasional knuckle or marrow bone won't hurt, but I wouldn't give too many as they can be very rich & mau upset the stomach.

Wow, this post is great. I'm learning a lot about what cuts/pieces are best to feed raw. My hubby is a butcher so i'm sure I can get exactly what I need without sounding like a complete and utter dill

Is raw healthier for the dogs?
If I was to start feeding raw, would I need to supplement with anything else too............eg..vitamins, kibble/biscuits/dry food, vegetables ??????

Loopy wrote:Wow, this post is great. I'm learning a lot about what cuts/pieces are best to feed raw. My hubby is a butcher so i'm sure I can get exactly what I need without sounding like a complete and utter dill

Is raw healthier for the dogs?
If I was to start feeding raw, would I need to supplement with anything else too............eg..vitamins, kibble/biscuits/dry food, vegetables ??????

If you're feeding raw (with bones) you don't need any supplements. But you ahve to do it properly & reading up as much as you can on line will help. I would recommend that you don't follow the BARF diet as such, as it's more complicated. Try this sitre for some info........ http://www.rawmeatybones.com/petowners/whatisrmb.php

If you want to give veg, there's no harm in it, but unless you're going to pulp the veg it doesn't do them any good, either! They can't digest vegetables unless they're cooked (losing most of the goodness) or pulped. We give Dempsey raw carrots & cabbage, but only because he likes them!

Loopy wrote:Wow, this post is great. I'm learning a lot about what cuts/pieces are best to feed raw. My hubby is a butcher so i'm sure I can get exactly what I need without sounding like a complete and utter dill

Is raw healthier for the dogs?
If I was to start feeding raw, would I need to supplement with anything else too............eg..vitamins, kibble/biscuits/dry food, vegetables ??????

Gem it's just what I needed too - thanks Caryll And Gem your hubby's a butcher, how very fourtunate, I on the other hand am going to look like a * (well feel like one!) when I go and say 'please Mr butcher can I have' x,y,z! lmao! I'm sure it'll be fine really, just itching to get going now!

Thanks Caryll for the info. re the ham bones, I recall reading that now you've said it, he has had 1 a week so far hope that's not too often Also please tell me barf diet wont make him get any smellier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Else we''l be away fast . We did a sack of the Hills science puppy and that was ok but the burns OMFG it's really awfull he really is a and like I said before my hubby went and brought a huge sack of the stuff he's in the dog house ha ha!! thanks all xx

Raw feeding usually makes them less smelly! Unless you feed lots of tripe. Tripe can always be relied upon to clear a room - and that's before the dog's even eaten it!

Seriously, tripes a great food - lower in protein that beef (less hyperactive) but has more minerals. It's also offal, but one that can be fed more often than liver or kidneys etc. It's also really cheap!

Phew I've got everything crossed for a less smelly dog....that's healthier and happier too mind

I smelt the dried tripe bits through the packet in the pet shop, stinky isn't the word my oh my! Going to give it a try from the mail order co. though it sells the necks etc you spole of earlier so I expect it's the same co.

thanks :0)

If you feed raw tripe it doesn't smell too bad. If you cook it or dry it, it will stink the place out!

You can cook meat, but not bones. The only problem with cooking is that you lose a lot of the goodness plus the teeth cleaning bit won't work. But with mince, it doesn't clean teeth anyway, so I guess it won't matter!

Every so often I put some lambs hearts in a casserole dish with a couple of tabelspoons of water & stick them in the oven for 15 minutes. Makes Dempsey drool when he smells it!!! But he gets really impatient waiting for them to cool down enough to eat.

Caryll....i've just had a look at the link you provided for the "raw meaty bones" website, and read through the 3 page diet guide. It mentioned "whole fish" but was wondering what sort of effect the bones would have. Do you feed Dempsey whole fish??????
I s'pose I have the best of both worlds.......a Hubby who is a Butcher AND a MAD keen fisherman

.. a butcher and a fisherman!! Roxy will be set for life !!

Okay.. so I'm officially really jealous of the butcher husband!

Loopy wrote:Caryll....i've just had a look at the link you provided for the "raw meaty bones" website, and read through the 3 page diet guide. It mentioned "whole fish" but was wondering what sort of effect the bones would have. Do you feed Dempsey whole fish??????
I s'pose I have the best of both worlds.......a Hubby who is a Butcher AND a MAD keen fisherman

I don't but only because he won't eat them - he doesn't like raw fish (can't say I blame him there )! A friend on a GSD forum feeds his whole small fish. If the fish are larger than, say a small mackerell then he removes the larger bones. If you're at all worried, then just give your dog tinned sardines (in tomato sauce or oil); I know they're cooked, but a lot of dogs won't touch raw fish!

My guys love fish (well, Gummi hasn't tried any yet). They generally get salmon or trout or other fatty fish (whatever is on sale). We'll probably go fishing this summer, though, and hopefully they'll eat what we catch. They crunch up the fish bones like other bones, no problem. Even the kitties are great at eating fish bones. They only get fish too often, though, no more than once a week to be on the safe side. Fish is a very common allergen in cats. You also don't want to give too much raw fish because of the Thiaminase that inhibits uptake of vit b1, but I think they can eat a lot more than a fish meal a week without danger. I believe someone said a medium-large dog could have a sardine a day without trouble.

Only Skibadee will eat raw fish, Tali starts foaming at the mouth and dances around her bowl looking worried if you give it to her. She wont go near it until you remove the offending fish! skibadee eats the lot bones and all, if I give it to her I use whole sardines, you can get a bag from sainsburys etc of froze4n for about £1.50