Need Ideas - Raw Meaty Bones for Chihuahua

[dogs4life]

Anyone have ideas for Hank's bone intake? He has NO interest in bones or chewing on foods. I want him to at least chew on a bone, but I'm having problems getting him to try any "whole" food. The cat is more carnivorous than he is.

He has teeth but they are small for a Chihuahua. He also has very weak jaw strength. Any ideas?

I've tried:
- chicken necks
- cornish game hen parts
- whole smelt
- whole trout (even cut a meaty fin off to feed)

Should I be looking at smaller "prey" items or just keep trying?

ETA -

I forgot to tell you what he will eat...he will eat anything he can easily swallow without chewing. He rarely chewed kibble. He adores meat chunks and ground meats of all types. He refuses to eat beef heart, any type of liver and does not prefer commercially prepared raw foods.

[Cassiepeia]

You could try warming the meat a bit to make it smell better, but honestly I wouldn't bother. Just clean his teeth regularly and he'll be fine. I see no sense in trying to make him eat something he doesn't want to. Jesse never wanted to eat raw meat either, although he didn't hate minced meat if it was given sparingly and occasionally heated (not cooked). I just figured, as long as he's eating and his diet is healthy...why force him?

And cats are true carnivores, dogs are technically (although not officially, which boggles the mind) omnivores. No wonder the cat likes it more than Hank. Hehehehe.

Cass.

[dogs4life]

Thanks, Cass.

He actually loves raw meat forgot to clarify, sorry. I'll try dropping it in boiling water for a couple seconds to see if it's more appealing.

My cat will crunch on bones like a champ, and she loves little fishes. Little Hank just looks at the RMB funny and walks off, he's hungry just uninterested. If it's raw meat chunks or raw ground meat, he inhales it (which I don't like because he eats to fast, IMO) but he will not even lick or tug at the meaty bones and there is plenty of meat to tug at.

I thought maybe he was inexperienced or clueless but I've been trying for 2 years on and off to get him to eat a RMB. He used to watch Montana crunch on bones patiently waiting for scraps to snag.

Then I thought maybe he is "handicapped" with tiny teeth and weak jaw muscles but I caught him chewing on his toy this week, he almost has an arm off the poor little bear

[Cassiepeia]

Some like RMB and some don't. It's just a personal preference really. Not that big a deal. Let him chew toys and forget about the bones. LOL

Cass.

[StephanieandTeddy]

Maybe boil the chicken neck for a minute in broth with a little Kosher salt added?

What about filling a mini-Kong with something delicious and frozen?

[dogs4life]

Originally Posted by StephanieandTeddy

What about filling a mini-Kong with something delicious and frozen?

Oh, you gave me a great idea! Thanks!

I will feed him out of the kong and then work on getting him to eat out of a bone (wreck bone) , that way he takes longer to eat not just the 6.5 second snarf he loves to do.

The Kong is really still too big for him to chew on, it's the smallest one they make, but he will still lick and work on it.

I'm going to try the parboiling bit tonight to see it he takes more interest.

[dogs4life]

Hank is chewing....about time. No bones yet but he will chew on a large piece of meat with coaxing. I have to hold the darn meat for him to chow down, otherwise he just licks it the death

Found out some preferences...he loves raw beef, pork, connective tissue, tripe, marrow and tendons. Haven't tried lamb, rabbit or duck yet.

Since he's not fond of chicken, game hens or fishes, what other bones should I try....are there softer pork or beef bones in grocery stores I can buy? All I can find is oxtail, pork ribs and pork neck bones. The oxtails might work but the pork neck bones and ribs seem to be too hard.

[dogs4life]

Update....

Hank is chewing better now, we are steps away from trying soft bones again. He eats the best while next to the cat why did I not think of that before...some healthy competition is paying off.

Here's a photo of them yesterday having dinner in the bathroom (for easy clean up)..... Don't be fooled, they look like buddies in this photo but they actually hate each other. Feeding them together is a great tolerance exercise.

[calgal]

Originally Posted by Cassiepeia

You could try warming the meat a bit to make it smell better, but honestly I wouldn't bother. Just clean his teeth regularly and he'll be fine. I see no sense in trying to make him eat something he doesn't want to. Jesse never wanted to eat raw meat either, although he didn't hate minced meat if it was given sparingly and occasionally heated (not cooked). I just figured, as long as he's eating and his diet is healthy...why force him?

And cats are true carnivores, dogs are technically (although not officially, which boggles the mind) omnivores. No wonder the cat likes it more than Hank. Hehehehe.

Cass.

Two thubs up Cass!!

[dogs4life]

Calgal and Cass - I've been chatting w/ Natural rearing breeders lately and they had an opinion on the difference between MY cat and dog's differences in eating habits. SInce my cat was feral before we "rescued" her, she has not lost her feral feeding habits or abilities, plus her mom was probably feral and she learned how to eat from her mom. On the other hand, Hank was raised on kibble, probably nasty kibble as we don't have confidence in his previous owners, his chances of having normal skeletal and muscular structures are very slim and might be his "handicap" in the eating arena. They gave me hope though, by telling me stories of kibble raised toy dogs gaining jaw strength but also warned me that he may have deformities that will inhibit his chewing abilities for life. Only time will tell, they said to give him 6 months and then grind if he's not eating better.

[dogs4life]

Hank ate a bone! It was small and soft but still a bone, real bone.

I was going to give him until Sept but he just ate his first real bone today. I was just prepping my chicken for dinner, a huge roast chicken, and I gave Missy the neck as usual but Hank stared at me with his "where's mine look". I just thought - Hmmmm, OK I'll give you some too. So I cut the tail off the chicken, bone and all...it took him a while to chew, but he did it!