Nancy B

[quote name='bk_blue']I was wondering because so many people feed their dogs chicken necks, is that the only part of a chicken carcass a dog can digest safely?[/quote] It depends on the size of your dog. I have Dobes so, they could probably safely eat any portion of the chicken including a whole one if I let them! I will admit that I have never let them have the portions that have leg bones. I know lots of folks with dogs my size that do, it's just a personal preference. I prefer that the bones they eat be a bit smaller...just to be on the safe side. I think that chicken necks are about the smallest RMB (raw meaty bone) available so, that makes them the RMB of choice for owners of small or very young dogs. I haven't fed any chicken necks since the first week I switched my dogs to BARF. Those necks are just so tiny in relation to the size of my dogs that they tended to swallow them whole. It also took a whole mess of chicken necks to make up a meal! Chicken backs are probably the most frequently chosen RMB for medium to large size dogs for two reasons. The cost is very low, by the case about 50 cents or less a pound. The ratio of meat to bone is just about ideal for a BARF diet. I feed turkey necks occasionally....when I happen to see them in the grocery store I'll pick some up. These do cause me some concern and I watch the dogs like a hawk while they're eating. Turkey necks are just the right size to lodge in a mid to large size dog's throat if they don't chew. I also feed pork neck bones on a semi regular basis...grocery store almost always has them. I do watch the dogs more carefully with them than the chicken backs because the bones look so much bigger. It does seem to be pretty soft though, my kids have no trouble crunching them up. They seem to regard the pork neck bones as a special treat. I'd love to just feed chicken backs and leave it at that since they seem to be the ideal RMB for my dogs but, if you're BARFing you're supposed to vary the type of RMB you give your dogs. I'm still working up the courage to try some beef ribs!

Whitney and Mason actually start off sleeping in their own beds in the sitting room off our bedroom every night. Sometime during the middle of the night they come into bed between us. This suits us....it allows us to get to sleep without having to "fight" for a piece of bed. The kids know that getting up in bed with us is "fair game" once we've gone to sleep. For two big dogs they're amazingly careful when they come up. You see, they know that if they wake my husband they'll have to start all over sleeping in their own beds until he's asleep again! BTW, Whit doesn't just sleep between us. When she gets up on the bed she heads up toward the pillows and finds the top of the covers. She slips her head under the covers and "burrows" her whole body down under! <G> Oh yes, I loved the poem too!

[quote name='newfiemom']Try having four dogs weighing between 120-195 lbs. get in bed with you. No wonder I always wake up with a back ache!!! :D[/quote] OK, I thought we had a tight fit in a king size bed with two Dobes, a 58# and 74#, but you've certainly got that beat!!! :)

My dogs are totally BARF fed. I buy their morning meal of chicken backs by the 40# case ($20) but, as far as the bones go, they also get turkey necks, chicken necks and pork necks. Their evening meal is a "BARF meatball" that I make myself. It has ground beef, chicken and/or beef liver, beef heart, egg, ground dried eggshells, chicken gizzard/heart, veggies, supplements and anything else interesting that I feel like throwning into the mix.