I wanted to thank all of you for the suggestions. I’ve looked for the suggested books and links. Very helpful. Videos on YouTube show chihuahuas eating raw food enthusiastically.
This morning I picked up 4 free range drumsticks. Free range only because it was a small pack and on sale.
The suggestions were to give him 2% to 4% of his weight ... is this twice a day? He is only a little over 6 pounds and 2% [recommended for weight loss] is about 2 ounces.
I got home and pulled the skin back on one drum, and I cut to the bone on one side to give him a head start. He chewed on it for about 5 minutes making very little headway. For the last 15 minutes he is sitting by the drumstick growling [he doesn’t normally do this]. Why is he not eating, but growling? Does it have to do with it being raw?
Fidel is naturally finicky. He OFTEN will not eat at all if he does not like what I give him. He actually waits til the next day.
Ideas?
I think a drumstick might be way too big for the little guy. It tastes fantastic and he does not want to give it up, hence the growling. I would try wings for him cut in half. He should be able to bite through them.
You did perfectly. You want to give him large pieces of meat, then pick up what is left and put it away for the next meal. Your dog will self-regulate his weight this way.
I only feed my dog once a day. She’s 18 lbs and I try to give her 7 oz a day. However, when feeding chicken I just give her a big hunk and she eats what she wants and I pick up what is left and put it back in the refrigerator for the next day.
At only 6 lbs, you should be feeding your dog about two oz., your calculations are correct. With this small a dog, the cost will be miniscule, you could cut off a small piece of your own dinner steak before you cook it and not even miss it.
If your dog is overweight, with this diet he will self-regulate and get to his perfect weight.
Typically you want to give your dog about 80% meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ meat with a large part of the organ meat being liver (it’s important your dog get liver), if you’re following the whole prey model, which is what I do. But in the beginning, I wouldn’t worry about this. Just getting started is all you want to do and you’ve done it!
A good way to get your dog to eat liver (I had a problem with my dog eating liver in the beginning) is to cut it in tiny pieces and mix it up with an egg. That’s good for one meal for your tiny dog. My dog will now slurp up liver like it’s dog candy but I thought that day would never come.
Now, don’t get scared and go back to the kibble, we call it crap in a bag.
One of the incredibly wonderful benefits of a raw food diet is your dog poops about 1/3rd the amount they do on kibble and they drink less water (because the food has water in it).
When you feed raw, put the food down, give him about 20 minutes and then pick up what he hasn't eaten. Sometimes it will be his whole meal, don't worry, just pick it up. Eventually, he will figure out he has to eat in a certain amount of time.
Another hint (although with a Chi you don't have to worry about cost too much) watch the weekly flyers. Once a week at one store or the other there will be chicken at $.49 a pound, buy a lot, cut it up into serving potions and freeze. Same with roasts, pork necks etc. Also watch the ethnic markets for odd cuts.
Drumsticks are a little big for a small dog. Better to give wings, just break the wing open — or backs if you are feeding chicken.