[DanielleKeith]

Today I added a chicken breast tender in full raw form to my dog's food to see what he would do with it. He GULPED it without hardly chewing it (after licking and nibbling at it for a minute or two)! He ate his mash mix and then slept for about 3 hours. What in the world? I am starting raw meaty bones tomorrow but all chicken for awhile. He's clearly puppy food intolerant. For those that don't know, his attitude completely changed, and his poop firmed up and is actually brown within 36 hours off kibble and on homemade. I will slowly switch to raw+ with him, but is this gulping normal and what's the scenario going to look like with bones? The last thing I need is to kill my best friend with bones! what to do?

 

[Dejavu]

Yes, it's normal! I freaked out at first too, but don't worry, dogs do it all the time and nothing happens. Mine have done it especially with chicken quarters, they practically swallow the leg part.

Your dog should be alright, as long as it's raw bones.

 

[jkscandi50]

My pup was allergic to commercial food as well - after many vet visits, tests, etc. switched to raw - no looking back!! He loves it - and is a healthy, happy 8 month old now we fed chicken necks (no skin at first) - Bravo blend - and whole chicken thigh and leg quarters - it's kind of like people - introduce 1 food at a time - see how it is tolerated and move on
Best of luck with the raw - I used to hold the thigh leg quarter - so he couldn't gulp and would learn to chew up everything and not just gulp - give it a whirl!! and if any poopies are loose give plain pumpkin to help slow things down

 

[Dejavu]

I used to hold the thigh leg quarter - so he couldn't gulp and would learn to chew up everything and not just gulp -

This! Especially if your dog is still a small puppy. Some people say giving the parts frozen helps, but I don't really like giving them frozen food so I just give it to them partially thawed. It makes them chew and not eat too fast.

EDIT: I forgot to say my dogs are already adults and a big pup, so I'd say for your little puppy it might be better to eat them thawed, just hold them at first.

 

[Dejavu]

And I couldn't edit my previous post, lol, but I just wanted to add that what helped me at first to relax about the way they eat their raw food, was to look for videos on youtube.

Like this one here (disclaimer: not my dog nor my video):

 

[Lauri & The Gang]

I have a several gulpers.

Both Spike and Fuego, my Crested boys, are gulpers/pukers. Spike has grown out of it but Fuego is right at the peak of it. They eat SO fast they puke it all back up within minutes.

I'm SO glad I have hardwood floors in my house!!

Winnie, my Corgi mix, is also a gulper. With her I worry about giving things too large as she will try to crunch it just enough to get it down and then swallow. But she's not always good about getting it crunched enough so I worry about it getting stuck. I had worked with her on the command "CHEW" (which she will do if I stand there and watch her) but I finally gave up and only give her small pieces that will NOT get stuck if she doesn't chew.

When you move on to RMBs I would start with a chicken leg or the thigh. They are big enough that a pup should HAVE to chew in order to get it down.

And that's all I worry about - just chew enough to get it down.

Had a foster Lab that could crunch a BIG leg quarter twice and then swallow it down.

 

[Verivus]

You could just feed frozen. That's what I do, and it forces my pup to chew. She's never had any issues. Or you could just give it half frozen, less cold but still forces them to chew.