Janet wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
>
>>"Janet" wrote:
>>
>>>Kathleen wrote:
>>>
>>>>Every Thanksgiving my vets sees a rash of cases of pancreatitis
>>>>among dogs. ?Owners with only the best intentions allow the dog to
>>>>share in the feast by allowing Fido to gorge on a pile of fatty
>>>>turkey scraps, possible doused in gravy (still more fat).
>>>
>>>>The pancreas attempts to cope with the overload by releasing a surge
>>>>of digestive enzymes, causing the pancreas to become inflamed.
>>>>Symptoms are abdominal pain, lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea,
>>>>fever, a crouched, hunched up posture, dehydration, and in the later
>>>>stages, irregular heart beat, sepsis, and if left untreated, death.
>>>
>>>>A few bites of lean meat won't do your dog any harm, but make sure
>>>>any guest you may have know not to feed scraps to the dog, and make
>>>>sure leftovers meant to be discarded are bagged up and taken to an
>>>>outside trash container with a dog-proof lid. ?A trip to the
>>>>emergency clinic will take a lot of the fun out the long weekend.
>>>
>>>Or better yet put the left-overs in the freezer and dole them out in
>>>small bits to your dog as training treats over weeks. Waste not,
>>>want not.
>>
>>
>>Don't feed pets parts you yourself wouldn't eat. And animals are not
>>immune to poisoning from tainted food, make sure they're not fed food
>>that was left out of the fridge. And dogs and cats are not to be fed
>>onions or garlic or raisins... they're toxic.... be sure what is being
>>fed... no exotic seasonings, no excessively fatty parts like poultry
>>skin, adn no bones ever.. I feed my cats cooked beef, pork, poultry,
>>and vegetables along with their regular pet food... but I give them
>>the best of the choicest parts, not any scraps, they eat before me and
>>better than me... never a problem. If I couldn't afford to eat the
>>best they still would. There is no harm with giving cats and dogs
>>people food as a *suppliment* to their regular food.
>
>
> I was talking about leftover meat and meat trimmings properly stored, not
> about rotten, unrefridgerated food. There is no harm in giving dogs and cats
> cooked poultry skin in reasonable quantities. They need a certain amount of
> fat in their diet. There is also no harm in giving them cooked giblets
> (which *I* wouldn't eat). Lots of people go to great lengths to feed their
> dogs on the RAW diet, which includes raw turkey and chicken necks, which
> most of us would not eat but dogs love. (And apparently the necks are good
> for their teeth.)

I give my dogs raw, frozen turkey necks (minus the skin) as an
occasional treat, and as you mentioned to help clean their teeth. It
works by a combination of abrasion, scraping the tartar off, and enzyme
action.

But I have to sit there and grip the things with a wash cloth to force
the dogs to gnaw on them. I started using the washcloth after the time
I lost my grip and Zane yanked the frozen neck out of my hand and
swallowed it *whole*.

I freaked out, called the vet, asked if I should try to make him vomit.
She said no, just keep a close eye on him for the next few days,
including following him outside to make sure he wasn't straining or
passing blood.

He was fine. And evidently the thing was entirely digested. I was
expecting to see bones or bone fragments, but nothing like that ever
appeared. It took about a week for me to believe that we'd dodged that
particular bullet.

But an acquaintance of mine was not so lucky. Her puppy grabbed a raw
chicken wing and swallowed it whole. It punctured his stomach and he
nearly died of the resulting peritonitis. He survived but has ongoing
GI issues from the adhesions and scarring.

With regards to the whole BARF diet (Bones And Raw Food), it takes a lot
of know how to create a balanced diet and it's not uncommon for
exclusively raw-fed dogs to develop serious health issues as a result.