dog eats meat, gets sick

[frizzo]

I have a 2yr old australian shepherd that I got from the pound last halloween. since then I've mainly fed him bagged dog food and occasional leftovers from the table (rice, tofu, etc...). the other day a friend brought my dog a large bone with some meat on it, which he devoured with glee.

the last 2 nights he's been getting sick and puking. I think it's because of the meat, because once i was barbecuing and indulged Baron with half a steak, which he ate, and then later puked up.

I thought dogs were supposed to be walking garbage disposers! Is he just not used to meat, is it too rich for him? can i give him small amounts so that he will get used to it? or should i just keep him a vegetarian? I'd like to be able to give him bones and some meat because he really loves it, and the bones make great chew toys to keep him occupied.

any advice??

Thanks,
Frizzo

[ June 02, 2004, 11:57 PM: Message edited by: frizzo ]

[LoveNewfies]

I had the same problem with my Newf. Any time I gave her cooked beef or lamb as a treat, she would get sick.

Come to find out, she couldn't digest the cooked meat very well, therefore, getting sick. The only cooked meat she tolerates is fish and chicken. If I give her lamb or beef, I give it to her raw and she doesn't have any problems.

Some dogs certainly are walking garbage disposals, but others are far more sensitive. I suggest sticking to what you know works with your Ausie.

[weimlover0816]

I would say stay with what is working for you and your pup.
As for bones, they ARE great to keep dogs occupied. We don't eat a lot of meat in my household, so Roslynd has never had a meat bone. But, I found a bone at PetQuarters the other day.... it's filled with oats and granola and all sorts of yummy things, and it smells and tastes (or so I'm told [img]smile.gif[/img] ) like maple syrup. They had other flavors as well (cheese, chicken, bacon, etc). Try one of these for your pup.... Roslynd sat for 4 straight hours and chewed on that bone.... still didn't get all of the filling out!!! (Plus it made her breath smell like maple.... much better than smellign like beef!! lol)

Good luck!

[Armyguy]

My dog has diarrea everytime she eats meat or chewable bones. In addition, she releases gas a lot. I would stick with the dry food, and treat your dog only once in a while. With dry food, your dogs poop will be less messy and easy to clean up. Most meat cause stain and cause bad breath. If you have to give meat, i suggest mixing them with the dry food.

"my pomeranian rulez!"

[ayl715]

I gave my 2 years old Aussie different kind of meat since he was a puppy. he's fine and he really enjoy his food [img]tongue.gif[/img] . I usually mix the meat with veggie, or rice and kibbe. I sometimes buy ox bone from the butcher, boiled it for 1 or 2 mins to get rid of the blood. He loeves it, and he never had any problems with it. Mind you I let him chew for a while and throw away the remains that he can't finish.

[frizzo]

Wow, thank you all for the replies. He seems fine after a couple of days, and the bones don't seem to be a problem, now that all the meat i off of them.

It's interesting that the poster above had success with raw meat but not cooked. I wonder why that is.

I think what I'll do is give him just a taste every now and then and try to find some specialty bones. Sounds like he got sick because he ate so much of the meat. No dog in his right mind would stop!