My dog stopped eating her raw chicken necks. Why is she refusing?

This usually happens when owners feed their dogs raw chicken and turkey necks. That way dogs ingest lots of thyroid glands and get hyperthyroid. Do not feed raw or cooked chicken or turkey necks to your dog 0r other animal neck meat (trachea/esophagus from the butcher). This should pass if you stop feeding those meats. If you are not feeding this type of food, then your dog may be hyperthyroid ill, and you will need to discuss the treatment with your vet. This could be medication to slow down the thyroid hormone production, surgery to remove the thyroid gland or irradiation of the gland.

You may need to be a tough owner and not cave in to her desires. I would not recommend feeding any raw meat, particularly raw chicken, as the risk to her (and to you living in the house/preparing her food) for salmonella and e.coli infection is too great. You could try soaking her dry food in water or low sodium chicken broth to make it more appealing, or getting a canned food and mixing it with the dry dog kibble to make it more appetizing, or initially putting chunks of cooked chicken in with the canned food. Info from the Centers for Disease Control on raw pet food can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/features/raw-pet-food/

While chicken necks can be a part of a balanced diet, feeding them as the entire diet is not healthy in the long run. Choose a good quality senior formula dry food. Stay away from store or discount brands. these typically contain lower quality ingredients and more fillers. An "All Life Stages" food is also an option, especially if you have more than one dog. Brands include Wholehearted ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/brand/wholehearted/dog/dog-food/dry-dog-food ), Natural Balance, Canidae and Orijen.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. No, you do not need to take Betsy in to be seen by a vet right now. She may develop signs such as diarrhea or vomiting. If so, I would recommend initiating a bland diet as outlined below. If not, then continue feeding her as you have been and just monitor for these signs. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly! GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

Your instincts are right on this one. It sounds like she is just a [picky eater](https://www.petcoach.co/article/my-pet-is-a-finicky-eater). Small breed dogs tend to be picky eaters, and this is accentuated when the owner gives in and feeds people food. I know it is hard, but you have to try and slowly break this habit by refusing to give her the boiled chicken and only her dog food. Most dogs can go up to 3 days without eating and most will give in within a day or two when they realize nothing else is coming and their only option is the [dog food](https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food) that is available to them. It sounds cruel, but this is the only way to break this habit. You can also make sure that you are offering highly palatable, high quality [dog food](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/category/dog/dog-food). Typically grocery store brands are generic and low quality. Try foods like Royal Canin, Blue Buffalo, Halo, or Evo to see if these appeal to her picky nature. You can add canned food to her dry kibble to entice her to want to eat it regularly.

This is untrue. It was (and still is in certain parts of the country) known as Coonhound Paralysis. This is due to the fact that coonhounds would develop the condition after contact with the saliva of racoons. It is thought to be an immune response to racoon saliva, bacteria or viruses. Chicken necks or raw chicken have never been conclusively or specifically listed as a direct cause. There may also be an autoimmune component in which the dog's own white blood cells begin to attack nerves resulting in a creeping paralysis that begins in the hind limbs and slowly moves forward.

Your dog has decided what her diet will be, but that's not her job . . . it's yours. Stop feeding her the chicken. Put regular dog food in a bowl on the floor without fuss and leave it for 15 minutes. After that time, pick it up whether she has eaten or not. Do not give her anything--no treats, snacks or human food--until her next scheduled mealtime. Then repeat the process. It may take several times for her to realize that there will be no more chicken, and that she must eat her food. Remember that you are not starving her–she is choosing not to eat. When she is hungry enough, she will. Do not give in or "feel sorry" for her. It will only make it harder to correct. She must have a nutritionally complete diet, and chicken is not sufficient.