What shouldn't you feed a Cocker Spaniel?

[Karma]

Ooo... might try the baked carrots option.... always looking for small training treats to reduce the amount of cheese and sausage we get through!!! 

Lou - a dog's digestive system is designed to deal with the bacteria present in raw food - in fact I'm sure I read somewhere that most dogs carry salmonella in their gut without it causing a problem.  When a raw fed dog has a tummy upset and is tested for salmonella, it would come back positive and the vets blame salmonella for the tummy upset, when the same test would likely come back positive when the dog is perfectly healthy.    Unless the dog has a compromised immune system, we are more at risk from salmonella when feeding dogs raw bones than the dog is.    (Though obviously with good hygiene, there shouldn't be a problem!) The tapeworm issue is more accurate - pork used to carry a tapeworm-type parasite (trichinosis), but this is no longer present in pork for human consumption in the UK, and hasn't been for years.  There have been some isolated cases in the USA, from pork from very rural areas.  If you are still worried about this, freezing the meat for a couple of weeks before (defrosting and) feeding it will kill off any worms etc.

[Emma xx]

Phew! I got scared then as Alfie and Meg have the odd raw carrot!! I snap them in half and freeze them and they are great for soothing his poor gums and havent caused him any probs so far xxx

[Sarah1985]

dried carrots.

 Take fresh carrots, Slice then oven cook them on your ovens  lowest setting till the carrots have gone dry and crunchy. Dog either love of hate them, In credibly healthy if your dog does like them

Oh dear !!!!!!!!!! i have made an error here then..............we gave Charley half a sliced fresh carrot a couple of days ago ( not cooked or made crunchy just outa the fridge ) We haven't seen any signs of probs but should you always half cook carrots ? i thought that fully cooked ones were not so good hence giving him half a raw one ??

I think Sarah was just suggesting another way to feed carrots as a change from raw. Mine eat raw carrots regularly with no problems, although Dougie was always sick with them when he was a small pup, but is fine now.

Yep, they're just a slightly better treat for training if theyre cooked. They dont go off if you leave them in your pocket after a training session  and they tend to be easier for the dog to eat so if your doing clicker training and treating lots you dont have to wait while your dog finishes chewing.

 My 2 have them raw as well as a chew stick.

[mlynnf50]

Which bones are the best to first try them on, i would prefer to give a larger bone than chicken wings,.....
I know iam a softy and am frightened he will choke.

[Karma]

Marrow Bones are great as a recreational bone - they won't eat the majority of it and they can be a bit tough on the teeth, so I wouldn't give more than 1 a month or so...

For a bone they can eat entirely, I'd go with lamb ribs... they are nice and soft, and generally have a good amount of meat.  If they are very fatty, you can remove some of this, as this can upset some tums. 
Pork ribs are also fine to give, but are a bit more hard work, and Honey still "struggles" with these (mainly she just can't be bothered to put in the effort to eat them!!! It's a great way to keep her weight in check!!!!  ).

[weenieangel]

dried carrots.

 Take fresh carrots, Slice then oven cook them on your ovens  lowest setting till the carrots have gone dry and crunchy. Dog either love of hate them, In credibly healthy if your dog does like them

Oh dear !!!!!!!!!! i have made an error here then..............we gave Charley half a sliced fresh carrot a couple of days ago ( not cooked or made crunchy just outa the fridge ) We haven't seen any signs of probs but should you always half cook carrots ? i thought that fully cooked ones were not so good hence giving him half a raw one ??

I think Sarah was just suggesting another way to feed carrots as a change from raw. Mine eat raw carrots regularly with no problems, although Dougie was always sick with them when he was a small pup, but is fine now.

Great thanks

[Mel]

Just to add with the carrots, they pass straight through without much digestion, so if you are looking for goodness from the carrot, then you need, as with all vegetables, to finely shred them. So raw carrots or even baked are great as treats but also try adding some shredded with you cockers food sometimes. Dogs have an issue breaking down the fiberous construction of vegetables. Gosh Tali goes wild for frozen carrot for his teeth. He goes through two a day!

[x Lou x]

Ok we've given up raw hide and cooked bones (not been brave enough to try a raw one yet) but have tried cheese and ham and so far so good! We have even had two solid poos  The carrot treats are in the oven as I type, so i'll let you know how they go down. 

Thank you everyone with all your help, this really is a good site, it has so much information on but I have to admit I read more than I post 

Thanks again

Lou

[Mel]

Cooked bones splinter and are dangerous. Do not feed them to your dog.

[JeffandAnnie]

Kebabs, especially the skewer