bones?

[JazzysMom]

I'm thinking of going to the local butcher for bones for the dogs.

What exactly do I want? What bones are best/safest?

[jys1011]

That's a great question!! I've been wondering too..we had lamb chops the other night & I wanted to give them the bones but I was too scared it might kill them :(

[Ninabeana26]

I've heard that lamb chops are good for them & tasty. I've heard the same about venison (dear) bones & those make their teeth very white! The best type of the actual bone are things like the ribs, necks, & tails because they aren't sharp/angeled to hurt their mouths.

I have heard do not ever give a dog any bones from poultry because they spliter & can cause cuts in the dogs mouth or worse, a piece can become lodged within their throat.

[JazzysMom]

Cooked or not cooked?

I know one splinters more, but can never remember which.

I was also advised some years ago not to give pork bones, but darned if I can remember why? Are they more splintery too?

So, we go for beef..... ribs? knees? legs? Do we cook 'em or feed 'em raw?

Geez, this doesn't seem like it should be so confusing. Where's my head?

[Ninabeana26]

I know with our dogs (not Bs) growing up my mom would put beef bones cut through (so you can actually see the marrow inside) on a cookie sheet & warm them up for a little while at a low temp. I'm not sure that you have to do that I think she thought it brought out the flavor a bit more. Our dogs would lay there for hours licking the marrow out of the bones & then they would chew a bit on the edges as well.

Pork bones also splinter & can, if spliters are swalled, puncture intestines (same with poultry bones).

And finally, don't necessarily cook the bones. I've heard that they lose their nutritional stuff if cooked. I think my mom just heated up the round bones to make the marrow a bit warm. But I don't think it is necessary.

[tanza]

Never cooked bones, ever... that is what splinters... any raw meaty bones are fine... and as Nina said, warming them up with be a special treat, but do not cook them...
If you can get the butcher to find you brisket bones (beef) they are great for dogs... a friend in Australia on another list gets them for all his B's... and turned many people on to them here, however to find a "real" butcher that processes the entire steer.. is pretty far and few around here.

I have given mine all of the following... chicken backs, chicken necks, chicken wings (and turkey too), lamb (they love the riblets), and Beef ribs, knuckles, soup bones.... ... I have never done much pork... and all of the above were raw... as in not cooked at all... and they eat it all, meat, bones... everything...

[TuckerVA]

You'll find conflicting information regarding dogs and bones (cooked, raw, chicken, beef, etc etc). Some vets think they are okay, some don't. It's just like the age old rawhide scenario. EVERY bone has the potential for complications, but more vets see complications with cooked bones versus raw bones. You're not going to find any one answer to your question.

Perhaps the best answer would be to talk to YOUR vet who knows YOUR dog and ask him/her. Some dogs do fine, and, while researching your question, I found that one person who fed her dog the 'right kind' of bone spent tons of money having a piece of bone removed that had lodged in her dog's esophogus.

In general, I found that the larger the dog, the larger the risk because larger dogs are more aggressive chewers which makes them more likely to break a smaller chunk off of a bone and swallow it. Splintering bones or not. Any bone can break into fragments. It's not so much the sharpness of the fragment as it is the size of the fragment and how long the stomach acids take to digest it. Longer digestion leads to intestinal blockage (possibly) Larger fragments, if swallowed, can get stuck in the throat or teeth and some dogs even break teeth on bones.

I give my B rawhide, but I fear bones and won't give them to him. I can't really afford to spend 1000's of dollars on surgery. It's just a risk I prefer not to take.

[JazzysMom]

Never cooked bones, ever... that is what splinters... any raw meaty bones are fine... and as Nina said, warming them up with be a special treat, but do not cook them...
If you can get the butcher to find you brisket bones (beef) they are great for dogs... a friend in Australia on another list gets them for all his B's... and turned many people on to them here, however to find a "real" butcher that processes the entire steer.. is pretty far and few around here.

I have given mine all of the following... chicken backs, chicken necks, chicken wings (and turkey too), lamb (they love the riblets), and Beef ribs, knuckles, soup bones.... ... I have never done much pork... and all of the above were raw... as in not cooked at all... and they eat it all, meat, bones... everything...



Thanks! Now.... I'm going to print all this out so I don't forget it....again.:rolleyes:

[JazzysMom]

You'll find conflicting information regarding dogs and bones (cooked, raw, chicken, beef, etc etc). Some vets think they are okay, some don't. It's just like the age old rawhide scenario. EVERY bone has the potential for complications, but more vets see complications with cooked bones versus raw bones. You're not going to find any one answer to your question.

Perhaps the best answer would be to talk to YOUR vet who knows YOUR dog and ask him/her. Some dogs do fine, and, while researching your question, I found that one person who fed her dog the 'right kind' of bone spent tons of money having a piece of bone removed that had lodged in her dog's esophogus.

In general, I found that the larger the dog, the larger the risk because larger dogs are more aggressive chewers which makes them more likely to break a smaller chunk off of a bone and swallow it. Splintering bones or not. Any bone can break into fragments. It's not so much the sharpness of the fragment as it is the size of the fragment and how long the stomach acids take to digest it. Longer digestion leads to intestinal blockage (possibly) Larger fragments, if swallowed, can get stuck in the throat or teeth and some dogs even break teeth on bones.

I give my B rawhide, but I fear bones and won't give them to him. I can't really afford to spend 1000's of dollars on surgery. It's just a risk I prefer not to take.


Thanks; nothing is ever easy is it? :(

I give mine rawhide also, knowing there is some risk but have never had a problem..... I also know there's a risk in their stuffed toys, bedding.... everything has some risk.

I think I could give Keoki a rawhide as big as his own head and he would finish it off in two minutes:D .. I am looking for something that will occupy his time for a bit longer than that. He's not interested in Kongs, so those are out. I also buy beef tendons from my vet and those take a while to get down, but I want more options. I'm hoping bones will help....

[imbj]

I get the beef femur (leg) bone (it's a thick bone) and I tell my local butcher to cut it into 2-inch sizes (I usually get no more than 2 of these)... I boil them first then give one per day to my B (gotta keep her nice figure ;) )... She loves it and it keeps her busy for awhile... But I also make sure I keep an eye on her until she's had her fill and her jaws get tired... Then I throw away the bone she just gnawed... I don't keep it around 'coz it gets dirty and ants will eventually swarm on it...

[tanza]

You are right about Vets... however many Vet (and I think we have had this discussion before on the forum...) don't know that much about foods... just look at what some "push" in their offices... and yes many Vet will have a fit about raw food diets...
There are many, many raw diet lists out there if people are interested... and like I said I do give mine raw meaty bones, so does lvoss... I have never had a problem, nor have I ever known anyone that feed raw have a problem.. but then again, anything/anytime can happen.

[TuckerVA]

Exactly my point. It's really a choice each owner has to make. I chose to do the rawhide thing, knowing the risks, but not the bone thing. Tucker can't miss what he's never had. :)

One thing that all of the online resources agree on is the recommendation that you keep an eye on your dog while gnawing whatever bone you choose to give them. Obviously if you hear the telltale crack and see splinters fly everywhere, you want to keep your dog from eating them. The splinters/fragments are really the only issue with bones.

I gave Tuck a pigs ear once that I had gotten out of the bin at PetCo. I noticed it was a bit harder than rawhide and I had concerns as I gave it to Tuck. About 3 minutes into his enthusiastic chewing, the ear shattered into a million pieces, including pieces that looked like toothpicks. It went directly into the trash and never more with the pigs ears... I don't know if this was a freak occurrence or not. The ear was brown and seemed to be coated with something. But anyway...

[wizard]

EL D is so aggressive with his chewing (he'll rip through tough toys and rawhide in seconds flat) that I'm too hesitant to give him real bones. My previous beastie wouldn't always chew his rawhide sufficiently and swallowed a big chunk - it wasn't too long before he sent up the most awful scream when it got stuck. I guess there is no one size fits all answer.

[JazzysMom]

EL D is so aggressive with his chewing (he'll rip through tough toys and rawhide in seconds flat) that I'm too hesitant to give him real bones. My previous beastie wouldn't always chew his rawhide sufficiently and swallowed a big chunk - it wasn't too long before he sent up the most awful scream when it got stuck. I guess there is no one size fits all answer.

Hmmm, that is WHY I want to try real bones. Keoki's rawhides disappear before the other two have really even started! I'm hoping real bones will slow him down.

[JazzysMom]

I gave Tuck a pigs ear once that I had gotten out of the bin at PetCo. I noticed it was a bit harder than rawhide and I had concerns as I gave it to Tuck. About 3 minutes into his enthusiastic chewing, the ear shattered into a million pieces, including pieces that looked like toothpicks. It went directly into the trash and never more with the pigs ears... I don't know if this was a freak occurrence or not. The ear was brown and seemed to be coated with something. But anyway...

:D I USED to give pig ears and pig ear strips but no more. I have no problem with the ears themselves, but they give my dogs such horrible gas :eek: , like... clear the room and run for cover, don't come back w/out a mask kind of gas. It is awful!
So, I decided no more pork products for them!

[Basenji_Boy]

We use hooves......they stink.......but our's get treats in their crates. They can have that stink all to themselves!:D

We give them soup bones too.

Can you imagine what the Basenji's in the African Villages chomp on and swallow?:eek:

[JazzysMom]

We use hooves......they stink.......but our's get treats in their crates. They can have that stink all to themselves!:D

We give them soup bones too.

Can you imagine what the Basenji's in the African Villages chomp on and swallow?:eek:

Oh yeah, hooves. I used to give those in the house, but ugh; they DO stink -- like I don't even know how to describe that smell.
Now there on the back porch and they kind of chew on those while waiting for me to let them in the house.

[Basenji_Boy]

Oh yeah, hooves. I used to give those in the house, but ugh; they DO stink -- like I don't even know how to describe that smell.
Now there on the back porch and they kind of chew on those while waiting for me to let them in the house.

That's perfect JM:D , I can't describe the smell either.:eek: As not to gross everyone out, I won't even try!:D They do last a long time!!!

Dogs just seem to love stinky things.........I wonder why?:confused:

[tanza]

I gave up on hoof's years ago... one to many time stepping on one in the middle of the night and one too many broken tooth... and yes.. boy to they stink...

If anyone has horses and has ever been around when the Farrier is trimming their hooves.. that is what it smells like....

[Basenji_Boy]

I gave up on hoof's years ago... one to many time stepping on one in the middle of the night



EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Our's never get the hooves anywhere but in the crate......thankfully.:D

[jys1011]

Are those the hooves that you have to fill with something?? Or do you just give it to them hollow??

I've seen them but they look pretty gross :eek: I'm re-crate training so I'll try anything right about now :D

[Basenji_Boy]

Are those the hooves that you have to fill with something?? Or do you just give it to them hollow??

I've seen them but they look pretty gross :eek: I'm re-crate training so I'll try anything right about now :D


I guess you could fill them with something.......they look like little wedges sort of.

[Tayda_Lenny]

Well i just went to the chinese grocers and they had some cheap pork ribs so i bought some and just fed tayda and lenny each one raw meaty rib each. they devoured it all and seemed to love it.

so, i see there are some posts about not feeding pork ribs? is it because of trichinosis? If the meat is human grade it should be fine right?

[tanza]

Pork ribs are OK to feed at l least I have. Chicken is typically cheaper for the size and sometime in the supermarket you can find necks and backs...... just remember to go slow when introducing raw meaty bones... and also regular kibble should not be fed at the same time... interesting then too, "poop" will be hard and white.. and that is from the bones...

[ZenGrrrl]

This is a long post, so please bear with me.

Yesterday, I went to the butcher shop around the corner and came home with a trimmed turkey carcass (for free!). Yippee! I'd recently started both my dogs on a raw food diet - the frozen patties from Nature's Variety, which they love -- and thought I'd let them gnaw on a real bone from a real animal. When I got the carcass home, I pulled off some smaller rib and organ pieces and then one piece, about four inches long, that seemed to be an intact bone, covered with meat. When I put it on a dish for Ziggy to gnaw on, he SWALLOWED it! The entire thing, whole!

I watched him very carefully for the rest of the day, and he seemed completely fine.

Then, at 6:00 this morning, he got up and began pacing ... sat down in the middle of the room, and stared, paced, went into another room, and then went into my bathroom and threw up. He threw up again in the hallway, twice ... while hunched over (sitting) his head tipped back as if he might yodel, but then he paced again. His ears were flattened, his eyes slightly bugged out, his tail drooping. He went downstairs, whining.

I almost went out of my mind with fear, thinking that the bone was lodged somewhere in his intestinal tract and would kill him! I immediately got on the Web and began to look for information on "dog, bone, swallow, emergency," and the phone number of the nearest pet emergency center.

He threw up twice more. Then I tried to take him outside to see if he would pee or poop, and he wouldn't even go out. So I let him go back to bed and took Zoe outside. She threw up in the grass.

When I came inside, I made a small amount of cooked oatmeal and fed some to him, in very small dollops. He ate the oatmeal with no hesitation. Then I gave them both half-servings of their regular breakfast, the Nature's Variety raw food. Again, I only let them eat one mouthful at a time. They both ate with no problems, and they both had some water.

I've watched them very carefully all day. Zoe pooped early in the day, and Ziggy did at about 1:00. Both have loose (but not watery) stools that are yellowish and a bit mucusy. Neither one looks or acts sick. They are moving around, drinking, sleeping, responding when called ... in other words, they both seem to be OKAY.

I, on the other hand, probably lost 15 pounds in sweat (and some tears). I thought that I may have killed my dog.

The moral of the story, for me, is that neither of my dogs can be trusted to "chew up" anything. They are both gobblers and will swallow as quickly as possible anything that's put in front of them, WHOLE. I've also reaffirmed the good advice that any introduction of something new in their diet should be made very slowly and gradually. Note to self: Don't put an entire turkey carcass in front of them when they're never seen one before!!! (Slapping self)

Any thoughts on similar situations will be much appreciated!

Lori
The Z-Pack: Zen, Zoe, and Ziggy

[WBL]

How long ago did you switch to the raw food? I ask because the mucus poop can be from that, my boxer had the same thing. As for the loose part it could be from straight turkey. As long as the bone wasn't cooked the stomach acids should help break the bone down

I think for bones to chew on that they should be big raw bones like beef bones.

[Quercus]

I agree, the vomit is more likely because they were unused to eating the whole raw package. The first time I gave out Turkey necks, I had the same thought...omg, they are going to die, they swallowed them whole. But everything turned out just fine :)

[tanza]

I agree, the vomit is more likely because they were unused to eating the whole raw package. The first time I gave out Turkey necks, I had the same thought...omg, they are going to die, they swallowed them whole. But everything turned out just fine :)

Exactly... mine swallowed the entire chicken wing whole... :eek:

[UnluckyDrabBear]

I just wanted to chime in about the type of bones to give your B's. We buy "soup bones" from the grocery store in the meat section. I actually don't know what kind they are but that is what is printed on the label. If you don't see them in the case then ask the butcher on duty. We never cook them or heat them up BUT we do scrape out most of the marrow (otherwise they get the super-runs!). Both of my B's are amazing chewing machines and can destruct any store bought toy in seconds (that includes every Nylabone ever made). We have never had these soup bones break off into pieces or had them splinter.
I'm sorry to hear about your stressful situation with the turkey! :eek: Sounds really scary! Best of luck finding something suitable.

[lovemybaroo]

Some of you have posted that you give your dogs chicken bones. I was always told that you should never give chicken bones because they splinter very easily and could get stuck in the intestines. Is this really true, or just a myth?

[WBL]

Some of you have posted that you give your dogs chicken bones. I was always told that you should never give chicken bones because they splinter very easily and could get stuck in the intestines. Is this really true, or just a myth?
It's true if the bones are cooked, raw bones feed with the raw diet will not harm them. The body is able to digest them and break them down. Sometimes raw feeders may find bits of bone in the stool but usually it is joints and just the occasional undigested part.

Actually all bones that are cook are not good for them as even bigger bones like cow can splinter. When bones are cooked they dry out and become brittle which cause them to splinter and break.

[tanza]

Some of you have posted that you give your dogs chicken bones. I was always told that you should never give chicken bones because they splinter very easily and could get stuck in the intestines. Is this really true, or just a myth?

It is true with any "cooked" bones, the ones we are all talking about are raw and not only the bones but the meat also (also raw). You should never give your dogs any bones that have been cooked as they can and do splinter... and those are what causes problems. You can find lots of information on raw meaty bones and people that feed only a raw diet on the web if you are interested to read about it.

[lovemybaroo]

That makes sense, good to know. I used to give him the occasional cooked cow bone because I thought that was safe, but I guess I won't be doing that anymore!

[wizard]

Bird bones are not constructed like other animals. They have a lot of hollows to help give the birds lift. Thus they can splinter extremely easily, cooked or not cooked. Never give bird bones, period.

I know what you went through. My previous beastie was a swallower and had a particularly bad experience with a chunk of rawhide. In addition to the weird behavior, and wanting to vomit, etc. he would scream "to high heaven" any time he moved. Luckily before I could get him to the vet, he calmed down and stopped screaming and everything turned out okay. Whew!

[Tayda_Lenny]

So I'm starting week 2 of feeding primarily raw chicken backs and pork ribs to tayda and lenny. they seem to love it. question for those of you who feed raw: where do you feed them? i put the meat/bones in their food bowl, but of course they promptly grab it and run to some corner... I'm not thrilled about the raw meat being all over my floor. So Ive been feeding them outside when I take them out to go to the bathroom, but it takes them a while to chew it, and it's cold here! Would be nice to find a way to contain them in here without having to disinfect my floor twice a day. i did the calculation and its about half the price for me to feed them raw than the innova evo they normally get!

[tanza]

So I'm starting week 2 of feeding primarily raw chicken backs and pork ribs to tayda and lenny. they seem to love it. question for those of you who feed raw: where do you feed them? i put the meat/bones in their food bowl, but of course they promptly grab it and run to some corner... I'm not thrilled about the raw meat being all over my floor. So Ive been feeding them outside when I take them out to go to the bathroom, but it takes them a while to chew it, and it's cold here! Would be nice to find a way to contain them in here without having to disinfect my floor twice a day. i did the calculation and its about half the price for me to feed them raw than the innova evo they normally get!


:D in a crate.......

[MaxBooBooBear]

I've been mixing Merricks Wing a Ling canned in with Tyler and Zoey's dry Nutro. There are whole chicken wings in there--but very soft, and I usually squish them to make sure there aren't any long bones. They seem safe--does anyone see any problems with that flavor of Merricks? Tyler and Zoey just go crazy when they smell it. I put a little in with their dry, and they just love it.

[lvoss]

The bones in the Merrick's Wing A Ling and Smothered Comfort are pressure cooked so they easily pulverize when squeezed, no splintering.

[MaxBooBooBear]

The bones in the Merrick's Wing A Ling and Smothered Comfort are pressure cooked so they easily pulverize when squeezed, no splintering.

That's good to know. Thanks, Lisa. Since I don't cook at all--I had no idea how those chicken wings were processed.