[Mikey]

I want to know what kind of bones (if any) you give to your dogs.

I know it's controvertial in some circles-however Mikey isn't a huffer or a scoffer-he chews bones nicely, grinding them down and not swallowing much. I know if he were to try to eat them, swallow them or got protective of them (i.e. if I couldnt' get them off hi) I wouldn't give them-however he does fine with them, and he seems to like them a lot. He's also a BIG chewer and seems to need them.

Soooo what type of bones?

I've heard cut bones are not good, I've heard leg bones are/aren't ok, I've heard spine bones are/aren't OK etc. etc.

I've also read that either raw or boiled is OK, but smoked or cooked are NOT ok.

Chicken bones out of the question.

Also -the bones they sell in the stores in those packages-are they smoked or cooked? They are dry and not refridgerated but I can't find any info on how they are processed.

Awww-done my question rant LOL Any help/tips/shared experiences-super appreciated!

 

[Criosphynx]

all bones are ok as long as they are raw...

boiling would cook a bone so i can't recomend that. Cooked bones splinter.

I usually use pork neck bones.



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[Mese]

both mine used to get a full chicken carcass each once a week , infact I was recommended to start my pair off with raw chicken wings/legs as these bones are easy for a puppy to 'learn' on
they were on a RAW diet , but recently they were both ill , so I started cooking their meat and now its just a habit ive gotten into , that and boiling their water and storing it in the fridge (my two spoilt , never , lol)

 

[muttlover87]

Well Maya gets chicken and turkey bones(turkey necks, whole chickens) but she is on the raw diet. My friend feeds her dogs beef rib bones since her dogs dont try to swallow them whole like Maya does. Regardless, all bones are completely digestable when raw. Cooked bones are rendered indigestable so feed absolutely no bones that are cooked. I would recommend pork bones but Maya actually urps them back up so Im not sure how your dog would do with them. Though pork hocks might be okay. Ive heard they are great just for a chewy treat, and a lot of raw feeders have recommended them(I just havent been able to find them raw in the store).

 

[frost hollow]

If you live in a rural area, talk to the hunters or farmers raising beef or pork. find out where they go for butchering. Then, talk to them for a fresh source of bones. My dogs love pigs feet. Or, more and more people are raising chickens for eggs. What are they doing with their old chickens? I agree with others, feed only raw bones but my concern is that grocery stores sell meat coming from mega-farms that has been trucked across the country and that's when all the salmonella issues develop. look for local sources.

 

[SashandTilly]

I just give my dogs bones from the butchers

 

[Mikey]

Thanks all! There is a butcher that just opened up around the corner from my work-and it's PAY day (which means my animals get stuff they don't need and then mom is broke) so I think I'm going in there!!

**I'm a little nervous. I've been a vegetarian for 16 years now-finding steak for my boyfriend took me almost 20 minutes(I was really lost in the meat section-but I can actually cook a mean steak LOL)
So wish me luck that I don't look like a doofus trying to get bones at a butcher!!!

 

[Criosphynx]

Thanks all! There is a butcher that just opened up around the corner from my work-and it's PAY day (which means my animals get stuff they don't need and then mom is broke) so I think I'm going in there!!

**I'm a little nervous. I've been a vegetarian for 16 years now-finding steak for my boyfriend took me almost 20 minutes(I was really lost in the meat section-but I can actually cook a mean steak LOL)
So wish me luck that I don't look like a doofus trying to get bones at a butcher!!!

See.. I eat meat, but don't cook, so I don't know what to look for either!

The dogs get whatevers on sale.



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[Mikey]

LOL

So-whats a normal price for bones?

 

[ChathamHillKennels]

Most butchers in my area will gladly give away cast off bones and chicken backs for free. otherwise most of it just gets tossed or sent to the mills to grind down for dog food.

 

[MySoulmateEmmy]

I don't trust rawhides whatsoever. both my dogs that I have had I gave them little rawhide sticks and the 1st developed pancreatitis and passed away in a painful way. The second (Emmy) got pancreatitis the day after I gave her a rawhide treat and thankfully we caught it early and she was saved. I only trust the really hard and heavy bones that the dog REALLY has to chew down on for a long time and only very little pieces break off, like the beef bones. (She still has a few that are at least 7 or more years old and still loves them). I know my dogs breeds are prone to pancreatitis but I DO believe the rawhide exacerbated the tendency to develop it. Just what I feel of course, some dogs are fine with them, but in breeds prone to it like my dogs, I don't wish to take that chance again so I'll just stick to the bones I know about.

~MSE

 

[fawkese1]

so if you don't feed a raw diet but you want to give your dog who really really really likes to chew bones to chew on, and he has had digestive issues (loose stools) since you adopted him (almost 5 mos ago) and has only recently started having really consistant firm stools (yay yay yay) what would you recommend? would you recommend the beef soup bones from the grocery store, that you can get for pretty cheap and maybe give him a new bone every week or every couple of days? or would you recommend something else/more often in order to get his system used to it? i would like to incorporate some raw into his diet, but it is way to costly for me to feed him raw consistantly, and i think we just figured out a good diet so i don't want to change it dramatically, but bones would be good.



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[MySoulmateEmmy]

I would get the really hard white beef bones from the pet store so he has a hard time breaking and ingesting them (might cause he loose stools you are worried about if he eats too much). no rawhides and I wouldn't get the kind with the flavoring if he has a sensitive stomach.

like these and you can fill it with treats that you know won't hurt his tummy too so in enhances his chewing pleasure :

Dentley's Sterilized Beef Bones - Prime Cuts - Rawhide & Chews - PetSmart


~MSE

 

[fawkese1]

I would get the really hard white beef bones from the pet store so he has a hard time breaking and ingesting them (might cause he loose stools you are worried about if he eats too much). no rawhides and I wouldn't get the kind with the flavoring if he has a sensitive stomach.

like these and you can fill it with treats that you know won't hurt his tummy too so in enhances his chewing pleasure :

Dentley's Sterilized Beef Bones - Prime Cuts - Rawhide & Chews - PetSmart


~MSE

thank you MSE, we've actually tried those sterilized bones...clover only really likes them when they are stuffed and then he only licks them and doesn't really chew on them....do you know how they are sterilized? i wonder....anyway, i'm looking to incorporate a bit of raw into his diet, but not change to a raw diet...guess i didn't word that very well in my last post:eyeroll: and i was thinking that bones would be a good way to do that. do you do any raw with emmy?



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[Mikey]

Update on what I did

I bought the raw bones at my fav petstore (background: it started as a vet pharmacy years ago, and started carrying some dog food-now you can literally buy anything there!!) and then I boil them for one minute to steralize. This doesn't cook the bone or denature proteins but one minute (actually forty seconds) in boiling water sterlizes it.

Mikey LOVES them. I take it off him and throw it out when its worked down to a swallow size peice. So far very good

 

[MySoulmateEmmy]

aww..i thought i was being helpful fawkese

well at least you learned a bit about your dog's likes and dislikes!

Emmy doesn't get any raw diet I wouldn't be the most diligent about putting together a raw diet, looks like too much work, to me at least She is on a holistic dry food a few supplements.

Good Luck lookign for bones!

~MSE

 

[fawkese1]

aww..i thought i was being helpful fawkese

well at least you learned a bit about your dog's likes and dislikes!

Emmy doesn't get any raw diet I wouldn't be the most diligent about putting together a raw diet, looks like too much work, to me at least She is on a holistic dry food a few supplements.

Good Luck lookign for bones!

~MSE

thank you anyway....very much

i don't think i could keep up with it either, not to mention that i don't have the fridge/freezer space for it...but i think it may be good to have some raw stuff....i guess i'll find out



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[MySoulmateEmmy]

I figure the holistic stuff is closest to the the raw diet in kibble form

~MSE

 

[StormyHotWolf88]

Ah bones... Another problem I have XD. I don't like giving bones to my dogs ever since I found out that they splinter. Several times did I tell my folks but they kept giving Princess them. The fact she was young and her teeth weren't able to crush, the living room became littered with bone shards which I did get in my foot within the month.

I'm trying out the rawhide with Strider. It's a braid stick and I bought it couple days ago but he's just now working on it. Frankly the only part of the chicken I give him yesterday was the cartilage cap with the bit of meat for eating all his kibble. Today I gave him small bit of rib bone with cartilage and meat since dad used the grill for the same reason. Good way to coax him to eat before resorting to the mixable. He seems to break them up well before swallowing.

Oh, Xmas he'll get a large marinated cow bone. Our first dog spent from December to March devouring it, looking forward every year to Christmas.

 

[Mikey]

I think the problem is cooked bones splinter. I was extremely wary giving bones b/c my family has NEVER given bones. I think supervised, uncooked and large is OK but yeah-I wouldn't just give a bone and I just don't want to risk chicken bones either-even uncooked. I'm a little over protective though