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I have a nine year old border collie who has been gnawing marrow bones for years. She has the teeth of a young dog. I buy the small marrow bones at the grocery store (about four inches long, and two inches in diameter, and frozen.) I generally throw the bone away after she's chewed on it for a few hours.
I don't doubt that I may be putting my dog at risk, but at the same time, I don't have to pay huge vet bills for teeth cleaning, and other canine dental work. So maybe it's an either or decision one has to make.
Actually, my vet is the one who told me to buy the marrow bones because I started to notice tartar on her teeth. Since I started buying the bones, her teeth are gleaming. Matter of fact, someone at the dog park commented on how beautiful her teeth are for a nine year old.
My girl is a healthy gal who hasn't even begun to show her age, except for a little white around the muzzle. She is in wonderful condition. Course, if I ran the way this gal does every day, I would be in great shape too.
A lot depends on how the dog chews. I have seen GSDs shatter a cows hoof with one bite. I wish I had taken a picture of one of my dog's completely worn down premolars -
Pumpkin has never worked for Artie. I know that white rice (not brown) hardens stools, but Artie is grain intolerant. (Difficult!) What's been working for Artie for a number of years now is a teaspoon of Metamucil powder on his kibble (shaken up so that it gets incorporated).
Sam, I've always heard that chicken bones can be deadly, because they splinter. So I guess the conclusion is no bones at all. We've always used those large pet-store hollowed-out bones with meat fillings, because they keep the pooch nicely preoccupied, but even they get chipped at the edges. And I also worry about them damaging our dog's teeth. But in nature dogs would be crunching on all those things...so I guess the lesson is, nature isn't infallible!
Snofarmer, best wishes for your dog's continued recovery!
Paw, will watch the bones video. Can't do it on my Droid, and the computer is down...
Chicken bones COOKED have the "deadly" label. However, I have known dog owners who regularly fed their dogs on fried chicken leftovers. The thought of it floored me - but their comment was "never had a problem".
Raw bones are superior because they don't splinter, as cooked do, and apparently the digestive system will actually break them down somewhat, and because the edges aren't usually sharp. Raw bones are wonderful for the teeth. Cooked bones that are big enough the dog can't break them up are also excellent for the teeth. They create chewing (knawing) action, and the hard surface scrubs the teeth. So far I have found this to be preferable to a veterinary dental bill every year or two.
I'm still looking in to all the ins and outs of feeding raw, and what bones are "ok". But, I think one thing I will take from snofarmer's experience is that there are limits to everything. I'm right there with his thinking when he gave the dog these bones to begin with. With a dog that large, any splintering he could do to those calf bones I would have thought would have been harmlessly digested or passed. I'll have to look into what other are saying about no weight-bearing bones. But, if raw bones were an everyday hazard, not an exceptional one, then every in-the-wild wolf would be dead within a couple of weeks, I'd guess.
I've been feeding beef soup bones, raw, and some neckbones, raw, to my two hound-types (55-65 lbs). Once or twice a week. So far, no harm and healthier teeth. I'd prefer chicken or turkey backs and necks, as they were the preferred bone source of the person who convinced me to try raw - but these two grew up on canned and kibble, and I was having trouble getting them converted. Cooked soup-size bones had been a once a month treat from way back - and the accustomization to raw soup bones was somewhat easier.
BTW - a link to the Mercola webmag was posted earlier in this thread. That link wasn't particularly helpful, and still required some searching, so here are the results I found on that site that seem to be what the op was referring to:
Nothing new there for me - but validation of some points of concern for me. Does offer some guidelines - at some point in one of her articles the vet author says (paraphrase) "You can't give a dog a bone that is too big. You can give the dog a bone that is too small." Which seems like good advice.
Personally, vet or not, I don't think I've seen good enough science on this subject, or on pet diet, for that matter. Sure, food companies have been looking at this stuff for decades and decades, but they have a vested interest, and a profit motive. I'd like to see more work on the range of affects on domestic dogs of raw food, bones, etc.
ive personally sold thousands of lbs of raw chicken to pet owners for their dogs (I was a meat manager in a supermarket) they'd buy leg quarters(by the case) when they were on sale
i use to ask the dog owners, wouldnt the dogs choke on the chicken bones?? and many would tell me, there vet recommended it- said the processed cooked dog food of today is causing all the allergies.
I had two greyhounds, retired racers, i didnt dare to give them raw chicken, but what i did,,was bring home some beef fat (not suet) - didnt cost anything and cook that up for them....they of course loved it- it was good for their coats
raw beef bones, i never had a problem with them, the dogs loved em
I've seen a couple of posts on this thread saying you feed raw chicken backs to your dogs. I haven't done this, am kind of scared of all bones for the anti-bone reasons stated in this thread. But I can't help but feel my dog (around 75 lbs) would swallow a chicken back whole. He's an "animal" when it comes to food pretty much!
Not sure what the answer is here, I am not looking forward to having to bring him in and do dentals on him, either. Can someone explain to me why a weight baring bone is more dangerous than a smaller bone? It seems to me it would be the opposite, other than the possibility of cracking/chipping a tooth.
I have gotten my dog a couple of Elk Antlers, and they are really sturdy and do not splinter as long as they are whole ones, not split ones. But he doesn't care for them.
I've also read that raw trachea and chicken feet (ugh and ugh) are good, as they are made up of mostly cartilage.
I've seen a couple of posts on this thread saying you feed raw chicken backs to your dogs. I haven't done this, am kind of scared of all bones for the anti-bone reasons stated in this thread. But I can't help but feel my dog (around 75 lbs) would swallow a chicken back whole. He's an "animal" when it comes to food pretty much!
Not sure what the answer is here, I am not looking forward to having to bring him in and do dentals on him, either. Can someone explain to me why a weight baring bone is more dangerous than a smaller bone? It seems to me it would be the opposite, other than the possibility of cracking/chipping a tooth.
I have gotten my dog a couple of Elk Antlers, and they are really sturdy and do not splinter as long as they are whole ones, not split ones. But he doesn't care for them.
I've also read that raw trachea and chicken feet (ugh and ugh) are good, as they are made up of mostly cartilage.
Glad the OP's pup is fine after the ordeal.
Pug, we fed raw chicken, pork, lamb, whole fish and goat -- all with bones -- for 12 years. Believe me, it is a wonderful diet. Not only is it safe, it is extremely good for dogs. Their teeth were great, their breath was wonderful, their overheal health was amazing, and they made small poops that didn't stink! Beef bones are not really part of the raw diet though, because they're too big and hard. Poultry bones are absolutely fine. You trust me, right? No? Well, would you trust Jimmy?
Not sure what the answer is here, I am not looking forward to having to bring him in and do dentals on him, either. Can someone explain to me why a weight baring bone is more dangerous than a smaller bone? It seems to me it would be the opposite, other than the possibility of cracking/chipping a tooth.
I've also read that raw trachea and chicken feet (ugh and ugh) are good, as they are made up of mostly cartilage.
Glad the OP's pup is fine after the ordeal.
Cracking and chipping teeth is precisely why weight-bearing bones from a large animal should not be fed. Even raw, they're just to dense and hard.
Trachea is good to chew on because it acts like floss. Chicken feet are a good source of what's needed for joint health... can't think of what it's called at the moment.
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