# Raw Bones???



## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

I am just wondering what type of raw bones do you give your dogs for their teeth and recreational chewing? I have been told that chicken bones dont last long enough for cleaning teeth, and I am able to buy marrow bones cheap and have been giving these but I have also heard that dogs can get them stuck on their jaw and they have to be surgically removed...I am terrified of this. I was at a store today and picked up some meat and kidney for Maggie and noticed they had some long beef ribs with some meat on them...there was about 5 in the pack and each package was 5-6 bucks...I am thinking maybe I should have bought some???

What kind of bone do you give? Maggie is 12.5lbs and I am not looking for something she will eat as she gets bone with her food...just something for her teeth. She also has a nylabone which she loves, but she does like the raw better


----------



## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

My small breeds love beef rib bones for recreational chews. Sorry it seems so expensive there as we get them for 99 cents (US) per pound, a whole slab is just a couple of bucks. 

My girls also like chicken feet and chicken wings when they are in the mood to chew.


----------



## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

Ribs are expensive here...we dont even eat them ourselves  When I go shopping I always look but cant justify spending more for bones than we pay for meat. I might go back and get some of these tomorrow because they were really long and meaty (she would love them)

Oh and I thought about the chicken feet when we were in our previous city...but I have yet to see one anywhere here LOL.


----------



## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

Gracie gets chicken wings and necks. She loves beef neck bones for recreational chewing. And she recently had pork ribs (on sale!) and her first chicken legs to eat.


----------



## Questdriven (Nov 25, 2009)

I feed chicken, turkey, some pork, and some goat. The dogs love them. Chicken does do some dental good, or at least it did on little Treader. But it doesn't do as good as other bones.
He does get fish bones from canned salmon sometimes, but as you know these don't do any dental good because they're too soft.


----------



## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

Does anyone feed marrow bones? or are they dangerous?


----------



## Questdriven (Nov 25, 2009)

Marrow bones from larger animals are no-nos as they also tend to be weight-bearing bones. However, marrow/weight-bearing bones from smaller animals like chicken, rabbit, etc are fine.


----------



## Canadian Dog (Nov 3, 2007)

I give Molly those large beef rib bones. They are expensive and when I buy a package I cut them up individually and will give her one now and then. She spends a good amount of time on them and when finished the bone is completely clean.


----------



## Questdriven (Nov 25, 2009)

Cookie can actually completely consume beef ribs. But most dogs can't, I'm told. Beef ribs are a-okay for recreational chewing for those who have a dog who isn't to enthusiastic about chewing, but the bones that help the most dental-wise are the bones that can actually be eaten by the dog.


----------



## peznite (Oct 21, 2009)

I have been giving these large knuckle bone marrow to my westie for the past few months, she is 8.5 months old...these are half the size of her. I buy 2 at a time, the shop I get them from cuts it in half, they last for a long time as I give it too her for only short periods of time. She doesn't cosume it all obviously, she only has like 5-10% of it, which takes about a week of 15-1hr chewing sessions. I sometimes wait a few days or week before giving her it again just incase she had a bit more than usual. 

As if yet she's had no problems with them, the lady at the shop i get them from say they're the safest sort of bone you can use in small dogs if you're worried about choking and blockages. My westie is 6.1 kilos which is about the same size as your dog.



edit: By the way the lady I get these from sells them for like $3 (australian) each, so $6 gets me 4 of what you see in the picture which last for a long time. She told me she has a 4 cairn terriers or whatever theyre called, which are basically the same as westies, and she feeds a BARF mixed kibble diet to them and gives them these large knuckle bones for years and had no problems.


----------



## Jordan S (Nov 21, 2009)

misty073 said:


> I am just wondering what type of raw bones do you give your dogs for their teeth and recreational chewing? I have been told that chicken bones dont last long enough for cleaning teeth, and I am able to buy marrow bones cheap and have been giving these but I have also heard that dogs can get them stuck on their jaw and they have to be surgically removed...I am terrified of this. I was at a store today and picked up some meat and kidney for Maggie and noticed they had some long beef ribs with some meat on them...there was about 5 in the pack and each package was 5-6 bucks...I am thinking maybe I should have bought some???
> 
> What kind of bone do you give? Maggie is 12.5lbs and I am not looking for something she will eat as she gets bone with her food...just something for her teeth. She also has a nylabone which she loves, but she does like the raw better



We give pork necks


----------



## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

I dont really want to give her too much more bone that she can actually eat. I had problems before with her eating too much bone at one meal and not enough at another (white poop or runny poop) so chicken bones she would just eat the whole thing...where the heck would you get pork neck bones lol? and are they more of a chewing bone?


----------



## croll326 (Jul 25, 2009)

I just purchased this for my pups first raw bone

http://goods.us.marketgid.com/goods/2523/134952/

any thoughts? I let him chew on it for 10 minutes yesterday and he loved it!

How do you sanitize your dog after they are done eating raw bones? I clean his crate but what about them? My wife is freaking out about the rawness of it being on his paws and mouth. lol


----------



## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

my dog eats her bone on a sheet and then I toss the sheet in the wash (because its too cold for her to eat it outside now), if she has meat parts left on her mouth (she has a little beard LOL) I will wipe those off and you could wipe your dogs feet (I never do) and I have never had a problem...my dog kisses us all the time and we have never had a problem (she is also on a 100% raw diet)


----------



## MoosMom (Sep 15, 2009)

I got some beef ribs at Wal-Mart yesterday for 1.30 a lb and there were 7 rib bones. Yoshi started gnawing it last nite and is currently laying here still gnawing on it. I'd say for as long as this thing is lasting its worth it!


----------



## Questdriven (Nov 25, 2009)

croll326 said:


> How do you sanitize your dog after they are done eating raw bones? I clean his crate but what about them? My wife is freaking out about the rawness of it being on his paws and mouth. lol


Some wipe their dogs off with a towel wet with vinegar, *I think*. My dogs don't get wiped down very often because they don't generally use their paws, though. No problems for us.
When I do wipe my dogs down, I just use a wet paper towel.


----------



## Kina_A (Jun 8, 2009)

I just use baby or doggy wipes to clean them off. 

Misty073 what a great idea with the sheet!! I always send them to their mat when I give them a bone and end up washing their mat cover after. I feel kind of stupid but I never thought of just putting a sheet on their mat! Thanks for the tip!


----------



## southern_bred (Dec 10, 2009)

Poultry bones may splinter (chicken or turkey) As well as pork bone such as pork chops or prok ribs may splinter. Beef ribs are good and so are deer bones (if you are a hunting family). My husband hunts and every season we dry roast the leg bones for the dogs. They love it plus it's really cheap (free is always cheaper).  AND they last a few days. Good luck!


----------



## Questdriven (Nov 25, 2009)

southern_bred said:


> Poultry bones may splinter (chicken or turkey) As well as pork bone such as pork chops or prok ribs may splinter. Beef ribs are good and so are deer bones (if you are a hunting family). My husband hunts and every season we dry roast the leg bones for the dogs. They love it plus it's really cheap (free is always cheaper).  AND they last a few days. Good luck!


_Cooked_ poultry bones are much more likely to splinter. Raw bones of any type will splinter, but not as much. Any bone, edible or recreational, should be fed with meat and/or skin covering it, as this acts as "cushioning". Bones without meat on them should be avoided.
Cooked bones are brittle and much of the moisture is cooked out, which is what makes them more likely to splinter, so they should be avoided as well.


----------



## chewyojn (Dec 2, 2009)

I gave my old dog who died of cancer a full rack of bbq pork. $10. at Albertsons. I washed off the bbq sauce and gave it to her outside. That dog was eating take out and special dinners in the end! Anyway she loved the bones and it was good for her frail body...


----------



## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

That is so great to be able to spoil your good old dog near the end like that.

The beef ribs may not be eaten but the tissue that covers the bone is very tough and fun to rip off so serves as dental floss for my dogs. They do gnaw the spine end of the rib and scrape teeth there for a few minutes as well.

I like giving Max a small rack of pork ribs sometimes as well. More expensive than the beef ribs but he can eat them sometimes.

I wouldn't give him any weight bearing bones unless there was plenty of entertainment before he gets to the actual bone. I have been lucky enough to be able to buy ostrich joints. The bones look pretty hard to me but they have several large and intertwined tendons left on so he has plenty to do before the bone is bare. Here he is enjoying the thing. One bone is under his paw he is gnawing a tendon at the joint, the other bone is nearest him, the rest is massive tendons. 



I don't worry about the germs. I figure he sticks his nose in all sorts of nasties and I don't wipe his paw after walks either.


----------



## CoverTune (Mar 11, 2007)

Good thread.. I'd love to try giving my girls raw bones, I'm just never really sure where to start!


----------



## Duckie1009 (Dec 17, 2009)

I've never fed my dog raw bones. So if he cannot finish a bone in a sitting can I just feeze it for a later time? And I'm assuming you freeze and thaw raw bones correct?


----------



## Questdriven (Nov 25, 2009)

Duckie1009 said:


> I've never fed my dog raw bones. So if he cannot finish a bone in a sitting can I just feeze it for a later time? And I'm assuming you freeze and thaw raw bones correct?


Yup--doesn't hurt the dog to refreeze an RMB.


----------



## Northern_Inuit_Luv (Aug 26, 2009)

misty073 said:


> Does anyone feed marrow bones? or are they dangerous?


I give marrow bones, but not as part of their regular meals. They usually just lick out all the marrow and then leave them all over my house for me to step on. God help me if I clean them up, because they are right behind me taking them all out again.  Sometimes I do see them chewing on the bone, but the bone is too hard for them to make a major dent.

For the original question, if you feed all raw, and always have a bone with the meal, this will keep the teeth clean. it doesn't do it in one meal, but (like everything to do with raw) its balance over time. the rmb we feed are chicken leg quarters, necks, backs, pork neck, and turkey neck.


----------



## HersheyPup (May 22, 2008)

I feed rib bones, my shepherd can consume the entire thing, but doesn't always. I also, occasionally feed marrow bones, cow femurs, but they loose interest after the marrow is licked out! Chicken Quarters are great, but don't last long enough for recreational chewing. I'd like to try pork ribs, but they are so small, I can't see them lasting very long.


----------



## Jordan S (Nov 21, 2009)

I use pork necks, beef necks, and beef ribs(not a whole rack but cut ones). I give them on mondays and fridays.


----------



## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

Northern_Inuit_Luv said:


> I give marrow bones, but not as part of their regular meals. They usually just lick out all the marrow and then leave them all over my house for me to step on. God help me if I clean them up, because they are right behind me taking them all out again.  Sometimes I do see them chewing on the bone, but the bone is too hard for them to make a major dent.
> 
> For the original question, if you feed all raw, and always have a bone with the meal, this will keep the teeth clean. it doesn't do it in one meal, but (like everything to do with raw) its balance over time. the rmb we feed are chicken leg quarters, necks, backs, pork neck, and turkey neck.


I had too hard of a time getting the bone to meat ratio right (hard chalky or runny stools  ) so I ended up using a chicken and bone ground mix and I add to it, so maggie never gets a bone with her meal.

For now she is enjoying a nylabone with some marrow bones every now and then.


----------



## GSP Mom (Dec 26, 2009)

We use beef marrow bones without problems.


----------



## LynnInTenn (Oct 9, 2009)

I feed my dogs a raw diet and they get a chicken back every morning and then something without bone for supper. Usually venison. I do give them a variety of other bones for chewing on the weekends but I never give them the larger weight bearing bones. I'm afraid they would get too agressive with them and break a tooth, which is the problem you can run into with really large bones. Don't need a doggy dental bill They're teeth are as white as the day they were born
I never give them cooked bones.


----------

