# Recreational bones



## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

This has been asked many times but I've never gotten a satisfactory answer. I want to start feeding raw meaty bones for dental care. She already gets about 1/3 raw 2/3 kibble, but I want to focus on things that will keep her teeth in good shape. She particularly has some build-up on her very last two teeth. Brushing keeps it in check but I want it gone, lol. What type of bones with help with this area? If it makes a difference, Sydney weighs 20 pounds and is a fairly light chewer.


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

I give Buffy frozen raw beef ribs (started with trimming off most the meat/fat) and her teeth look great. She gets one every week or two. She's only ~2 1/2 though, so her still-nice-teeth may be from her young age too. She's about 28 lbs. but is a strong chewer.


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## georgiapeach (Mar 17, 2012)

You could also try chicken wings or backs for a small dog as one of her raw meals a couple times a week. You're feeding the raw and kibble at different meals, right? They digest at different rates and should be fed separately.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

I know a lot of people don't like giving marrow bones, but that's what I usually give. I just get them cut into chunks at the butcher, or there's a raw pet food store here that has beef marrow bones and lamb femurs cut in half. I find I have to be more careful with the lamb femurs, they gnaw the ends off and I often have to take the shaft away as it's just the right size for them to swallow whole at a certain point, although since Sydney is smaller you might not need to worry so much about that. 

And btw feeding the raw and kibble at the same time is fine, IMO. IF it's true that they digest at different rates, I don't think it matters at all.


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

The best options are to replace a meal with chicken backs. Wings are usually much more expensive. Beef/pork/lamb neck bones are also great, the beef neck bones I get are pointy with ridges and it takes them some work to get the meat off and in the process the teeth get cleaned. The pork necks are usually completely eaten and do a good job too of both keeping them amused and fed. Where I get the pork necks they will cut them up if you don't tell them not to, but they are about a pound or so each, so you might want them cut into four at first and build up, or do as we do and plan for pork bone day to be one where they expell the toxic farts outside.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

I'll try out the beef ribs. It's a little expensive for me now, but in August I'm going to have a massive reduction in bills so it should be no problem then. Would chicken wings possibly be too small and/or dangerous as far as possibly being swallowed whole? And where do you buy chicken backs? I assume ribs and marrow bones cannot be eaten but wings and backs can, correct?

I've fed marrow bones before...the ones made for soup that are cut into small chunks, but she had difficulty chewing those without my help, which of course gets a little old. ;p You can see at 2:12 in the video I put it down and she's just like, "Well I'm not even going to bother now." 






And yeah, I feed them in separate meals, but mainly just because that's convenient. She doesn't really have any digestive issues so it probably wouldn't matter, but considering something as small as an egg is basically a whole meal for her, I've never had occasion to mix the two.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Bordermom said:


> The best options are to replace a meal with chicken backs. Wings are usually much more expensive. Beef/pork/lamb neck bones are also great, the beef neck bones I get are pointy with ridges and it takes them some work to get the meat off and in the process the teeth get cleaned. The pork necks are usually completely eaten and do a good job too of both keeping them amused and fed. Where I get the pork necks they will cut them up if you don't tell them not to, but they are about a pound or so each, so you might want them cut into four at first and build up, or do as we do and plan for pork bone day to be one where they expell the toxic farts outside.


I'll have to see if I can find necks and backs around here somewhere. I'll probably end up giving a variety of things just to be sure. It would be lovely if I could stop brushing her teeth.


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

I found that these rib bones I buy from a pet store work wonders for cleaning teeth.. I'm not sure what kind of rib bones they are, mayble lamb or something.. they are very flat and in their entire length, they're sharp and pointy and fairly jagged with pretty much no meat on them. They come in a bag and I'd say each bone varies between a half a foot to a foot long, they last quite a while, they get a lot of chewing out of them and I they really use thier back teeth to gnaw on them. Once they've broken them down to a smaller peice I take them away. The actual bag itself is even labelled Best Doggie Toothbrush or something. Cost me $10 for a bag that lasts me a month.

I use marrow bones too, Cash has cracked and broke a tooth on one but ohwell..he still gets them anyway occasionally, the partially missing tooth does not seem to affect him but I do not give him marrow bones as often as other raw meaty bones or bully sticks, etc.

And on the raw and kibble thing, it totally depends on the dog. I have never mixed the two together in past, which may be completely different and may not affect a dog what so ever if eaten, chewed and digested at the same time, but I have experienced first hand a very sick pooch who managed to get into some kibble about a half hour before he ate a raw meal, and let me tell ya.. that is not something you woudl ever want to have happen to your dog again. I was cleaning explosive diarrhea off my walls, stair case, carpet, bathrooms.. it was EVERYWHERE.

On the other hand, we also had this scenario reversed, with the same dog. Ate some kibble shortly after a raw meal.. slightly mushy poop afterwards but no ill affects otherwise.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

PackMomma said:


> I found that these rib bones I buy from a pet store work wonders for cleaning teeth.. I'm not sure what kind of rib bones they are, mayble lamb or something.. they are very flat and in their entire length, they're sharp and pointy and fairly jagged with pretty much no meat on them. They come in a bag and I'd say each bone varies between a half a foot to a foot long, they last quite a while, they get a lot of chewing out of them and I they really use thier back teeth to gnaw on them. Once they've broken them down to a smaller peice I take them away. The actual bag itself is even labelled Best Doggie Toothbrush or something. Cost me $10 for a bag that lasts me a month.


Where do you buy those? Was it a chain store? I assume these are raw so they were in a refrigerator area?


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

kafkabeetle said:


> I'll try out the beef ribs. It's a little expensive for me now, but in August I'm going to have a massive reduction in bills so it should be no problem then. Would chicken wings possibly be too small and/or dangerous as far as possibly being swallowed whole? And where do you buy chicken backs? I assume ribs and marrow bones cannot be eaten but wings and backs can, correct?


I usually find the beef ribs in my local grocery store for about $3/lb. A $10-$12 package will last me about 2 months usually.

And, for the most part, Buffy doesn't eat the ribs. I bought ones that were too small once, and she did eat one of those (but I watched her and she chewed it up really well) but if I get the larger ones (probably about 6" long), she only chews a little off of each end. The real work/scraping comes from her trying to get all the meat, etc., off of it. I take them away after they start to get dry/brittle.

And, she was starting to get some yellow on her back teeth when I was only brushing them. That's completely gone now. I don't brush at all.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I like beef knuckle bones. They are huge, so I have the butcher saw them into halves (for a large dog, quarters maybe for a small dog) and they have a great funky shape that gets the dogs really gnawing from different angles. They are more cartilage than bone so they seem less likely to crack a tooth if he bites straight down on it (esp compared to marrow bones) but still substantial enough to rub at the teeth. I just pop it back in the fridge to chew again the next day after a bit of a chewing session (unless its super hot outside)


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

kafkabeetle said:


> Where do you buy those? Was it a chain store? I assume these are raw so they were in a refrigerator area?


Yes I bought them at a store called 'Just Dogs'. Its a newer chain pet store up here. Yes they are raw and were in a freezer. I'm scrambling to think of what kind of ribs they are.. they're huge, like I said.. a foot or so long. They are edible and digestable like any other non-weight bearing bone, but it took Thumper, who's a heavy and aggressive chewer, 2 week to saw one down to the point I had to take it away. But wow, do they ever work. Come to think of it, I'm out, and I also need to go buy bully sticks from the same place so I'm going to pick some up tonight if they aren't sold out and I'll take pictures so you have an idea what they look like. They aren't anything i've ever seen at a grocery store or anything.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

I'll have to check that place out if I'm ever heading towards Cleveland. Apparently there is one about an hour and a half from here, but I can't see making that trip just for the bones. Thank you for the info, I'll keep my eye out for bones that look like what you've described.


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

kafkabeetle said:


> I'll have to check that place out if I'm ever heading towards Cleveland. Apparently there is one about an hour and a half from here, but I can't see making that trip just for the bones. Thank you for the info, I'll keep my eye out for bones that look like what you've described.


It is a great store, up here they sell a wide variety of kibble, canned food, toys, treats, commercial raw foods and RMB's for much better prices than I can find anywhere else for the same products. I don't purchase food there anymore since I stopped feeding kibble, but I do still buy everything else there like elk antlers, the rib bones, bully sticks or any other dog neccessities.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

I also vote for ribs. Pork, sheep, or goat ribs if you can as they are a little softer but beef ribs are ok. Mine are completely raw fed and when I give beef ribs I let them strip the meat off but then I take the bones to keep them from gnawing. In my opinion, any bone that requires gnawing is too hard and has the potential to break, crack, and damage their teeth. I don't worry about a little scraping and gnawing during the meat stripping process though. They usually chomp the ends of the ribs off and they do get a good scraping while getting the meat off.

I have a video of mine eating beef ribs, you can see how much they scrape their teeth (sorry for length of vid, I didn't realize it was going so long). Ribs are good toothbrushes! Kaytu, on the left, really goes to town on them.


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## Losech (Apr 5, 2011)

Ribs! I love using beef ribs that have a nice thick layer of meat and fat on them. Takes the dogs longer to chew, and all that meat means they have to work it around to get it all off. Turkey backs are okay for a good brushing, as are turkey necks and chicken backs, but my go-to tooth cleaning RMB is a beef rib. I sometimes use pork shoulder bones if I have those, or pork ribs, but pork ribs are kind of a rarity in my house.
I can get beef ribs for about $2 a pound, sometimes less if I look hard enough or grab them just before they go bad. They usually have a nice 30% off sticker on them around that time.

I do have two dogs who have busted teeth on things before. I think they broke them on rocks, as there were no leftover bones in the yard when they were broken, so I am really careful with that the two of them get. Once their ribs are cleaned, I take them away, since they'll just hammer down on them when there's no meat left and I don't want either of them to bust another tooth. That is why they don't get marrow bones. I will give them to the Shiba, since he does not chew hard-core on anything, but I'm not gonna risk it with the Girls.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Thanks guys. I will definitely start with whatever type of ribs I can find. And thank you Sibe for posting the video. I was interested in seeing *how* they chew them, since I'm specifically interested in getting her to work on those back teeth.


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## meggels (Mar 8, 2010)

I think for a dog her size, duck or turkey necks would be good, turkey the best as it's nice and big. Feed it to her frozen and let her have a ball.

Vital Essentials sells boxes of beef ribs, I think you get like 10 ribs for $11.

Look up raw feeding co-ops in your area, or groups on Yahoo,a nd you should find some good deals.


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

I bought a 10lb bag of the ribs I mentioned, I think they are assorted rib bones or something, cuz they are all shapes and sizes.. anyways they are by K-9 Choice which is a raw food company, and the 10lb bag cost me $16. They are able to gnaw and eat these bones but it does take them a while to get through some of them.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

georgiapeach said:


> You could also try chicken wings or backs for a small dog as one of her raw meals a couple times a week. You're feeding the raw and kibble at different meals, right? They digest at different rates and should be fed separately.


I'm starting with a pre made raw, should arrive tomorrow. The people I spoke to told me to make sure I fed kibble at least 8 hours before or after the raw, because of the digestion rates. I'm hoping if they do well on the pre made, I can do a mix of that, kibble with canned and The Honest Kitchen.
To answer the OP, we use whatever bones we find at the pet store.


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

For cheap teeth cleaners and for some extra bone content when we intro new proteins I pick up some really cheap packs of chicken backs from T&T (Asian supermarket). I get a pack of 6-7 for 2$. Fed frozen they take a while to get through.


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

Gally said:


> For cheap teeth cleaners and for some extra bone content when we intro new proteins I pick up some really cheap packs of chicken backs from T&T (Asian supermarket). I get a pack of 6-7 for 2$. Fed frozen they take a while to get through.


Hmmm good to know! I might have to make a trip to T&T next time i'm at West Ed.. I've only been in there once to buy some asian food, but I imagine they would have some decently priced stuff I can pick up for the dogs. a lot of people say they can find some good cuts at asian markets. I haven't fed whole chicken backs.. I've fed whole chickens and ground chicken backs but I'm curious to try just chicken backs. And lord they are expensive to buy at a place like Tail Blazers.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

I am also interested in recreational bones for dental health bc I moisten their food (they choke on it of I Ty to feed them dry, the two sillies ). Ppl mentioned marrow bones, but aren't all bones 'marrow' bones? As in all bones has marrow in them? Mine don't get fed 'pure, real' raw (Josefina gets the frozen raw from NVI but I know it's not the same as real raw diets, which is why I was asking) so I don't want something that is going to be considered a meal, I just want something that will satisfy their urge to chew & will be a nice treat for them.

I heard someone mention beef ribs, what kind of beef ribs, I ask bc I'm going to the store to 2night or tomorrow & I will be able to pick some up.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

The long curved ones that are cut from rib roasts. They are cheaper than the short ribs which are too short [!] and haven't the joint end that can be chewed on safely.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

When people say marrow bones they usually mean the large weight bearing bones such as the femur cut into sections. A lot of people don't like them because they are quite strong and there is a risk of chipping or breaking teeth depending on how aggressively your dog chews. Personally with the way my dogs chew I find that risk acceptably small, I can get them in bulk extremely cheaply from a local meat packer so I go ahead and use them.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

We have a few meat markets in the area but I'll have to ask our friend who knows the area well if there is a packer of butcher around here. I might try thr ribs but since my dogs don't get 'real' raw but get fed the best kibble I can provide (I know it's not the same as raw tho) how much meat should I leave on? Would it hurt them to leave thr meat on?


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

The ribs I see are cut down to the bone but not between them and it turns out that is leaving about half the weight as bone and half as meat/fat/various tough tissues. If you have a scale just weigh before and after. A 50 pound dog's starting point for the raw diet is 16 ounces. If your dogs weigh about 50 pounds, you offer up 2 pounds of ribs and 1 pound is left then cut back on the following dinner and breakfast a little and call it good.

Me, just gave one per dog and they got dinner as usual and all was just fine. A single rib is about 8-10 ounces around here.

You want the meat on the bone, it is the ripping off that cleans the teeth safely. Gnawing and scraping the bone aren't as safe for teeth.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Nomes I see are an entire slab, I'm a little illiterate when it comes to meat so can someone post a pic of what kind of ribs your talking about for rec use for two medium sized ACDs? 

Thanks.

Edit: never mind, I googled it. Do what do your guys to with the meat you trim?


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

No reason to trim off any meat, as Kathyy said the reason ribs are such great teeth cleaners is because they have to really work to get the yummy meat off the bone.

ETA: this beef ribs I get are big slabs like this (this is 2 slabs, one on top of the other). I leave 2-3 attached to each other to really give the dogs something to work at.










Ribs can get very messy. I usually feed them outside or on a tarp inside which they've been trained to eat on. Pics of mine eating ribs:

















^ Yucky paws and legs are common after eating ribs. I give them a bath after to wash just their front legs, and chest and face if needed.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

Sibe said:


> No reason to trim off any meat, as Kathyy said the reason ribs are such great teeth cleaners is because they have to really work to get the yummy meat off the bone.
> 
> ETA: this beef ribs I get are big slabs like this (this is 2 slabs, one on top of the other). I leave 2-3 attached to each other to really give the dogs something to work at.
> 
> ...


So, with these, do they crunch & eat the whole bone or just chew the meat off then chew the bone?


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

I'd like to know the same thing lol, I might get a couple of soup or knuckle bones bc I don't want a lot of mess & there are other dogs around so I can't feed them outside, so which are the less messy lol. Also buddy hates water do baths aren't an option :/ (we haven't graduated to bathes yet, he's pretty insecure so we are moving slow).


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Put an old towel or blanket where the dog wants to chew to save the floor. Most of the mess is on the floor, dogs don't get very messy for some reason. Raw fat isn't as messy as cooked fat either. Have a wrung out towel handy if you like. 

I can gate off the tiled front hall for Max, perhaps there is an area in your home that will work for a nice long chew session.


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## rouxdog (Jun 28, 2012)

Cow Hooves...super super cheap...and gets the job done better than most chewbrushes
or a chicken head


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

dogdragoness said:


> Nomes I see are an entire slab, I'm a little illiterate when it comes to meat so can someone post a pic of what kind of ribs your talking about for rec use for two medium sized ACDs?


Yep, the slab o' ribs is what you want. I buy them at Wal-Mart. They're shrink-wrapped in plastic. There are usually 7 ribs in a slab, so I give the 3 biggest to Moose, the 3 smallest to Toby, and the 2 middle-sized ones to Penny (who's probably about ACD size. I'd give your dogs 2 each). I don't trim any meat off---it's dinner for that night. They eat them outside and don't get to bring any bones in until they're clean. They gnaw on the bones for a while, and if I let them keep the bones they will eventually gnaw them down to little stubs (I usually take them away after 4 days or so). But even Moose can't quickly consume them. My mom's dogs couldn't figure out what to do with a rib when she first got them, but now they're old pros. So your dogs might be hesitant at first, too, but they'll figure it out!


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

Gonna have to try this with a slab of ribs. I think Jubel will love it, he's just starting to get a little tarter on some of his teeth and the new foster's teeth are a mess of tarter. Duncan is about 6 months younger than Jubel.


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

I usually just give Buffy one frozen rib at a time. She's about 28 lbs. and is a strong chewer. In the photo you can see that I used to trim most of the fat/meat off (and there was still plenty for her to gnaw on), but I don't do that anymore now that she's been having them almost weekly for more than a year. The rib usually replaces her morning meal and then she gets her usual kibble for dinner.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Buffy looks like a hyena! 



dagwall said:


> Gonna have to try this with a slab of ribs. I think Jubel will love it, he's just starting to get a little tarter on some of his teeth and the new foster's teeth are a mess of tarter. Duncan is about 6 months younger than Jubel.


 Yeah, when my mom got Shug her teeth were terrible. She was talking to the vet about doing a dental. After 2-3 ribs (about a week apart) Shug's teeth were shiny clean! Even the vet was surprised.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

About the cow hooves, are they 'raw' too? Is there any meat/bone attached? Also my dog's don't get raw so would it be safe to give them ribs as a meal? (they are only outside during the day, they come in at night but I don't want to feed them inside bc of thr mess/smell LMBO. 

My dogs aren't very aggressive (that I have noticed) chewers, would marrow bones be safe for them?


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

the picture of the slab of ribs...those are beef ribs, am I correct?


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Yep, beef ribs. 

I tried pork ribs once and the dogs ate them. Fast. I was somewhat alarmed. I decided to stick with beef ribs.


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

Willowy said:


> Yep, beef ribs.
> 
> I tried pork ribs once and the dogs ate them. Fast. I was somewhat alarmed. I decided to stick with beef ribs.


Yup my dogs can wolf down a pork rib in about a minute, they chew them well though so it doesn't concern me. Can't wait to try some beef ribs though, I haven't been able to come across slabs of them for a decent price, but I haven't tried walmart.. there is a walmart supercenter beside my house.. might have to go browse thier selection. I have a 10lb bag of miscellaneous ribs I use for teeth cleaning, they're all different shapes, sizes and have a little meat on them.. but not a whole lot, most are clean enough to give on the carpet in my house and what not. I also have an order of 10 lbs of misc beef meaty bones which apparently are heavy on the ribs coming in next week.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Yeah, I wasn't sure if my dogs chewed them very well, or if pork bones were supposed to be so crunchy. But even if they did chew them, I thought it was too much bone for dogs who aren't fed raw very often.

I remember someone here a while back was saying they couldn't find beef ribs anywhere. I dunno, they're always at Wal-Mart here. All the surrounding Wal-Marts.


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

I had trouble finding them but eventually found them at my local grocery store, a Giant. They weren't with the regular beef cuts, but were in a separate cooler for large/bargain packs. I never looked at Walmart. They haven't had them at Giant the last 3 times I checked, so maybe I will be heading to Walmart too.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Are marrow bones better then ribs? My dogs aren't strong chewers, more like recreational ones, they don't chew hard, would marrow bones like the ones used for soup & knuckle bones (there is a Butcher nearby) be ok for them? Also all the beef ribs (excluding spare ribs & the like) come in a huge slab that I do not have room for in my fridge :/.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Cut the ribs off individually and put them in ziploc bags. Put some in the freezer if you won't be giving them to the dogs within a few days. You don't have to stash the whole rack in one piece . There are usually 6 or 7 ribs so that'll be about 3 servings for your dogs if you give them one each (one serving right when you get home from the store, one serving in the fridge for next week, one serving in the freezer for the week after). If you give them 2 each and make it a meal, you'll only have 2-3 ribs left over, and it's not too hard to find space for that many.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

Just looked at some beef ribs at the store today, only $2/pound but only in bulk of two racks with 6-7 ribs and frozen. I'd prefer to start smaller and see how Jubel is with the ribs, he's a very destructive chewer when he wants to be and I don't want him hurting his teeth.


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## Lavendergrey (Sep 19, 2012)

Hi! I'm new here and have begun feeding my Lhasa Apso, Bentley, raw hamburger, which he loves. He wasn't thrilled when I tried to feed him a raw chicken wing, and licked it and walked away, so not sure that's going to be an option. Will try again at some point. Since he is a small dog (11 pounds) what would be the best raw meaty bone to give him? I have learned he seems to love beef (I've had him just about 1 1/2 months and he is 1 year old) more than anything. I want him to have healthy teeth that I don't need to spend hundreds of dollars to have cleaned, so I know he needs bones. 

My oldest son is a big proponent of raw food for dogs, and is hoping I will go all raw with my new dog…but it seems daunting even with my son's wonderful experience and advice. He owns Rotties, which are large, hungry dogs…my dog doesn't seem very food driven and is much smaller, so I'm hoping someone on here has experience with the smaller dogs and raw food. So for now, any ideas on what type bone(s) would be best for the little guy?

Thanks!


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Lavendergrey said:


> Hi! I'm new here and have begun feeding my Lhasa Apso, Bentley, raw hamburger, which he loves. He wasn't thrilled when I tried to feed him a raw chicken wing, and licked it and walked away, so not sure that's going to be an option. Will try again at some point. Since he is a small dog (11 pounds) what would be the best raw meaty bone to give him? I have learned he seems to love beef (I've had him just about 1 1/2 months and he is 1 year old) more than anything. I want him to have healthy teeth that I don't need to spend hundreds of dollars to have cleaned, so I know he needs bones.
> 
> My oldest son is a big proponent of raw food for dogs, and is hoping I will go all raw with my new dog…but it seems daunting even with my son's wonderful experience and advice. He owns Rotties, which are large, hungry dogs…my dog doesn't seem very food driven and is much smaller, so I'm hoping someone on here has experience with the smaller dogs and raw food. So for now, any ideas on what type bone(s) would be best for the little guy?
> 
> Thanks!


Small dogs tackle raw just as well as the big guys and you shouldn't underestimate them! Look through this album to see plenty of small dogs tackling big food.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Are you going to be feeding raw or is this just a nice chew that is good for his teeth? If you are going to go raw then try searing the wing just until it starts smelling good, he may be more interested. You want the wing to be cold and the skin that was on the heat to be just starting to look cooked. If this is for his teeth then why not go ahead and give him a beef rib that has some meat left on it? You can try cutting the soft stuff to the bone and partially rip it off so he gets the idea better too.

You can play with the food to get the dog more interested. Max wasn't sure rabbit heads were food so the first few times I held the ears and pulled it away from Max so he started chasing it a little. Then I asked for some behaviors and he got the thing as a 'reward' for his awesomeness. The things we do for our dogs!


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

How about this? I have been giving this to Eddee once every week as a dental chew and also some good raw meat treat ... a beef soup bone. I trim most of the fat off because there is plenty. Once the meat is gone and the marrow and bone meal in the center has been eaten I throw it away. He chews slowly and very well. 

Is this a good recreational bone or am I taking chances of tooth cracks and breaks?


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## Lavendergrey (Sep 19, 2012)

I'd like to feed raw. That being said, it depends on his willingness to eat more raw foods. He does love the raw ground beef, and my son said I should be able to get him interested in other raw meats if that is the case. I looked for beef ribs yesterday at the grocery store and couldn't find any. Thought that was strange. Will try another store, I guess. Thanks for the tip on the chicken wings. I will take one out of the freezer today and try again. 

My one hesitation with feeding exclusively raw food is when we travel if we need to board him it may prove to be very difficult for us to get the boarder to feed him his raw foods. Not sure how that works, but I am thinking eventually it will likely be an issue. Also, going on car trips with him (if he ever gets over car sickness) may prove to be more difficult with having to bring along raw as opposed to foods that don't need constant refrigeration. I'm sure I'll figure it all out as I come to it, though.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

If they aren't grinding away at the bone they might be okay. I wouldn't care to offer them though, why risk it? The saw cut edges might not be very easy on the gums though. If you could find the knuckles that would be better.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

I know a lot of ppl don't like them bc they can break teeth but mine love them... Its just the smell that waifs off four dogs knawing on raw bones takes some getting used to.


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