# Kind of afraid to give my dog raw beef ribs



## Sloth (Jul 29, 2008)

I bought some at Wal-Mart today - raw beef back ribs. I heard they're good for dogs, and I wanted her to taste SOMETHING besides bully sticks.

But the warning signs on the meat kind of scared me away. "Harmful bacteria may occur/be present if meat is mishandled or miscooked." I'd say feeding it RAW may constitute "miscooking" it. 

Do I tear all the meat off, and then give her just the bone? Or is it really OK to give her all this raw meat that might have salmonella and who-knows-what in it?


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

I've heard that dogs are resistant to Salmonella. I don't think it will cause any problems, meat or no meat. I occasionally feed Basil raw chicken backs, and he's only gotten HEALTHIER, never gotten sick.

I also believe that feeding it to her raw would be a lot safer then feeding it to her cooked. Cooked bones are VERY dangerous. Just make sure you supervise her while she's chewing on it in case she gets too crazy and hurts her teeth (some dogs do that) and it might help to keep her on a hard floor or lay down a towel, though whenever I put down a towel for Basil he picks up the meat and moves it JUST enough to that it's no longer on the towel, lol!


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## chrisn6104 (Jun 8, 2009)

As with any foods even kibble there is a chance a dog can get sick. All I can speak from is my own experience and research I've done. 
In most cases a dog wont be bothered by salmonella due to it's short digestive track. The processing plant within the dog is to quick and powerful. In other words they come fully equipped to deal with such things. 
One safe guard is to freeze meats especially fish for a few days to kill of certain parasites. I cant remember exactly what freezing kills but I remember it was important to do with fish. I'm sure someone else here will know or you can look it up. 
If you're extra nervous freeze for a few days then thaw and give them the bone with the meat on.


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## Sloth (Jul 29, 2008)

Ok, thanks for the replies! I'll keep it frozen for a few days then.


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## JustTess (Mar 19, 2008)

I freeze all of the raw bones too. I like to find the lamb bones because they tend to be a little stronger than pork and weaker than beef. Ilya is an agressive chewer with his bones so I have to watch how he eats his bones because he may break a tooth.

If your dog isn't sensitive to the type of meat, I don't see why you would want to slice it off.


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## Wynpyp (Sep 19, 2008)

I just bought Bayne his first raw bone as well and it has some meat on it. I'm gonna give it to him today 

Humans can eat raw beef (steak) and be ok. It would be raw gound beef that I would be more worried about (ecoli).


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## txcollies (Oct 23, 2007)

join the huge rawfeeding yahoo list and ask there. Tons of experience people on there to help you out.


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## SandyPuppy (Aug 8, 2009)

How do you feed the bone to the dog without contaminating your home with germs? Do you confine them a crate while they chew on it?


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## Billiie (Jan 16, 2008)

SandyPuppy said:


> How do you feed the bone to the dog without contaminating your home with germs? Do you confine them a crate while they chew on it?


Yep you can do that.. or let them eat it outside.. or on "their" rug. That is what I do anyway.


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

I am clearly the most irresponsible dog owner on the planet, because none of these thoughts have ever crossed my mind. I buy my RMBs several at a time and they live in the freezer. I freeze them primarily so they will keep as long as I need them to, but it is also true that freezing temperatures are a bad environment for pretty much every nasty little thing. I generally give Alvin his bones outside, not because I'm worried about contamination, but because I'm worried about bone goobers on my rugs and furniture.

On the other hand, I eat cookie dough, so I'm always living on the edge


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

FilleBelle you rebel you 
I am disappointed 

I feed bone in the bathroom


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## JustTess (Mar 19, 2008)

SandyPuppy said:


> How do you feed the bone to the dog without contaminating your home with germs? Do you confine them a crate while they chew on it?


I point to his towel on the floor and he can chew his bones only if it remains on the towel. ...... I have to still watch him though because he will lick the towels so much I think he might eat them too.


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## MegaMuttMom (Sep 15, 2007)

I feed the bones outside and I take most of the meat off because it gives Cherokee loose poops. I don't feed raw often enough for him to get used to the rich meat. I then cook up the meat for myself


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## GSDGAL (May 27, 2009)

My guys dragged home a smelly rotted kangaroo the other day from up the back...they're all still alive, although the whole yard stinks


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## Sloth (Jul 29, 2008)

Ok, now I just read that most commercial freezers can't reach temperatures low enough to kill off the parasites in raw meat. So, for those of you who freeze it - do you have a heavy-duty, "deep freeze" freezer you use? Because we just have a standard freezer.

Ugh, I never should have gotten these stupid bones.  I would feel horrible if I gave her the bone, and she gets horribly sick a few days later and dies because she's so small. Maybe I'll cook them for myself and order her some bully sticks instead...


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## Wynpyp (Sep 19, 2008)

Like I said, humans can eat raw beef(steak and such, as long as it's not ground) so dogs can too. TONS of people feed their dogs raw beef, chicken, pork and fish and they are all fine. I know as a human, we cannot eat raw chicken or pork due to salmonella and trichinosis. Dogs, from what I understand, do not have the same digestive track so it does not harm them. I'm not a raw feeder so I'm not sure of all the differences. I am a cook and have taken a human food safe course (was gonna be a chef).

If you are that worried about, you shouldn't give your pup the RMB. You may end up giving yourself a headache from all the worry!


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

I really wounldn't be so worried. Dogs get raw bones all the time and I have never heard of a problem (I can't say the same for dogs fed kibble)

If it makes you feel better you could try and seer the outside of the meat on the stove to kill any surface bacteria.

Humans eat raw beef all the time, and Dogs have an even better digestive tract for it.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

American beef is quite safe. I feel very confident in saying that there will be NO parasites. E. coli is sometimes a concern, but not usually with uncut beef like ribs (more common in ground beef). If you're really concerned about e. coli, you can dip the ribs in boiling water. They won't have the bacteria inside the meat, and it will kill any surface bacteria. Salmonella is on chicken, not beef. 

I dunno. I think we worry too much. There are millions of farm dogs out there that munch on week-old rotted roadkilled deer/raccoons/rabbits, and they never die from THAT. From getting run over or shot by the neighbors, sure, but not from eating old dead things. I would have no worries about good clean store-bought beef.


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## Mdawn (Mar 3, 2007)

I give my dogs RMB's sometimes and have never had an issue with them getting sick, they just eat the meat off and for some reason never eat the bone... I fed my cats RAW for several months and never had a problem.
I don't even worry too much about the germs making ME sick. I feed the dogs bones on the kitchen floor (I don't even put a towel down...lol) and just mop the floor where they ate it after. After my cats ate, I washed their dishes and used Clorox spray cleaner to clean the floor where their dishes were and wash my hands thoroughly after I handle raw meat. Very simple clean up. 

The way that I see it, their bodies are MEANT to handle raw meat. Our digestive systems are different than dogs; what would harm us doesn't necessarily mean it would harm them. 

GSDGAL mentioned her dogs ate a rotten kangaroo the other day...mine have dragged deer carcass up from the woods and ate it with no ill effects. My old dog Dan used to eat almost solely deer parts that people threw out during deer season. With "yummy" deer around he had no use for dog food. The only ill effects from that was some of the worst smelling gas I've ever been around in my life...(put Uallis's to shame...lol) but he LOVED it. My cat, the one that still occasionally goes outside, is a "serial killer" of rabbits. He kills them but doesn't eat them but my dogs do. The only thing that I've ever even slightly worried about in terms of that is worms. However, they take monthly heartworm meds that has de-wormer in it...so I don't really even worry about that. I just check their poo when they go.


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## Sloth (Jul 29, 2008)

Ok, I'll dip it in boiling water before giving it to her. And I'll try not to get too worried about it anymore, heheh.


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

PLEASE don't cook bones in any way before giving them to your dog. There is bacteria throughout the meat, not just on the surface. Freezing also won't do much. There is also bacteria on the floor (where your dog lays), on their toys (which they pick up with their mouth and touch lord only knows what throughout the day)....there's even bacteria on their butts (which most dogs lick on a daily basis). 

Nature designed your dog to eat raw meat and bones. It's what dogs have been eating for thousands of years before humans figured out how to cook the h*ll out of food, grind it and extrude it into kibble bits.

If you are worried about parasites, avoid feeding organic meats...especially pork. The mass produced meat in this country is pumped so full of antibiotics and so carefuly monitored, that there's really not too much chance of getting any serious nasties from it. Just the regular nasties like E. Coli and Samonella, which your dog's body is designed to handle. In fact, your dog probably deals with worse just licking your hand or chewing on your shoe.

Dogs have a much more acidic stomach environment that humans do and a much shorter intestinal tract, which enables them to eat things that would make us sick.


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