# Raw bones for kibble-fed dog?



## Angel's_mom (May 26, 2010)

Is it okay to give her raw bones to chew? What kind?


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## phoebespeople (May 27, 2009)

Pork or beef ribs are good RAW meaty bones that most dogs can easily break up in to crumbly little bits and eat, beef marrow bones (leg bones) are weight bearing bones and are too hard to crunch up, but they are great to gnaw on and get all the meat off and marrow out of.
Gnawing on bones for an extended time makes dogs produce anti-bacterial enzymes in their saliva that keeps their teeth clean, and enzymes in their stomach that help them digest their food completely.


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## amdeblaey (Jun 27, 2009)

I give my dogs beef ribs and they are kibble fed-if I do give them a bone, I do lessen the amount of kibble for the day though.


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## schtuffy (May 12, 2010)

phoebespeople said:


> Pork or beef ribs are good RAW meaty bones that most dogs can easily break up in to crumbly little bits and eat, beef marrow bones (leg bones) are weight bearing bones and are too hard to crunch up, but they are great to gnaw on and get all the meat off and marrow out of.
> Gnawing on bones for an extended time makes dogs produce anti-bacterial enzymes in their saliva that keeps their teeth clean, and enzymes in their stomach that help them digest their food completely.


What would be an appropriate sized chewing bone for a 15-20 lb dog? I feel like mine would struggle with the size of a beef rib  Would a drumstick with some of the meat stripped off be okay?


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## dieterherzog (Sep 28, 2009)

schtuffy said:


> What would be an appropriate sized chewing bone for a 15-20 lb dog? I feel like mine would struggle with the size of a beef rib  Would a drumstick with some of the meat stripped off be okay?



My dog is 12lbs. I get a slab of beef back ribs and cut them up along the bone. It works real slick, I give my dog one whole "bone piece" as a full meal.


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## phoebespeople (May 27, 2009)

schtuffy said:


> What would be an appropriate sized chewing bone for a 15-20 lb dog? I feel like mine would struggle with the size of a beef rib  Would a drumstick with some of the meat stripped off be okay?


An appropriate sized RAW meaty bone for you dog is one that's bigger than your dogs mouth and small enough for your dog to carry. If it's too small, your dog might decide to try and swallow it, if it's bigger, he will be forced to gnaw on it. If it's really big one, your dog will stop when he's had enough, or you can take it away from him and save the rest for another time.


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## Tails (Apr 5, 2010)

Has anyone ever had a dog break a tooth on a raw bone?. 
I had been giving my dog raw meaty bones to chew for the past few years (esp marrow bones) but then about a month ago her 4th upper pre-molar (biggest tooth in a dogs mouth) totally cracked in half vertically. She ended up with a abscess and had to have the tooth extracted. 
I haven't given her any other bones to chew on since then. The vet seemed to think that her tooth must have broken while she was chewing a bone. She LOVED her bones and they were awesome for keeping her teeth clean, but now I'm paranoid to give them to her.


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## Angel's_mom (May 26, 2010)

I have some pork spare ribs thawed out for our dinner. So, if I cut one of those off (raw), I could give it to her? I already gave her less than usual for breakfast because she ate 3 hot dog buns with peanut butter on them last night that were intended for the kids. Yeah, I was out of bread.


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## dieterherzog (Sep 28, 2009)

Tails said:


> Has anyone ever had a dog break a tooth on a raw bone?.
> I had been giving my dog raw meaty bones to chew for the past few years (esp marrow bones) but then about a month ago her 4th upper pre-molar (biggest tooth in a dogs mouth) totally cracked in half vertically. She ended up with a abscess and had to have the tooth extracted.
> I haven't given her any other bones to chew on since then. The vet seemed to think that her tooth must have broken while she was chewing a bone. She LOVED her bones and they were awesome for keeping her teeth clean, but now I'm paranoid to give them to her.


Oh crappity, that really sucks . Did you give her beef marrow bones? Depending on the size of your dog, it's not advisable to give them weight bearing bones i.e. animal leg bones. Ribs or soft poultry bones or even lamb marrow is fine - but it must all be done with supervision.


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## Angel's_mom (May 26, 2010)

I gave her a rib bone, cut from the middle of the rack so it was one of the bigger ones. I was a little concerned she might try to swallow it whole but she's a good chewer so I just watched her. She gnawed off the meat, then crunched up the bone. I was surprised at how fast she ate it! I thought it would keep her occupied for a while, but it lasted her maybe 20 minutes. She left the last 1" of it and I threw that away when she was done. I would rather give her something a little bigger next time so maybe a beef rib would be a better size for her. Anything I've given her to chew has been devoured in no time flat.


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## bumblegoat (Jun 22, 2009)

My dog has several fractured teeth thanks to chewing on marrow bones. I made a huge mistake when giving them to him. On other forums I visit, marrow bones are often suggested and recommended as recreational bones, which led me to believe that they are good for dogs...


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## Angel's_mom (May 26, 2010)

Thanks for the heads up on the marrow bones. I'll stay away from those. I think she would be determined to chew it up and might break a tooth.


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## Nallah06 (Nov 26, 2008)

Marrow bones are fine, but always always always give them when you can watch your dog. When my girls have cleaned the inside and are done cleaning off the outside, I take them away. Its when they are really focused on chewing/gnawing the bone that the tooth fractures happen. 

Are you looking for a recreational bone or for an actual Raw Meaty bone they can eat? (RMB)


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## Tails (Apr 5, 2010)

dieterherzog said:


> Oh crappity, that really sucks . Did you give her beef marrow bones? Depending on the size of your dog, it's not advisable to give them weight bearing bones i.e. animal leg bones. Ribs or soft poultry bones or even lamb marrow is fine - but it must all be done with supervision.


Yep, I gave her beef marrow bones. She used to mainly just clean out the inside, shes not a avid chewer so she never went to town on the outside. She weighs 45lb. 
I almost bought her marrow bones at the store today but decided against it. I think I'll look for other types of bones then next time I am there.


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## Angel's_mom (May 26, 2010)

Nallah06 said:


> Marrow bones are fine, but always always always give them when you can watch your dog. When my girls have cleaned the inside and are done cleaning off the outside, I take them away. Its when they are really focused on chewing/gnawing the bone that the tooth fractures happen.
> 
> Are you looking for a recreational bone or for an actual Raw Meaty bone they can eat? (RMB)


I don't know. LOL. She sometimes chews up things the kids leave out, like toys or pacifiers (we're done with pacifiers now), so I thought she needed something of her own to chew. I've tried bully sticks and pigs ears but she doesn't like them. I gave her a "Texas toothpick" by Merrick, which I believe is a cowtail. She liked that but it lasted only a few minutes, and I'm not sure if it's good for her or not. So, I wanted something longer lasting. She liked the rib bone, but again, it was gone in a few minutes. I think I'm going to get her some antlers and see how she likes those. Those would be for recreational chewing, right? I also don't mind giving her a raw meaty bone once in a while to eat. When I was growing up we gave our dogs kibble, a little raw, some bone, a few table scraps, and never had a sick dog. Then I heard bones were bad for dogs so I haven't given any bones to *my* dogs until now. 

Where do you get marrow bones? I could give her one while I'm sitting out on the back porch with her or something. I think she'd enjoy it, I just don't want her to break a tooth.


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## chrisn6104 (Jun 8, 2009)

schtuffy said:


> What would be an appropriate sized chewing bone for a 15-20 lb dog? I feel like mine would struggle with the size of a beef rib  Would a drumstick with some of the meat stripped off be okay?


I have a 12lbs minpin that gets the same size beef back rib my 50lbs dogs get.
She cant break the bone apart but she'll gnaw on it and strip it clean. 

Whole drumstick with all the meat would be okay too. Since it's chicken she will eat the entire bone just so you know. So don't be surprised or panic when there nothing left.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I get marrow bones from a local butcher, not a grocery store though but an actually butcher's shop that processes for local farmers and hunters. They are huge bones but I watch and my dog spends most of the time cleaning out the marrow and then scraping the outside clean. Once its clean, he will kinda gnaw the edges a bit but he doesn't bite down or try to bite off actually pieces.

I've gotten knuckle bones which are mostly cartilage and he loved them, hard enough to chew but softer than bone; those got eaten down to almost nothing.


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## bumblegoat (Jun 22, 2009)

Shell said:


> I get marrow bones from a local butcher, not a grocery store though but an actually butcher's shop that processes for local farmers and hunters. They are huge bones but I watch and my dog spends most of the time cleaning out the marrow and then scraping the outside clean. Once its clean, he will kinda gnaw the edges a bit but he doesn't bite down or try to bite off actually pieces.


My dog would just gnaw on it when the marrow was gone, and he still fractured his teeth. I had no idea that he had fractured teeth, the vet noticed it when he was there for a dental cleaning.

Not a warning specifically to you, but a warning to everyone. If you dog bites on a marrow bone, even if it isn't much, I highly recommend against giving a marrow bone to your dog. I learned the hard way.


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## dieterherzog (Sep 28, 2009)

I would steer clear of ANY weight bearing bone. I know people say it's good for recreational chewing, but think of it this way - a 1500lb animal rests on those legs - how hard do you think those bones are going to be? 

Even with lamb leg bones, I'd be mighty careful - once the marrow is all gone, I'd just remove it and toss it. Again if your dog is a 100lbs, he might be able to chomp through a lamb leg with no problem. But if it's a 20lb dog, you should think twice, even if he's a power chewer. Teeth are teeth you know. I don't even allow my 12lb dachshund to go crazy with a rib bone - once the meat is all stripped, I let him play with it for five more minutes and then toss it. Saves me the trouble of having cracked teeth.


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