# what bones for dog?



## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

i know that some of you feed raw that also includes bones, right?

so i kind of keep asking myself why am I buying bones at the pet store? ...can i just give them "fresh" bones? if yes, what kind? for like a "chew treat"


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

Beef ribs are a good choice


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

is there something they should not have? anything thats bad for them?


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

Salina said:


> is there something they should not have? anything thats bad for them?


Well, I am not a fan of knuckle bones, or any heavy weight bearing bones (I worry about breaking/chipping teeth) - some people use these without issue though. I also wouldn't recommend chicken necks/wings for a larger dog because of choking hazards.


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## Losech (Apr 5, 2011)

One of my dogs just broke a tooth on a (rather meaty) beef rib, so I wouldn't give those to dogs who crunch down hard on stuff. I used to like them, don't so much anymore. Only one of the three gets them now.

I like turkey necks and backs as treats. They work good for cleaning teeth. I wouldn't give chicken necks/wings to a bigger dog unless they were a careful chewer. I do give chicken backs, but cut them big.

Stuff I'd avoid like the plague are weight-bearing bones from large mammals. Leg/knuckle/soup bones of any sort.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I find knuckle bones good because they have a lot of cartilage (softer) and their large size discourages biting straight down on them but encourages gnawing. 

I will give my dog weight bearing bones BUT I know that his style is to scrap and gnaw rather than to bite down which risks cracking a tooth. 

I won't do ANY of the pet store bones because they are cooked or smoked and present a major cracking/choking hazard. Only raw.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

Thank you, good to know!


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

For edible bones, I give turkey necks and chicken or duck feet. Sometimes I give duck wings as well. Those aren't exactly recreational for him since he just chews them up and swallows it, not really much gnawing involved. I prefer feet for edible bone since they're cheap, high in glucosamine, and easy to add to a meal.

For recreational bones, I give marrow bones but I'm not really worried about his chewing habits. With a marrow bone, my dog at least isn't trying to eat the whole thing and spends time gnawing it clean. Trying to get the marrow out also keeps him entertained. I do understand people's worries about chipped teeth and marrow bone. It's not something I need to worry about with my dog and marrow bones is what I found best for recreation.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

What about pork?


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## Losech (Apr 5, 2011)

My dogs can go through pork bones no problem. Ribs, shoulder, butt, they get whatever is easily crunched up.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

Ok  thanks. Im totally new in the fresh snack area :-/


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

can they have chicken? are chicken bones only dangerous when they are cooked?


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## Losech (Apr 5, 2011)

Chicken bones are fine, I use those most often due to availability and price. I don't feed any cooked bones of any sort, just raw.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

ok, thank you for your help


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

Question again: pork with bone...ok?


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

pork bone is fine, most dogs can digest most pork bones. Mine eat pork ribs. I give beef ribs occasionally, they can't digest them but I do take them away after a little while, same with the soup bones. 

Honestly my favourite meaty recreational bones are large neck bones from ungulates. I give bison and elk neck chunks occasionally, they way they are shaped it provides a really good recreational chew and teeth cleaning, keeps them occupied forever as they try to get the meat from in the tiny tight crevices of the spine, yet they can't really digest the whole thing, they can break off tiny peices here and there.

my favourite local pet store sells 10lb bags of miscellanous rib bones for $10. this bag has now lasted me going on 5 months. All different shapes and sizes of rib bones, most are long, skinny and flat and the dogs are able to break these ones down and digest no problem, some are thicker and they can gnaw on them for a while but I def couldn't tell you what kind of animals these bones are coming from. They're all different lol.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

What about chicken necks?


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

Chicken necks are fine, but there aren't a lot of meat on them. You might get crumbly poops.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

I dont feed a lot of raw stuff. But every know and then i like to give them something.


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## Bear2010 (Aug 21, 2012)

My daughter gave her rat terrier(sweetie) chicken bones until one day one splintered in her throat and $1500 later decided chicken bones were a bad idea.I have always been afraid to give chicken bones then this happened to my daughters dog and now I want even think about it.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

Really the only bony meats I get are chicken thighs. For edible bone I generally just give chicken/duck feet. For recreational bones I give marrow bones.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

Are chicken necks actual bone? Or is it just cartilage (is that the right word?)? Do chicken necks splinter? I thought chicken is kind of soft...


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Accidents happen. I had to give the Heimlich to a dog because he was choking on a piece of kibble.

Chicken necks are too small for most dogs and a definite gulping hazard. They don't last long enough to be any fun or clean teeth either. I give them to Max as part of his raw diet but that is it.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

Can i feed turkey legs? With bone? Or are those type of bones not good for dogs?


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

I've heard of turkey legs being ok for some dogs while it's too hard for others to crunch through. I think it just depends.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I gave up 10 years ago on 'bone-like' products. A vigorous chewer will break them up and swallow large pieces. A complete waste of money and possibly a problem digesting the pieces if that happens. I never found a single one that wouldn't break up and luckily only one product that didn't digest well [the old Greenie formula and the dog passed the large pieces fine].

It is fine for the dog to leave bone behind. A turkey leg is huge but the ends of the bone have nice cartilage caps and then the dog might chew some of the actual bone as well. The bone itself is quite hard but thin so there likely would be shards left rather than a solid piece. It is a huge amount of food though! A raw fed 50 pound dog might eat 1 pound of food per day and a turkey leg is likely 1 pound so if one is offered then no dinner that night and possibly smaller meals the following day.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

Salina said:


> Can i feed turkey legs? With bone? Or are those type of bones not good for dogs?


I used to feed raw and remembered reading that any turkey bones are fine except for the legs; they're a larger animal so it's a weight-bearing bone that can splinter raw. Best to avoid them. 

I feed a lot of pork neck bones and chicken necks. But, I just placed an order at my pet carnivore for some beef trachea, lamb trotter bones, and turkey necks. Great prices, cheap shipping. You can check them out at mypetcarnivore.com


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

Ok, thank you all. I will give turkey necks a try and maybe pork necks


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Good choices. Max has only had a couple turkey necks and he gives a big paw up. Make sure to buy the huge pork necks from the meat counter, not the cut up ones and count on throwing away most of the bone. They are commonly cut small to fit in the pot and those would be a swallowing hazard.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Salina said:


> Can i feed turkey legs? With bone? Or are those type of bones not good for dogs?


When I first tried them, my dog would always leave long sharp shards of bone. It made me nervous so I didn't give them again. This year I tried again. Absolutely no issues. My dogs eat them just fine, no more long sharp bits. If you're worried about the bone, they are still a good cheap source of turkey meat and you could debone them.


Mine also love turkey necks. They are about 50% bone so I highly recommend feeding a boneless meal the previous meal and meal after if you're a raw feeder otherwise you risk painfully hard poops. I also often feed an egg or some organ or pork fat with the neck as mine do get hard poops easily.

Pork necks, if cut, can have extremely sharp edges. Some are fine but the ones I find are always cut and sharp.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

maybe i just stick to ground beef *lol* jk, i guess nobody says anything bad about turkey necks, so turkey necks it is...i don't feed raw, but i like to give them something fresh every now and then. both of my dogs don't have a really sensitive stomach...so far they had no issues with raw meet as a "snack"


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## twittle (Nov 10, 2012)

I give my dog a hamhock but not to often. They are smoked and get them from the local butcher. She goes nuts over them because she only gets them 2 times a month. I didn't notice any other problems and they help with cleaning the teeth and gums.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

Ok some time passed and i fed some turkey necks. They really like then BUT it takes like 20 seconds and they are gone :-/
I would like to feed something they can actually chew on. Advice? 
Maybe pork ribs? Or lamb?


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

I use chicken for bone most of the time. Besides that I have given beef neck bones because they are soft so they can eat it all. I also give duck feet, chicken feet, turkey necks, etc. Any smaller animal, I give the bone. I give marrow bones once in a while but I just keep an eye out to make sure the dogs aren't going to chip a tooth


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

taquitos said:


> I use chicken for bone most of the time. Besides that I have given beef neck bones because they are soft so they can eat it all. I also give duck feet, chicken feet, turkey necks, etc. Any smaller animal, I give the bone. I give marrow bones once in a while but I just keep an eye out to make sure the dogs aren't going to chip a tooth


I thought beef neckbones are too hard?


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

Salina said:


> I thought beef neckbones are too hard?


Weight bearing bones (marrow bones) are too hard for them, not neck bones. Neck bones are easier for them to grind down


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## Candydb (Jul 16, 2011)

Salina said:


> I thought beef neckbones are too hard?


He might have been exaggerating, but I see a man in the Park every now and then with Giant Schnauzer he got from the same person I got mine--- and he says he has fed his dog ONLY beef neck bones for the last 5 years (dog looks big and sleek, no obvious problems, although I got to wonder that he is not deficient in Something?!)....


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

Candydb said:


> He might have been exaggerating, but I see a man in the Park every now and then with Giant Schnauzer he got from the same person I got mine--- and he says he has fed his dog ONLY beef neck bones for the last 5 years (dog looks big and sleek, no obvious problems, although I got to wonder that he is not deficient in Something?!)....


Only one kind of meat is definitely not a balanced diet. Could be a case of "you're fine until there's a problem." On the other hand, if he ONLY feeds beef neckbones as RAW and the dog gets other things, it would be a different matter.

We don't fee raw, but Snowball gets the odd treat. Right now we have beef ribs and the tail-end of some oxtail. The ribs he pulls all the meat off and then gnaws on to get at the marrow. The oxtail he crunches through bones and all.


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## Candydb (Jul 16, 2011)

gingerkid said:


> Only one kind of meat is definitely not a balanced diet. Could be a case of "you're fine until there's a problem." On the other hand, if he ONLY feeds beef neckbones as RAW and the dog gets other things, it would be a different matter.
> 
> We don't fee raw, but Snowball gets the odd treat. Right now we have beef ribs and the tail-end of some oxtail. The ribs he pulls all the meat off and then gnaws on to get at the marrow. The oxtail he crunches through bones and all.


Yes the dog was RAW only... but even the breeder we got our dogs from has suggested diet of varieous organ meats, dairy(raw milk), probiotics and some veggies as well as the bones and meat.... I am hoping the dog gets alittle something else....But you never know I guess he can nibble on grass on his walks...


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

I can get pork bones with a lot of meat on them at a reasonable price. They are the trimmings from the spare ribs. I never worried about the little dogs chewing up the bones but one day I looked out and Lucy was acting funny. I went out and she was pawing away at her mouth. I opened her mouth and she had a piece of bone jammed on the roof of her mouth between her teeth. I had quite a time getting it out but finally did. When I saw her scratching at her mouth I knew right away what it was as the Scottish Terriers used to have that happen fairly often with their long narrow mouths.


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

Has anyone tried pork breast bone? Its pretty cheap here - $3-4/kg (Anything under $5/kg is "cheap" here), but I have no idea what the bones are like, if they'll be splintery, or too hard (since the sternum is one of the hardest bones in the human body).


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