# Swallowed a piece of bone without chewing it..should I be concerned?



## chichi_mom (Aug 7, 2012)

I let Rio him his first chicken piece today..about an hr ago. It was the smaller part of the drumstick..sorta looks like a smaller thigh..not sure what it's called. I was holding the bone lightly while he was chewing on it. Well...he broke off a piece and just swallowed it..did not chew it down at all. I am extremely nervous. The piece was prob about a half inch to an inch big, and about a half in wide. Should I be concerned?? Could this pose a threat of puncturing something internally or causing an obstruction?? Never feeding bone again..whole bone..he doesn't like to chew..he just gets it in his mouth and swallows. He is a chihuahua, 8 lbs. I'm very worried.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

It will probably be fine. Raw bone does digest somewhat, and what doesn't digest will probably pass in the stool. Watch for lethargy, vomiting, or hunching/abdominal pain and call your vet if you see them. After 48 hours or so without problems, you should be in the clear. 

If you don't want to feed whole raw bones anymore, then you can always grind it. I usually feed a grind, except for chicken and turkey necks.


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

It's ok that's what's supposed to happen. A dog's digestion starts in the stomach. They don't digest anything in their mouth really like us. They crunch it enough so it fits down their throat and then the breaking down starts in the stomach. That's a pretty small piece so he'll be fine.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

If it was raw it should be fine. More than likely it will be digested easily. Chicken bones are very soft and a piece under one inch isn't even large to me, really.


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

sassafras said:


> It will probably be fine. Raw bone does digest somewhat, and what doesn't digest will probably pass in the stool. Watch for lethargy, vomiting, or hunching/abdominal pain and call your vet if you see them. After 48 hours or so without problems, you should be in the clear.
> 
> If you don't want to feed whole raw bones anymore, then you can always grind it. I usually feed a grind, except for chicken and turkey necks.


What grind do you use?


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

boxerlover876 said:


> What grind do you use?


A local meat processor sells raw for pet food, they make coarsely ground trim/organ/bone mixtures as well as selling other stuff like poultry backs and necks, pork and lamb necks, and other stuff.


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## chichi_mom (Aug 7, 2012)

I'm just worried because the edges of the piece where be broke it off from were sharp. Not like huge splinters, but shorter sharp pieces. When your dogs eat bone, do they just break it off and swallow? 

What grind do you use? Trying to find a decent one online..


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

chichi_mom said:


> I'm just worried because the edges of the piece where be broke it off from were sharp. Not like huge splinters, but shorter sharp pieces. When your dogs eat bone, do they just break it off and swallow?
> 
> What grind do you use? Trying to find a decent one online..


It's not a commercial grind, it's a local meat packer. If I didn't have that available, I would just ask the butcher to grind it for me if they were willing (some might not be willing to make a grind with the bones, but I bet a lot of them would.) A grinder powerful enough to handle chicken bones wouldn't be all THAT expensive, either. You could always grind chicken bones into other kinds of meat and organs, too.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

chichi_mom said:


> I'm just worried because the edges of the piece where be broke it off from were sharp. Not like huge splinters, but shorter sharp pieces. When your dogs eat bone, do they just break it off and swallow?


Essentially, yeah. It's pretty common.


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## chichi_mom (Aug 7, 2012)

I feel somewhat better now. Rio just gets so anxious at eatting time and just wants to eat as much as possible at once. Due to that, I think I'm just going to do minced bone from now on. The way he eats is just too fast. Maybe I'm just a worry wart


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

Dogs don't chew, they crunch it a few times and swallow. When eating something smaller like a chicken wing Gally will only chomp once or twice before swallowing. The other night he swallowed an entire chicken neck with head attached without chewing at all because he got spooked by thunder in the middle of his meal. He was totally fine.

Dogs are perfectly capable of digesting mostly whole pieces of bone in their stomach.

Remember to breathe and let nature do it's thing


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## chichi_mom (Aug 7, 2012)

Wow, an entire chicken neck with head attached? That's crazy  I actually just ended up ordering from my pet carnivore...I feel more comfortable feeding the whole ground mixes.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

chichi_mom said:


> I feel more comfortable feeding the whole ground mixes.


Me, too. There's nothing wrong with that.


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## chichi_mom (Aug 7, 2012)

Thank you guys very much. It's much appreciated


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