Bones...good or bad for dogs?

[blh1960]

I have had several dogs over the years and not one of them have died because of table scraps. I have always tryed to stay away from bones that might splinter; ie. chicken leg bones, thigh bones. I just want to get the general opinions, and possibly experience from negative results from doing this. My wife and I need to settle a disagreement. I do love my animals, and want the best for them.

Brian

[mfaley]

Hello Brian and welcome to CBN.

My guess is that your best answer lies with a good vet. From my laymans perspective we only gave our dogs big heavy beef bones that had not been heated. They seemed to last the longest.

I always worry about surveys of one in terms of accuracy. Having said that, the ONLY time we ever had a problem was when our working dog pulled a plate of chicken off the table outside and ate most of it himself. We had to have the splintered chicken bone surgically removed.

Like I said.....if I was tempted to feed bones again I would check around with a couple of good vets or a local vet school.

Mark

[Fred]

IMO and the opinion of others, any raw bone is OK to give your dog. They are "soft" so to speak and digest easily. I fed two of my own dogs a raw diet for 3 years and never had a problem feeding any part of a raw chicken, bones and all, or turkey necks. Never saw a bone pooped out either, so they were obviously digesting them OK. The strong acids in a dog's stomach supposedly protect them against salmonella, as it apparently protects any wild critter that kills and eats what it kills or finds.

Any cooked bone is bad IMO. I've seen cooked leg bones from a cow splinter with a strong jawed dog. Especially those smoked ones you see in the pet superstores.

Many people feel strongly either way about what I have written. My veterinarian doesn't advocate feeding a dog a raw diet or bones, but has no problem ripping a quail leg off and feeding it to his bird dog (hmmm, no hypocracy there...). When the others' jaws dropped, he referred them to me to explain why it was OK, so maybe there is a liability issue on his part to say it's OK. I'm sure there are dogs out there who got a raw bone lodged in their throat and died, just like there are dogs out there who died from bloat which may be linked to kibble in a dog's stomach swelling to umpteen times its dry size.

IMO most table scraps, bones excluded, are better than the dog food most people feed there pets, but table scraps alone are not a complete diet.

Lots of info on this on the internet. Your dog, your call.

[blh1960]

Thanks for the answers I got. I have been hearing that raw bones are better contrary to what I believed. I aways thought that they could get sick from rancid meat.

I have been concerned lately. I have pups that just turned a year. They both are mixes. They have a ferocious chewing urge. They go through bones quite quickly. I have even seen them swallow small ones whole. I think I am going to lay off the small cooked bones. The chewys you buy at the store are gone through so quickly that I resorted to the smoked beef bones at the butcher. I really never thought these would be bad.

Thanks for the inputs.

Brian
Missouri

[Fred]

If it's cooked it has a much greater chance of being bad than if it's not.
I get shank bones from my butcher and have him cut them three sections minus the knuckle ends. This way they are small enough that your dogs can get to the morrow. They're pretty clean after they gnaw on them a while and the dogs don't seem to lose interest when there's no meat left. You can put a little peanut butter in them if they do.

As far as toys go, the black Kongs are made out of a harder rubber than the red ones, but my Presa can still make short work of one given a day or two. The Gallileo bones from Nylabone last a long time and the odd shape keeps any dogs I have seen pretty interested in them, too. They're pricey, but cheaper than a sofa. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Pat]

I have heard from more than one vet specializing in dogs that they recommend NEVER giving a dog a bone. Goes against common knowledge and I suppose if you shop it around you'll find vets who disagree. Bone splinters in the gut are not fun for a pooch and although the stomach acid IS strong it isn't so fast that it will disolve the bone prior to damage.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Fred]

That's exactly why I stated that it was probably a liability issue on their part to say it's OK to give a dog a raw bone, yet I've seen my own vet do just that. BTW, raw bones don't splinter.
All I can further say is that I have never spoken to anyone that has had a problem giving their dogs raw bones that they can actually eat and not just chew on and I am in contact with a lot of "dog people".

It wasn't all that long ago, three years maybe, that vets were still recommending yearly vaccinations for DHLPP. Now most of them realize what many dog people have known for years, that a dog CAN build up a lasting immunity against distemper, hepatitus, leptospirosis, para-influenza and parvo virus. Many have gone to every three years same as the Rabies vaccine and some still want your $$ coming into their office every year.

Vets aren't the know all be all any more than medical doctors are and a person should listen to many views and then make up their own mind as in anything in life. IMO.

[img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[Pat]

I know it is the best we can do in the face of an information vacuum but we can listen to opinions until the lactating ruminants return to their places of residence and still not come away with the right decision for any of a number of reeasons.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Fred]

[img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
"lactating ruminents return to their place of residence" ???
That cracks me up. I'll stick with the three words, all single syllables version.
[img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Fred, Laughter is good for you! My general contractor who is usually a very down to earth country boy, a very plain spoken fellow, pulled that one out and layed it on me the other day. The contrast to his typical delivery gave it extra emphasis.

I suppose next you might consider waiting until the permanent residence of the unrepentant suffers an atypical cold snap resulting in a widespread hard frost.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]