Is it ok to feed dogs raw marrow bones or knuckle bones?
I feed my dog raw bones all the time, and like you, I was nervous about it at first. The only essential rule to follow is that you must freeze the bones for at least 24 hours to kill bacteria, parasites, etc. If the bone is from a wild game animal, freeze for at least one month (less time if the animal has been butchered into smaller pieces). This may be overkill, but you want to completely, totally kill off any parasites.A lot of people thaw the bone after freezing, but I just give the frozen bones to my dog.Some people don't like to feed their dogs weight-bearing bones from large animals (such as the leg-bone a cow). Whether or not you choose to do this depends on how aggressive of a chewer your dog is... some dogs will break or crack their teeth. I personally will give my dog weight-bearing bones because he's not an ultra-aggressive chewer.Marrow bones really aren't that great for dogs because of the high fat content in marrow. Your dog will probably get the trots if he ingests too much marrow. It's fine to give him marrow bones, but just scoop out some of the marrow beforehand. I prefer to give my dog lamb bones and pork ribs because I know he won't break his teeth on those, and they're meaty enough to capture his attention. He just eats those entirely -- there's not a speck of bone or meat left. If you can get lamb necks from your local butcher, those are really great for dogs. I do not give my dog smoked bones. I know that a lot of grocers and pet stores sell them, but they splinter just like cooked bones do. That's a vet trip I'd rather avoid. I also do not give him rawhide.
My dog has been chewing his knuckles raw?
Started out with constant licking, but continuing to bite and lick so that his hair is partly gone and there are oozy spots. I have tried to wrap the leg, but he has it off in just minutes. It's his front left leg...very handy for licking any time he's lying down...
My dog chewed part of a beef knuckle or knee bone down. What signs do I look for if he is in danger?
Ohhh how I dislike those smoked bones!! Not knowing how long ago this happened, just look for signs of him straining to poop. If he's pooping OK, you have nothing to worry about. But, in the future, just give him raw soup bones from the grocery store. Raw bones don't splinter like cooked (smoked) bones do or cause blockages, either. Let him chew on it for 2 or 3 days, then get him a new one. If you live in a more rural area where there is a local butcher/meat locker, you can get them even cheaper than @ the grocery store. Any *cooked* bone can perforate, be it chicken, pork, turkey, beef, etc. *Raw* bones don't. They're much more pliable. BTW, rawhide chews are very popular & cause blockages...FWIW... ****I'd keep an eye on him for a couple of days;if everything seems to be coming out OK during that time I'm thinkin' he'll be fine.
Can I give my dog cooked ham hock bones?
Oh, I'm sure they would be. HOWEVER. They are also a huge source of fat and salt - broth of which can harm your dog. No dog should ever get cooked bones like that, either - they can quickly be sharded up, and you won't be able to get it back before it goes down the hatch. Trust me, it doesn't seem like such a treat when your dog is in surgery for bone shards, or pancreatitis. Rub the bone around on a plate, and let him lick the plate. Much safer.
What kind of bones are safe to feed my dog?
Only give your dog beef bones. Chicken and pork bones can splinter, causing severe damage to their stomachs, intestines, and bowels. Off subject, but also important to your best friend-- NO chocolate and NO onions. Both are very bad. Chocolate cannot be digested, and onions are poisonous.
How safe is it to feed a dog cooked lamb bones?
Cooked lamb, beef and pork are perfectly safe- and very good for your dog’s teeth. However cooked POULTRY bones (chicken, duck, goose, turkey, pheasant etc are extremely dangerous as they splinter easily, (even if cut up into small pieces as one person suggested to me yesterday) and can kill your dog.Raw bones (except pork) are also perfectly safe. That includes poultry. Please note I said RAW poultryWhen raw, poultry bones are soft so are not a problem. For 40 years I have followed this rule and all of my dogs have had the lovely treat (for them) of bones got from a local butcher and none have had any health related problems, nor have they ever had teeth or gum problems -as the hard bone scrapes the tartar off. My present dog is almost 8 and has lovely white teeth, just as her predecessors did.I recommend the following books by Ian BillighurstGive Your Dog a Bone: The Practical Commonsense Way to Feed Dogs for a Long Healthy LifeGrow Your Pups with Bones: BARF Programme for Breeding Healthy Dogs and Eliminating Skeletal DiseaseBoth are available in paperback editions from Amazon and Give your dog a bone is also available as an ebook
Can you give lamb bones to your dog?
The general rule with dogs is that raw bones are fine to feed a dog, cooked bones are not. Can Dogs Eat Lamb Bones? - About DoggiesYou can read the particulars there. The only worry about a raw bone, is the fact that some dogs react to raw meat and they get an upset stomach. This is a minor thing, and will not be harmful in the long run. My other advice when it comes to any bone, be it raw or a store bought item called a rawhide or "bone" is that sometimes dogs can obsess over then and continue to eat them way beyond the point of getting sick. Limit your dogs time spent with it if you see they are literally ingesting the bone, Small amounts are fine, large amounts can upset their stomachs just like too much food can. We got one of those giant rawhide bones from a store once, cut it in half and gave it to my dogs. Each had their own half. My non overeating dog chewed on it for a while then got bored and left it. The overeating dog ate it until it was gone a few hours later. Later that night I woke up and had to pee. Being internet addicted I stopped by my computer to see if I had any messages and was sitting at my desk about 10 feet from the bed where my girlfriend and dog were sleeping. It was pitch black, and I could only see the computer screen. I heard the sound of what sounded like one of the dogs drinking water from their bowl, and didn't think much of it until a few seconds later when I thought to myself, "hmm, their water bowl isn't in this room, what could that noise be?"A couple seconds later I found out as my girlfriend woke up screaming that the dog just puked in bed. I turned on the light and it looked like 10 grown men threw up 3 days worth of food each on the bed. The dog threw up right next to my girlfriend's head! The vomit was about one inch thick and spread over a couple square feet of the bed. This was not a wipe down job, but a scoop up job, there was so much of it. Needless to say not much sleep was gotten that night, but a lot of cleaning happened! Since then we never let her have any bones she is obsessing over for too long, as we do not want a repeat of that situation. I am sure you don't want that either!
Is it bad to give cooked bones to dogs?
Don't blame me if your dogs get injured based on my advice.I have been told by many people how bad it is to give cooked or uncooked bones of various types. Usually they disagree if I say anything otherwise. Sometimes when I tell them I do it, they look at me like I am a dog killer and avoid talking to me. I need to not talk about this I guess.I have had 7 to 10 dogs for the last 8 years. None have died or been injured from eating bones.I give whole raw cow bones from the butcher to my dogs every couple weeks. A big bag of them.I am curious if it would cause them a problem if the bones were cooked since some people say so. Recently I gave cooked cow and pork bones to my dogs and nothing bad seemed to happen. And I have done it more times now too. And I have given cooked and uncooked rabbit bones to my dogs. And cooked chicken bones.Perhaps a problem will happen someday.I had a dog get a stick lodged sideways in his throat twice and I had to get in the with vice grips to pull it out. So one could say that you should not let your dog run free in places with stick. My pack of 7 dogs runs in the forest all day every day... so I guess I am willing to risk that as well.I could be wrong, but all the evidence I see indicates you can give cooked and uncooked bones to dogs.It appears that dogs, coming from an evolutionary hunting background can eat bones. And I have yet to see a problem with cooked bones. Domesticated dogs have co-evolved with humans eating our food waste.People are so often delusional in their thoughts on risk, that I suspect they are fearfully wrong about this.I love my dogs. They are my friends and I am committed to care for them. We take risks together.You can see my other answers about dogs here: Dogs - Bosque Village Notes
Is it ok for a dog to eat beef jerky...as a little treat?
Beef jerky made for humans is typically very salty. Too much sodium isn't good for dogs. (Beef jerky isn't toxic, so if you dog manages to get ahold of some, it won't kill it. But it's not healthy to give on a regular basis.) There are jerky-like treats that you can get for your dog that would be a much healthier treat: - Wellness Pure Rewards http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/dog_welln... - ZiwiPeak 'Good-Dog' Treats http://www.ziwipeak.com/Products/ZiwiPea... - Merrick fillets http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/dog_... .