Dogs and Bones?

[Rustic23]

We have a Border Collie. Tonight we gave him a spare rib bone. He waisted no time finishing it off. My wife said 'I hope it does not pierce his intestines'. My view was that were would be a whole lot of wolfs, coyotes, and wild dogs laying around bleeding if eating bones was a problem.

.... But, I thought I would ask what others thought, and if anyone really had any good studies on this.

 

[Khan]

From what I have read, raw bones and very well cooked bones are not a problem

 

[Midpack]

Michelle Shanson, The Veterinary Blonde: Bones are BAD for dogs!

You can find any answer you want to the question of bones for dogs. I would not take a chance with one of my dogs so I err on the side of caution. There are plenty of safer ways to keep your dogs teeth clean and nourished.

 

[Martha]

I know that there is controversy about this but I have a vet friend and she says (1) any bones can splinter or break. Even knuckle bones, which won't splinter, can be swallowed and cause obstructions (2) wolves didn't eat bones. They ate the meat and broke some bones to lick out the marrow.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

I don't give my Lucky any bones as I am afraid of splintering, possible stomach upset. He mostly eats dry dog food supplemented with a small amount of table food like a little lean meat, cottage cheese, crunchy veggies or an apple slice. I have things like nylabones or gumabones for him to gnaw.

 

[Orchidflower]

Me, also...no real bones as I'm afraid of splintering. WhoDaresWins said it for me.
Our dog used to eat just about anything at all, so he ate lots of oranges, apples and anything crunchy for those clean teeth. I had to put him down recently as he was losing all bladder control at 15, but his breath was still kissing sweet (thank God!).

 

[honobob]

My dogs get shrimp shells and bones from stocks since they are so mushy after hours of simmering. I would not give a hard bone to my dogs.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Raw bones are considered okay by some. Howver, I generally do not give any sort of bones to my somewhat extensive border collie collection. It is just not worth the risk. I do cook chicken for them sometimes and give them the meat, and my father has been known to slip some pork skin to them after cooking a pig, but that is about it.
As I understand it, the danger is from cooked bones in particular. I believe in feeding a mid-range brand complete dry food and not very many treats.

 

[Tesaje]

Wolves did eat raw bones of any small prey they caught. Wolves eat copious numbers of mice, rabbits, voles, etc in addition to culling the herds of the infirm larger animals. I've been feeding my dog raw bones and she is doing very well on the raw diet. Not to mention she is so enthusiastic about her dinner. Immediate improvement to her fur, no breath issues, her "doggie" odor gone in a week, lots of energy and she lost some excess weight. I did have to acclimate her to it. I also know other dogs that do tremendously well on the raw diet. Cooked bones are a big problem. Cooking the bones makes them brittle.

 

[freebird5825]

I'm a mean mommy. No bones at all for my kids. Not worth the risk.

Diet is dry dog food, crunchy dry biscuit treats, with a very occasional piece of pizza crust or cheese slice or their favorite - cooked up chicken giblets.

 

[ronin]

Had a dog die from eating a live chicken (well it probably wasn't alive long). Generally, they can pass all manner of stuff but sometimes not. Never give my dog bones. I guess we don't normally see dead wolves and coyotes but it doesn't mean they don't die.

 

[Khan]

Had a dog die from eating a live chicken (well it probably wasn't alive long). Generally, they can pass all manner of stuff but sometimes not. Never give my dog bones. I guess we don't normally see dead wolves and coyotes but it doesn't mean they don't die.

It's hard to imagine canids evolved to not eat raw bones.

 

[Glo]

We don't give our dogs bones; in fact, no people food for them except once in a while popcorn. They get dry dog food, which is mainly lamb and rice.

 

[Dawg52]

No bones for mine either. She does enjoy her nylabone.

Just recently my golden retriever was diagnosed with Megaesophagus disease.(dilated esophagus) Man.......a difficult disease to deal with. I have to feed her wet dog food rolled up as little meat balls and have her prop up on my lap, feeding her each meat ball one by one. Water elevated too so it will go down the pipe easily. Suppose to keep her elevated for 15 minutes afterward and let gravity work the food down to her stomach. I'm doing good to get 5 minutes out of her. If the food doesn't go down and hangs in the esophagus, then later they usually throw it up. Plus I have to feed her several small meals a day.

So what was once an easy task of scooping dry kibble out of a bag and into the bowl has turned into a pretty good chore. But I'm a good daddy. So I do it.

 

[ronin]

It's hard to imagine canids evolved to not eat raw bones.

People choke on food and die. Stuff happens.

 

[Rustic23]

following 'people choke on food' we should not feed our dogs or kids for that matter!

 

[Sarah in SC]

Rustic, let me assure you that I've never fed children to my dogs.
But I have surely wanted to on a few memorable occasions !

 

[FUEGO]

Rustic, let me assure you that I've never fed children to my dogs.
But I have surely wanted to on a few memorable occasions !

I know the feeling.


In some parts of the world, there is a saying: You can feed your dogs to children, but you can't feed your children to dogs. Tasteless, I know...

 

[Bestwifeever]

Remember the olden days for dogs (when they had a life expectancy of about five years from getting hit by cars, running away never to be seen again, or eating something poisonous)? The lucky ones got a rabies shot and a bath every year. Every once in a while you saw two dogs "fighting" because one was in heat and neither was "fixed."

Ah the good old days. My family's first dog, in 1957, just showed up at our back door one day. Bones, cooked or raw, were a special treat part in his diet. He just disappeared after about a year.

Our last dog--1993-2006--led quite a different life. Never had table food or a "real" bone, never missed a vaccination. By the time she died, she was on more medications than DH and I take put together.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Chicken bones for sure are a no-no as they splinter easily and you don't want your dog to ingest those shreds. I've heard the same about pork chop bones. No personal experiences but my daughter says one of her dogs died some years ago and she is sure it was from a pork chop bone. Talk to you vet as I'm sure they would be glad to give you the straight scoop.

 

[Achiever51]

No animal bones for my three dogs...especially after the emergency vet hospital visit for the Border Collie after a part of a rib bone got stuck crosswise in his throat! No rawhide chews as all three dogs have trouble digesting them. Only Nylabones now, and once the ends get well chewed up, they go into the trash too.

Several years ago, before the rib bone incident, I went online looking for a cheap source of rawhide chews and placed an order. Shortly afterward, I got a reply saying they were out of this particular chew, but would I accept a substitute. I agreed. A few days later, I found a heavy, soggy, grease stained box on my front porch. I opened it and nearly gagged -- inside were the leg bones with knee joint attached from a recently departed cow!!

 

[Sarah in SC]

Oohh, GROSS!

One other caution--my dogs eat sticks--crazy border collies, and I've had at least a half dozen occasions where a small piece of a stick has gotten wedged across the roof of their mouths.

If your dog seems ever to be drooling, tentative about eating, or the tell-tale one, pawing at their mouths, then take a look and feel up there. One of ours had to be put under to get the really small one that had embedded in his mouth right behind his teeth. He was so stoic that we never even knew it.

 

[ronin]

The other thing about big bones (that she can't swallow whole) is that she'll quickly slink off and bury it in the yard, and then the grungy thing reappears periodically over the year as she digs it out, messes with it a bit, and then re-buries it in a new secret spot. I give her a treat called a "marrow bone", which for her is to-die-for. It's pretty high calorie so once a week is about it.