Do you give bones to your dog?

rev229

Why no cooked bones? I gave my dog a cooked lambs bone a while back she enjoyed it but had rather loose stools the next day. She does ahve a very sensitive tummy. Chicken drumsticks raw can they be given?

TomsMom

rev229 wrote: »

Why no cooked bones? I gave my dog a cooked lambs bone a while back she enjoyed it but had rather loose stools the next day. She does ahve a very sensitive tummy. Chicken drumsticks raw can they be given?

Cooked bones splinter, they shouldn't be given. Also weight bearing bones shouldn't be given as they are very hard and can damage a dog's teeth.

Raw chicken drumsticks are fine, and chicken wings, chicken carcasses, chicken quarters etc, in fact all parts of a chicken including feet if you wish. The bones are softer. Turkey drumsticks too if your dog is big enough.

I'm just starting my dog on raw and have spent a lot of time reading up and asking questions on a pet forum about this.

sarah*a

OnAndUp wrote: »

Can they actually eat the pig trotters or do they just chew/bite them? See I'm totally clueless!! :eek:

Never anything left of them except big meaty smiles when my two have them

Runningbackwards_2

threemuttleys wrote: »

absolutely he can..if you are worried, go for a Chicken leg, and hold one end with some pliers (till he can be trusted) I have a friend with a Chi who eats raw!

My 3 love bones - the chihuahua included! I just source small enough chicken wings or small legs for her, and as the other posters have pointed out ALWAYS RAW - I do wash them though

The chi does try to pinch the larger dogs bones - very comical seeing her struggle with something that is nearly as big as her! :rotfl:

sarah*a

Runningbackwards wrote: »

The chi does try to pinch the larger dogs bones - very comical seeing her struggle with something that is nearly as big as her! :rotfl:

:rotfl: My little - blind! - terrier is often found trying to drag a bone twice his size up the stairs - he'll drop it half a dozen times but will keep going back and getting it until he can pull it all the way up and into his 'nest' under the bed :rotfl:

Of course, as soon as he leaves it to get a drink/go for a wee our big girl carries it back downstairs and it all starts again :rotfl:

Bones are not just good for them they are entertaining too

Mupette

I thought chicken bones were bad for dogs because they can splinter being so small and all that?

TomsMom

Mupette wrote: »

I thought chicken bones were bad for dogs because they can splinter being so small and all that?

If they are cooked they will splinter and can cause internal damage.

Raw chicken bones are soft. You need to "teach" your dog to eat them by holding them at first and letting them get used to how to chew them.

I think there will forever be debate about this but you have to read up and make your own mind up. There is plenty of information to be found, google Raw Meaty Bones or BARF Diet or Feeding Your Dog Raw (or something similar), maybe check out Petforums sticky Raw Feeding - everything you need to know.

tango

This has made me think,I suspect that we have all been heavily influenced by the pet food manufactures.... " Give your dog this food its complete and you don't need to feed anything else" Also feed anything else and your dog/cat won't get all their nutrients"

Maybe its made us lazy and too reliable. I will be feeding more bones and looking at the RAW way,but also feed kibble too

TomsMom

tango wrote: »

This has made me think,I suspect that we have all been heavily influenced by the pet food manufactures.... " Give your dog this food its complete and you don't need to feed anything else" Also feed anything else and your dog/cat won't get all their nutrients"

Maybe its made us lazy and too reliable. I will be feeding more bones and looking at the RAW way,but also feed kibble too

I am, at the moment, introducing raw gradually, purely because I have a case of Naturediet and almost a whole bag of Burns and I can't afford to waste them. I am doing 2 days raw, 2 days commercial.

I've read that you should not mix raw and kibble in the same meal because of the differing rates of digestion, kibble will digest more slowly (approx 12 hours), raw takes about 4-6 hours, so the kibble will slow down the digestion of the raw. I've been advised by an experienced raw feeder that if you do feed both on the same day then feed raw for breakfast and kibble (or other commercial) for tea time as the raw will have digested by tea time and the kibble will have overnight to digest.

rev229

I have bought some chicken wings, dog thought i had gone mad!! Had one yesterday and finially worked out it was for eating! Can she be given them frozen? That way they would last longer a bit like her forzen kong.