A Bone to Chew?

[AgileBC]

I've read on other parts of the list that some bones are too hard and will damage dogs' teeth. These sounded like they were leg bones, which seems to be what I see the most of.

I've heard that raw bones are great for a dogs teeth when you can get them.

 

So, my question is... What are the safest bones for my dog (38lb female BC) to chew on, or for dogs to chew in general?

I don't want to wear down (or break!) my dog's teeth. I do want to clean them!

 

Also, should the dog be able to actually eat the entire bone?

 

Thanks, from the clueless

[vaporflowers]

It really depends on the kind of chewer your dog is, but yes, generally "weight bearing bones" from large animals are considered too hard. Marrow bones from the butcher are cow femurs, and some dogs will chew on the bone with their molars. Since the bone doesn't have any "give", it can lead to slab fractures of the back teeth.

 

I do give my dogs marrow bones occasionally, with strict supervision. I could not have given those bones to my late dog Jack, who had proven to be a hard, back-teeth chewer. My current dogs are gentler about their chewing habits. They don't eat the femurs, but they do eat the marrow.

 

My dogs regularly ingest raw chicken and turkey bones, as well as some lamb bones. They pick the meat off of rib bones and generally don't eat them.

 

For recreational chewing, I usually give the dogs rubber Kongs filled with peanut butter or super-sized Nylabones (the "puppy" strength, which is sort of an in-between level of hardness).

[WildFlower]

Hello.

 

I just started giving Daisy frozen marrow bones. I only give her them for about 15 - 30 minutes at a crack and then refreeze. I only give them to her when I can supervise. Daisy is what I would consider a power chewer. She destroys most toys. Aside from the marrow bone treat she has nylabones/rings and kongs for daily chewing.

[Guest maya's mom]

I don't think this qualifies as a "bone", but we give Maya bully sticks. They are a natural animal part, so they can be ingested, and Maya has eaten the last few inches whole, without problems. (Though I do supervise her and usually take them from her once she is putting the whole thing in her mouth.) They are very hard, and are the only thing that she can chew on that will last longer than 20 minutes! Depending on the thickness of the bully stick, we can get anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour of chewing out of one, which gives us some nice, peaceful TV time! The hardness also helps with her teeth. They are beautiful and clean, and we brush weekly.

[Dal & Mad's Mom]

I don't think this qualifies as a "bone", but we give Maya bully sticks. They are a natural animal part, so they can be ingested, and Maya has eaten the last few inches whole, without problems. (Though I do supervise her and usually take them from her once she is putting the whole thing in her mouth.) They are very hard, and are the only thing that she can chew on that will last longer than 20 minutes! Depending on the thickness of the bully stick, we can get anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour of chewing out of one, which gives us some nice, peaceful TV time! The hardness also helps with her teeth. They are beautiful and clean, and we brush weekly.

 

 

I was able to buy raw veal neck bones for 99 cents a lb the other day. I gave them to the dogs outdoors so I'm not exactly sure what they did after stripping off the meat but, then I got worried if they were really safe.

[AgileBC]

Thanks for the responses, I think I will order some bully sticks.

 

~Jessica

[juliepoudrier]

I feed pork neck bones, ribs, shoulder, deer vertebrae--pretty much anything but cow femurs (that is, I've never had a problem with weight-bearing bones of smaller ruminants like small sheep and deer. Dogs will consume the smaller stuff--if I give them ribs or neck bones for example, there's generally nothing left when they're done. Pork neckbones can sometimes have some sharp or pointy edges but I've never had a dog have a problem with them. And if there's some raw meat on the bones for the dogs to chew off that really gives them a good chewing workout.

 

J.

[BNM1980]

Hello.

 

I just started giving Daisy frozen marrow bones. I only give her them for about 15 - 30 minutes at a crack and then refreeze. I only give them to her when I can supervise. Daisy is what I would consider a power chewer. She destroys most toys. Aside from the marrow bone treat she has nylabones/rings and kongs for daily chewing.

 

"Power chewer", that sounds like my dog. I put a hardy-looking plastic chew toy in his crate a few days ago. In the morning it was gone... He vomited it up, in little pieces, around lunch time.