Raw Bone Storage

[M.L.]

I know this has been answered before, but I can't find the post. I give the dogs a raw bone to chew on every couple of days for about 15 minutes at a time. I've been storing them in the freezer (suggested here on the board) but the dogs don't like to chew on them right out of the freezer. I usually leave them sit at room temperature for awhile, then give them to the dogs. I take the bones after the 15 minutes and put them back in the freezer until next time.

 

Could I put them in the fridge between chewings instead? And if I did, how long could I store them in the fridge for? Or is this not a good idea due to bacteria?

 

Thanks in advance.

[mbc1963]

Something sounds off to me about thawing and refreezing meat like that. I've never been clear WHY, but my mother was always saying, "I thawed it, and now I have to cook it. I can't put it back in the freezer!"

 

I've been buying turkey necks and freezing them, then giving them to Buddy about once a week. I just let him take whatever time he needs to finish them. If he had a harder raw bone, I'd be worried about bacteria breeding in it after a short time. (A bone is a really ideal place for bacteria to breed, with the marrow and all.)

 

Of course, our childhood dogs just got bones and took off with them, and obviously in the wild they're eating from a carcass for an extended time. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that their stomachs have superior germ-killing substances than ours.

 

Mary

[M.L.]

I remember somebody posting that refreezing them keeps any bacteria from surviving.

[Sue R]

I think the issue against thawing and refreezing is two-fold - first, that you will lose quality to freeze, thaw, refreeze, rethaw, and so on. Second is that, if the meat should be thawed long enough for bacteria to multiply, refreezing may stop bacterial growth, but won't destroy any toxins (or fix any damage).

 

I use one of several methods - I either refreeze the bones (if I'm not using them again shortly), refridgerate the bones (if I'm not using them for a day or two), or just keep them at room temp (if I'm using them again later in the day or the next day) which I realize really allows bacterial growth.

 

Some of my dogs go right at the bones even when frozen, and some wait a bit for them to thaw or at least warm up some before eating (they get them in their crates).

 

Given a choice, I'd prefer to feed non-frozen generally but refridgerated, but I'm not always prepared in advance to do that. Plus, cold bones seem appealing in hot weather, and we don't have A/C.

[M.L.]

My main reason for giving bones is for teeth cleaning. I'm not really concerned about the nutritional value of the bones since the dogs eat a mix of home cooked and kibble.

 

The dogs pretty much clean the meat off the first time they get the bones.

 

This whole bone thing is a pain! I do notice that their teeth look better, though.

[herdcentral]

I give my dogs a bone each once a week. A large shin bone sliced vertically in half and all get a half each. I just leave the bones with them. They spend hours over the next couple of days chewing and running around with the bones in the backyard. Then at the end of each week I pick them up and give them new ones, usually straight from the freezer, although I like to soften them up a bit first so I can scoop out all the fatty marrow.