Bones and the Runs...

[B Point]

Well, some of you may remember my little pup had some bad runny poop issues. Now, he's 5 months and on Orijen and all is cool on the do-do front. He's great with all kinds of raw meat as well but I got a bag of beef and lamb bones for him to chew on and bamm.....back to the runs. It was mostly the beef bone I think with the marrow and I only let him have it for about 10 minutes or so but that was enough. He chewed up a couple lamb bones a few days before and his poop was a little soft but not like the water it is now.

 

I was thinking of maybe scooping out the marrow and trying that but these bones also have a fair bit of fat/meat on them. Any thoughts?

 

Another thing I noticed is I really need to address his resource guarding with the bones. It was pretty tough finding something of equal/greater value to trade...haha.. It's interesting how a bone can switch on the "animal" in them...

[Howling Farmer]

In my (limited) experience, it's been the marrow that caused the problem. Scooping some of it out seems to work. My small dog seems particularly susceptible to "the problem" and gets the bones that my BC has already eaten most if not all of the marrow out of.

 

Leslie

[B Point]

Also, what's your take on the lamb bones? He mulches them up pretty good by the time he gets them swallowed but I hear so many people saying to not give them these smaller "edible" bones. Of course, these are raw and frozen. Common sense tells me it shouldn't be an issue but I'd like to know what the consensus here is.

[Alchemist]

I'm sure you'll encounter lots of diverging opinions. I'm not personally a big fan of giving bones (esp. weight-bearing bones, the really hard kind, as opposed to the sort that can be chewed up and swallowed) to dogs as many dogs will break their canines chewing hard bones. I've heard it's one of the leading causes of broken teeth in dogs. I've read somewhere that adult teeth are more prone to fracture when dogs are young (and teeth haven't fully hardened) than when they're older.

 

I limit my dogs to frozen raw chicken or turkey (necks, wings, carcasses). They won't splinter the way cooked poultry will; not hard enough to fracture teeth, hard enough to give the teeth a good cleaning.

 

But you'll find just as many dissenting opinions as you'll encounter if you ask about raw vs kibble.

 

YMMV.

[mum24dog]

I'm sure you'll encounter lots of diverging opinions. I'm not personally a big fan of giving bones (esp. weight-bearing bones, the really hard kind, as opposed to the sort that can be chewed up and swallowed) to dogs as many dogs will break their canines chewing hard bones. I've heard it's one of the leading causes of broken teeth in dogs. I've read somewhere that adult teeth are more prone to fracture when dogs are young (and teeth haven't fully hardened) than when they're older.

 

I limit my dogs to frozen raw chicken or turkey (necks, wings, carcasses). They won't splinter the way cooked poultry will; not hard enough to fracture teeth, hard enough to give the teeth a good cleaning.

 

But you'll find just as many dissenting opinions as you'll encounter if you ask about raw vs kibble.

 

YMMV.

 

I would take it on a dog by dog basis.

 

Out of 6 dogs I have had just one that started to crack teeth on hard bones at the age of about 7 so he stopped having them. The cracks never caused him any problems but clearly his teeth weren't as strong as they should be.

 

The other 5 still had them and even my little 13 year old mongrel can gnaw away with the best of them without adverse effects.

 

You have to balance the dental benefit against the possible dental harm to an individual dog. The dog that didn't have hard bones had more of a problem with tartar build up than the others. I haven't found that softer bones like chicken wings are as effective at keeping teeth clean and they are expensive for multiple dogs, plus they don't keep the dogs busy for ages like a big bone does.

[roscoe11]

When Dexter was a pup raw bones gave him the runs. As he got older and got use to eating the bones regularly they do not bother him anymore

[GentleLake]

I'm sure you'll encounter lots of diverging opinions. I'm not personally a big fan of giving bones (esp. weight-bearing bones, the really hard kind, as opposed to the sort that can be chewed up and swallowed) to dogs as many dogs will break their canines chewing hard bones. I've heard it's one of the leading causes of broken teeth in dogs.

 

What I've been told is that it's the weight bearing (i.e. leg) bones of large ungulates such as cattle that are the problem. Many raw feeders say that weight bearing bones of smaller animals like sheep, goats, deer, and poultry are OK.

 

That said, I tend to avoid deer legs and turkey leg bones (I don't have access to the other types) because I don't trust the way they splinter. I know that they should be able to digest them (raw, of course. None of this applies to cooked bones, which should never be fed under any circumstances), thus blunting the sharp edges, but they make me nervous, even though I've never had any problems the few times I've fed them.

 

I do feed chicken legs, though, without worrying about them.

 

For the OP, in general, edible bones tend to firm stool rather than the other way 'round. Since the beef marrow bones aren't edible, my guess is that the high fat content of the marrow was the culprit. Marrow is very nutritious, but it takes some dogs some time to acclimate to it. Removing part and saving it for another feeding may be the best approach. (If I get marrow bones, I'll remove the marrow and toss the bones as I'm afraid of tooth breakage.)

 

The sheep bones may have had more fat than your pup was used to, as well. Lamb and mutton are fatty meats, so often cause some digestive issues for dogs just being introduced to it (and pork, too.)

[Sue R]

Someone said, "Regularly." I think that can be key. What my dogs are accustomed to and co.sume on a regular basis, does not upset them the way that same item might when they haven't been gradually accustomed to it.

 

And there are just some dogs that simply can't tolerate or handle certain food items.