Feeding bones daily?

[SheriS]

@Dr. Jeff, @Dr. Christina, @Dr. Jean Hofve,
Is it safe to give my one yr old puppy a beef bone every day as described below?

I typically give it to him after he has finished a meal for teeth cleaning, enjoyment and nutrition.
I make sure to scrape most of the marrow off, as it is otherwise too rich and causes him to vomit. There is also very little meat on it when the butcher gives it to me. I wish there was more meat, I could give it to him as a meal. Thank you for any insights.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Is it safe to give my one yr old puppy a beef bone every day as described below?

Is the bone eatable? Or is it a marrow bone?

Raw Meaty Bones for Dogs - Our top tips

www.drconorbrady.com

 

[SheriS]

Is the bone eatable? Or is it a marrow bone?

Raw Meaty Bones for Dogs - Our top tips

www.drconorbrady.com

He can not eat it so I guess that means it's a marrow bone..?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Sounds like it.

@GinnyW do you have anything you'd like to share about feeding RMB to a smaller pup?

 

[GinnyW]

Yep; smaller, more edible bones Chicken necks, for instance, or backs. Small slabs of two or three pork ribs. Turkey wingtips, or smaller neck vertebrae. Sections of oxtail, one bone at a time. Bones are extremely nutritious - a valuable source of nutrients not found elsewhere. A large marrow bone can provide limited edible nutrition, but may also - in a vigorous pup- just be too hard, to the point of chipping/fracturing a young tooth. This is a whole discipline in itself - knowing your dog, observing what works, what is possibly a bit dangerous...(more than one raw feeder has said that they USED to have dogs as a hobby, but now it was FEEDING dogs...) Just a little thought and observation will get you comfy with variety, and provide more nutrition along with the exercise he needs. ...Just an anecdote: a longtime friend switched to raw at my behest, for her two year-old 55-60 lb. terriers. They got two chicken backs only, daily for the rest of their lives - years and died at good ages of wholly diet-unrelated causes. The lessons? Raw works. And the body is pretty much able to extract all it needs from nearly whole prey.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Beautiful Ginny, thanks for sharing!

 

[SheriS]

Yep; smaller, more edible bones Chicken necks, for instance, or backs. Small slabs of two or three pork ribs. Turkey wingtips, or smaller neck vertebrae. Sections of oxtail, one bone at a time. Bones are extremely nutritious - a valuable source of nutrients not found elsewhere. A large marrow bone can provide limited edible nutrition, but may also - in a vigorous pup- just be too hard, to the point of chipping/fracturing a young tooth. This is a whole discipline in itself - knowing your dog, observing what works, what is possibly a bit dangerous...(more than one raw feeder has said that they USED to have dogs as a hobby, but now it was FEEDING dogs...) Just a little thought and observation will get you comfy with variety, and provide more nutrition along with the exercise he needs. ...Just an anecdote: a longtime friend switched to raw at my behest, for her two year-old 55-60 lb. terriers. They got two chicken backs only, daily for the rest of their lives - years and died at good ages of wholly diet-unrelated causes. The lessons? Raw works. And the body is pretty much able to extract all it needs from nearly whole prey.

Thank you Ginny! Our pup is not eating raw too much. He doesn't seem to go for it. We'll try to eliminate the veggies on the next batch and see if that changes per @Dr. Jeff. He does love the bones we have been giving him but they are too big according to all the info we've gotten. Thanks again.

 

[SheriS]

@Dr. Jeff @GinnyW
Is it okay to give him the beef bone to gnaw on, or is that a possible tooth chipper? He seems to enjoy the activity as apposed to just lying around.

 

[GinnyW]

Yep; it's a possible tooth chipper....but we take chances in life, eh? I'd much rather see him get something he can consume, like a chicken back. His exact behavior with the bone - is he carefully nibbling at edges or protuberances, or chomping down repeatedly on solid areas, for instance - and its makeup: is this a big knuckle from a mature beef cow, or from a younger, softer animal? can he actually get edible bits off it or does it resist? If it stays more or less intact, it's not providing much in the way of nutrition, of course - and something he could actually get bits off of might be more fun and certainly more nutritious. As I tried to convey, feeding raw with bones requires some consideration. But it's always way better than any "toy" bone you'll find in pet stores....let us know how it goes, OK?

 

[SheriS]

Yep; it's a possible tooth chipper....but we take chances in life, eh? I'd much rather see him get something he can consume, like a chicken back. His exact behavior with the bone - is he carefully nibbling at edges or protuberances, or chomping down repeatedly on solid areas, for instance - and its makeup: is this a big knuckle from a mature beef cow, or from a younger, softer animal? can he actually get edible bits off it or does it resist? If it stays more or less intact, it's not providing much in the way of nutrition, of course - and something he could actually get bits off of might be more fun and certainly more nutritious. As I tried to convey, feeding raw with bones requires some consideration. But it's always way better than any "toy" bone you'll find in pet stores....let us know how it goes, OK?

@GinnyW
Thanks so much for your help here!
It is a leg bone I think. It has lots of marrow which I've been scraping out bc he vomits when having too much. He's scraping his teeth against it trying to get whatever he can off, I believe. It really keeps him occupied, but it doesn't have much nutrtion, I'm gathering. It sounds rather loud when he's working on it at times and does make me think it's too hard of a bone for him. Yeah, it's a hard bone that does not break down to swallow. i also give him a cleaner rawhide and a vegan bone Dr. Jeff recommened. He loves those when he doesn't have the real thing.

 

[NancyK]

My dogs are small and ate mostly chicken wings and necks for bone. I gave marrow bones a few times for recreation, however I did not care for the way they would stick their lower jaw inside. Not only could it get stuck, it could hurt their teeth.

Nancy

 

[GinnyW]

Agreed, Nancy. There are many other options for edible bones - I have never seen the need for what many raw feeders call "wreck" bones. Of course, edible bone should never be fed to the point of causing constipation. And, IMO, dogs should not need to be "sedated', "occupied" or "charmed" in order to be kenneled; they need their rest, and should be fine with patient waiting. If they are not, there is a serious hole in their training, or a character problem which perhaps could be addressed with proper classical homeopathic prescribing.

 

[NancyK]

Agreed, Nancy. There are many other options for edible bones - I have never seen the need for what many raw feeders call "wreck" bones. Of course, edible bone should never be fed to the point of causing constipation. And, IMO, dogs should not need to be "sedated', "occupied" or "charmed" in order to be kenneled; they need their rest, and should be fine with patient waiting. If they are not, there is a serious hole in their training, or a character problem which perhaps could be addressed with proper classical homeopathic prescribing.

Agreed. I have never seen the need for recreational bones or chews of any kind because their raw food with edible bones was recreation enough. After mine would enjoy their food, they would snooze in their beds contentedly.

Nancy