[eddie1976E]

my dog recently cracked a tooth on a femur bone from petco and I was wondering if there are any "safe" bones to give to the dog. She is 45lbs and a GSD mix. She is 10 yrs old and I want to keep her teeth healthy. Thanks

Eddie

 

[LittleMiko]

Eddie, I just joined this month too, and also started the BARF/Raw diet about 3 weeks ago. So I still have much to learn....
If you look into some of the recent thread under BARF, you'll find much discussion of bones.... The consensus I gather, is don't give ANY Cooked bones. They easily splinter, with risk of internal injury.

For raw bones, I've seen recommended to avoid the big weight-bearing bones, femurs, etc, especially of animals bigger than your dog.

The raw smaller chicken neck bones and beef ribs are a couple which most writers advise. My GSD/Lab handles them without a problem.

There is also the website, rawdogranch, which is recommended in some of the threads, as a good reference.



Hopefully, you'll get a response from someone more experienced than me. Good Luck!

 

[Elaine]

Yes, never give those cement-like bones that you buy in the store to your dog as there is a very good chance of breaking teeth on them. I just don't know why they are even sold with all the damage they cause.

If you want to give bones, make sure they are fresh - not cooked in any way - and smaller. Your dog will either eat them quickly or within in a day or two. Rib bones are nice and so are turkey necks.

You can always brush your dog's teeth too to keep them in good shape.

 

[onyx'girl]

The rule of thumb when feeding bones is to NOT give any weight bearing bones of mammals. I know people do all the time and suggest it, but unless the animal is very young, those bones are hard. And after they dry out they are even harder. I seldom even feed rib bones to my dogs, and they have very strong teeth. Not worth the risk of a broken tooth which can be very expen$ive to repair.
For recreational bones go to a butcher or meat processer and get fresh beef knucklebones, the cartilege is beneficial.

 

[Stosh]

If you have a butcher close by, see if they sell knuckle bones- ours sells a 5lb bag of beef for $4.00 and $2.95 for deer bones.

 

[1sttimeforgsd]

I also feed raw beef knucklebones for recreational chewing, and welcome.

 

[eddie1976E]

Thanks for all your comments. I think I will be looking into the beef knuckles as well as the turkey necks. My fiancée and Sadies mom, will have a fit about feeding raw bones to the dog. We are not feeding BARF, but I would love to begin. She has an issue with that....some people have a mental block against feeding what dogs should be fed. I haven't been able to open her mind to it. She won't even read about it...just not willing to be open to it. I'm hoping if I start slow with the bones, she may come around. I do sneak the dog some raw beef and on occasion and she loves it..... shhh don't tell the fiancée.

 

[onyx'girl]

Don't do anything that will upset your dogs digestion. If you feed a raw diet, it must have balance of bone, meat and organs or you'll be doing a disservice to your dog.
Don't call the diet BARF; make it sound exotic and maybe your fiance will change her mind??