Rmb - raw meaty bones

[technodoll]

Do you let the dogs completely consume the bone, or do you take it away at some point? When our dogs chew the SHIN bones down, we take them away and give them another. As far as durability of bones, are knuckles as durable as shin bones?

Knucklebones are softer and gentler on the teeth than shin bones, as they contain more cartilege, but they are still super tough and durable... most butchers will give them away, or almost since knucklebones are for recreational chewing (not food like chicken legs, for example) most dogs will chew on the same bone for days and days. just rinse and store in the fridge or freezer after a chewing session to keep it fresh for up to a week.

Now, I saw on the website that you can feed wild birds, so I would assume that includes goose. Do they eat the bones as well or just the meat? The website said you just give the whole, cleaned bird to them. My dad hunts goose and I am always leary of the bird flu epidemic. How do I know if their raw goose meat is safe for them to consume? Why did you say to stay away from raw, wild Alaskan salmon? I sometimes feed Aspen COOKED, wild Aslakan Salmon, is that OK? I will not feed them farm-raised fish of any kind, as I won't even eat it. Most of the fish in the stores in WI primarily sell farm-raised stuff.

I personally have zero experience with wild game (venison or birds!)... all i know is that goose is quite fatty and i would make sure to clean most of the skin and fat off before feeding the meat-on-bone... the bigger the bird, the bigger the bones so make sure you feed size-appropriate pieces.

raw wild pacific salmon can contain a parasite that is fatal to dogs (cooking or freezing kills the parasite), here is some information on the subject: http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/salmon.asp

[Goldens4Ever]

Very good info. My vet sells raw diets by Bravo! So, they have the knuckle bones, but I do not know if they only come in beef, as I think my little one may be allergic to beef. I hope I can fine a lamb one....? I will definitely check, as they much prefer bones with smells and meat on them.....duh! The sterilized shin bones are a safe alternative, but not very interesting or tasty.
I will call the vet and see about some knuckle bones. Goldie is an EXTREMELY aggressive chewer, and Aspen is not. When we get them really tasty bones, we have to section them off in the house so Goldie doesn't attack Aspen to get her bone Sometimes Aspen will back off and let her have both, but on a rare occassion, she will put up a fight to keep hers. And then sometimes she will whine at me to get her bone from Goldie, LOL; very cute.

About fish, I am glad that I saw that article, although I still like the idea you said in another thread about canned fish. I am going to definitely mix some of that stuff for Aspen.

[technodoll]

G4E, you will save a LOT of $$ by getting your knucklebones fresh from your local butchers - trust me! any ungulate will yield knucklebones (lamb, goat, pork, beef, venison, etc) so it's just a matter of finding a butcher that carries what you need. i've seen the markup on those Frozen Diet Raw Bones and it's highway robbery! and they're not fresh, either. AND the butcher can saw the bone into as many pieces as you want, and the size you want. anyways... just my opinion

[Goldens4Ever]

What is a femur bone? Is that as durable as a shin or knuckle?

[technodoll]

knucklebone is essentially the knee (joint) and femur & shin are the thick, straight leg bones, with or without the joint at the end.

here are some photos, unfortunately all these bones are smoked (ie, cooked) so NOT a good choice, you want raw, fresh, and still holding some scraps of tasty meat and not greasy carcinogens and artificial flavor!

cut femur bone:



intact femur bone:



knucklebone:

[Goldens4Ever]

Great-thank you. I did not know that a femur bone was the same as a shin bone; those are the ones that we buy, the cut femurs/shins. Until now, I did not know that the smoking process actually cooked the bones. But, when I think about it now, it is the same as the process for smoking meats, in that it is a cooking process.

As far as where to purchase the bones, when you say butcher, are you referring to a meat place inside of a grocery store or a privately-owned meat market? I think there might be a difference between the two in terms of quality of meats....? If I purchase more than one bone, do I just freeze the others until I am ready to use them? What would I wrap them in? If the bones contain a substantial amount of meat, how 'fresh' should they be? Cut that very day, the day before, two days before, etc.?

I haven't looked into my vet's price for bones, but I wouldn't doubt that you are right about the higher prices. Have you heard about Bravo! raw food diets? Canadians probably have greater access to fresh meat markets than us Wisconsinites, as most people simply get their meat from the grocery store.

[Scott_B]

I find it pretty hard to find things cheap. I actually get all my supplies from a company called Totally raw dog food.

www.totallyrawdogfood.com

the prices are great, they package everything in whatever size portions I need. Very handy!

Heres Rosco tonight having his side of lamb.