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Raw bones
I bought my dog Guinness a couple raw frozen bones at the pet store the other day as they were out of his usual bully sticks. Not to mention, those things are expensive and I'm tired of paying so much for them. I think the raw bones may be better for him but he is not raw fed and I really am not sure what I'm doing... is it ok to let him chew on these or does he have to be on a raw diet? One is a lamb bone (some type of leg bone), which I actually have let him gnaw on a bit. He loves it! He hasn't had any problems with it, but since I don't know what I'm doing I thought I'd better ask some questions about the raw bone feeding. He has chewed up about half of it in a few nights (I only let him chew a little at a time because I was worried he wouldn't tolerate it well or chip his teeth). The piece that is left isn't very big so I'm wondering if it should just be thrown out. He does chew things up pretty well before swallowing though... Also, the other bone is a bison knuckle bone... should I let him have that or are knuckle bones a problem? Guinness' diet consists of Nature's variety Instinct Rabbit kibble and various canned foods to top it off, and occasionally yogurt or leftover rice thrown in. He does love chewing recreationaly and I would definitely consider a raw diet for him at some point, if I learn enough about it.
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#2
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When my dogs were kibble fed, I always offered them recreational bones for gnawing without any problems (besides the occasional runny poop if they had too much marrow from femur bones). If it works for Guinness, then keep it up.
By the way, just to let you know that you can most likely get femur and knee bones for next to nothing at a butcher's instead of the pet food store.
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#3
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Same with my dogs, LuckyPenny. I used to give Oxford the big marrow bones before she was on raw, and she loved them. But now they are on a full raw diet and I still give it to them on the days I fast them. They love it and it keeps them busy. I actually stopped buying dog toys because they dont even play with them, all they do is gnaw on the old bones. Its like a bone yard on our living floor.
Kristin-if you are worried that Guinness may swallow the bone, try giving larger ones, like the marrow bones. I dont know much about the knuckle bone, but other in the forum have advised me that the cartilidge is good for their joints. It seems that your dog know how to handle eating bones since he shows signs of chewing up well before he swallows them.
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“Bulldogs are adorable, with faces like toads that have been sat on” ~Sidonie Gabrielle "The nose of the bulldog has been slanted backwards so that he can breathe without letting go." ~Winston Churchill |
#4
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Thanks for the info! I will continue to give him bones, then. Yeah, I know I can get bones cheaper elsewhere, however, I hate going from store to store to store to buy things and was in a hurry, so it was more of a convenience impulse buy after I couldn't find his usual expensive bully stix. Calculating it out, at least I found something cheaper than those! Next time I'm at the grocery I'll look for the marrow bones, which brings me to my next question, what is a marrow bone? Just the femurs or are there other kinds? I am not very worried about him swallowing big pieces. He chews really well and even spits out pieces if they aren't chewed enough.
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#5
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Mostly they are called 'soup bones' my only hesitation would be not to get the really heavy bone(any weight supporting bone from a large animal - cow, pig) because those bones are too hard for the dog to break and they can break their own teeth on them. At least this is what I have read ... just thought you should know as well. I know lots of people use recreation bones that are femurs with no trouble.
Cass |
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