Are natural bones safe to chew on???

[Hnybny]

I have a question that I know will generate a variety of answers. I would like to get a huge bone for Ozzie because I think it would last longer than most of his other toys. I've heard so many opinions on what type is safe for a dog. I know to avoid chicken bones but can he have one of those big ham bones or a beef leg bone? They sell them at our local butcher and I keep forgetting to ask our vet! Ozzie will think he died and went to heaven with one of those big bones!!!

[KingstonTodd]

We feed raw bones all the time, big beef leg bones, soup bones, or knuckle bones. Just supervise the pup to see if they are a power chewer and can chip off sharp pieces. Dont let them do it for hours on end, or they can chip teeth as well. They can also cut themsleves if they use their front legs to hold the bones and it rubs on their fur/skin as they chew. If left too long the rubbing can lead to cuts and bleeding (happened to Hershey!). Also, they will have bacteria on them since they are uncooked, so limit them to an area you can sanitize afterwards for your own health, the dogs can handle the bacteria no problem. Pet stores sell smoked ones that some say are safe and that are less likely to have bacteria, but they get recalled all the time for contamination, and my Gus can crack a smoked bones without a problem (but not a raw one) so there is something in the processing that does make them more brittle, although not as bad as a cooked bone.

[SamsonsMom]

I have heard the 'marrow' bones are great! Raw from butcher. Most advice I've heard says to stay away from the cooked bones, because they can all splinter easily. However, the raw ones don't splinter like the cooked ones do.

I'd supervise your doodle chewing on the raw marrow bone first though, make sure that he doesn't hurt himself with it.

I'd second what Todd said about the smoked bones sold in pet stores - bought a couple for my guys once, they easily cracked them into small pieces. The could've easily choked on the pieces so I threw all of it away. They also splintered. AND I take away the bones after awhile - my guys would sit with them for hours if I let them. OH and the smoked bones cracked and splintered within about 10 minutes of chew time. I was very disappointed, very UNSAFE chew object for my doodles. Waste of money in my opinion. I'd stay away from the bones sold in pet stores and supermarkets, espeically if your guy is a chewer.

[Hnybny]

Thank you for the great advice! Ozzie is most definitely a chewer!!! I will pick one up for him to gnaw on while we are having our Thanksgiving dinner. That way I can still monitor his "progress"!!! I love the ads for dog toys...."guaranteed to last HOURS"...."get HOURS of enjoyment". Yeah, right! They've never met my doodle who can polish off one of those treats in less than 10 minutes!!! and that includes me taking the wrapper off!!! haha. Thank you again for your advice. He would thank you as well but something tells me he will be too busy to speak! :0) <-- that's my new doodle smiley!!!!

[Jac]

Yep, raw bones are okay...even raw chicken bones (but there is the risk of salmonella with chicken)...many breeders feed raw. Judi had a problem with a raw diet and she will probably post about it...but if I only had one or two dogs, I would feed raw...that includes raw bones.

Raw bones are the BEST at keeping their teeth clean too!

Cooked bones splinter and I would not feed cooked bones. I know that they are sold as being safe...but I believe that the splinter and that is not good.

Make sure the bones are big enough that your dog won't get his/her jaw caught in the marrow part of the bone. (This happened to one of my dogs...it was very sacry and it was hard for me to get off of her, we almost had to go to the vet.)