Puppy and bones

Gave Peppa the bones from our lamb chops last night to chew on, they were well cooked and everything. She chewed and chewed them until I heard her breaking them then I took them away because I didnt want her eating the little pieces. She really enjoyed them and was a bit miffed when I took the bits away, but then at 4 this morning she chucked up all over her basket!
Is it a no no giving puppies bones? she's 12.5 weeks and has a varied diet (her own food and anything else she manages to hoover up off the floor that the kids drop) she hasnt been sick before, and has never had runny poos (last nights 4am offering looked a little suspect)

All cooked bones are a no-no, but most raw bones are okay. You need to be careful with the weight bearing bones of heavy animals like cows, elk and so on as they are hard enough to break teeth even when raw. They can be okay for light chewers, but not for aggressive chewers (and many avoid them no matter what).

wow I didnt realise, my mum used to get a big knuckle bone from the butchers every saturday for my old dog, I thought cooked would be better for a puppy, less risk of germs

loulabellec.....

Not sure what age they reccomend to start giving pups bones, but PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE only ever give your dog RAW bones. If they are cooked they can splinter and cause a lot of damage (not that i'm saying that is what has happened in this case)
My Roxy is 5 mnths and has been having bones for some time now. I usually give her brisket bones which are apparently a softer bone. I had started off by giving her a few chicken necks but being young and thinking somebody would take them, she tended not to chew them properly but swallow them almost whole

I'm sure somebody else will come along soon with further advice

They have a different digestive system than us, so they are very unlikely to get sick even with a few germs. As long as it's sold for human consumption I have no worries. My guys have been fed raw for years, no issues. I actually give weight bearing bones from time to time, as long as there are meat on them too as my pug isn't a powerful chewer. Gummi on the other hand is crazy, and I won't let him have any as he's very likely to chip a tooth. (When he grows up)


This is my 9 week old puppy Gummi with some pork ribs. It's important to make sure they learn to chew properly. Giving them large chunks, like this, is a good way to do it. Another way is to give them frozen meat/bones so it also has to be chewed. Frozen chicken wings or chicken thighs for instance. The soft chicken bones are also unlikely to cause any damage if they ingest larger pieces. Sometimes you might see them throwing up pieces of undigested bone if they don't chew properly. It might look scary, but is actually a good thing - it shows the system works, and is preventing too large pieces going into the intestines.

Ah right, raw bones only from now on then! I will have to go to the butchers this week, as she enjoyed herself so much last night it was cute to watch, never seen her sit that still and quiet!