Bones

Hi Everyone,

Freaking out a little bit here, I went out for a meal last night and got ribs and brought the bones back for Hank, I only gave him a couple and have saved some but have since read that its really dangerous to feed dogs cooked bones, as they can get stuck in his intestines and cause blockages and bleeding and other horrid stuff that end.

Do I just keep an eye on him or tell my vet? I feel horrendous I just thought bones were bones and would have been okay for him!

Please try not to worry and blame yourself. To be completely honest I didn't know about cooked bones either until I joined the forum. I'd just keep an eye on him and if you are worried then you can always call the vet for some advice.

The danger from cooked bones is that they splinter. I'm a great believer in giving dogs bones, they are the best way of keeping teeth in good shape, but always raw bones. I personally avoid giving beef limb bones as they are very hard, and I don't feed chicken bones because we keep chickens!

As Emma says, don't beat yourself up for having done something you didn't know was a problem. And no, I wouldn't call the vet as there's nothing to be done 'just in case'.

Thanks ladies, he seems okay so will just watch out for any signs of him being troubled.

Liz where do you get your bones from? Do you get them from the butchers?

I get them from Landywoods but it's a minimum order of £30 (inc delivery). I know people who do get them from butchers and you might also be able to find local farmers who do their own meat who sell them.

https://landywoods.co.uk/

My local butcher does great marrow bones, they range from about a pound to just over two pounds and they last for ages!

you need to be a bit careful with marrow bones. they can damage the teeth (they're very hard) and the marrow can give upset stomachs.

if you want some bones just to get your dog used to them, try lamb spines. You can get them from most Morrisons and they're fairly soft/crumbly so they won't damave teeth or produce sharp splinters.

Oh really! I never knew that about marrow bones, her tummy is fine after them but they are hard and I never thought about damaging her teeth. Thanks for the tip, I'll find a Morrison's!

Yes, the potential for damaged teeth is why I don't give beef limb bones. Before I knew that I did give them marrow/knuckle bones. We had Bobbert's teeth checked once (under sedation for something else!), and his back teeth had worn to almost nothing. It was quite an eye opener.

I give mine lamb bones of any sort, mostly spine/rib, veal and pig's totters. I will also give them beef rib bones. It's the weight bearing bones of big animals that are rock hard.

Aaah I get his meat from landywoods so could add on to our order when we next order, or have a look in morrisons until then as we've just ordered

It's worth having a note added to your customer file not to substitute with beef bones. If they run out of other bones they sometimes substitute and it's always with them, possibly less popular?

Thanks for the tip! Would never have thought of that

No reason you would have, I didn't until I got 3 or 4 bags of bones I didn't really want! The Danaher dogs loved them, though.

I was always told that chicken bones were a definite no-no as they splinter. Probably only the cooked ones then ?

If the chicken bones /carcass is fresh then the bones tend to be quite bendy & digestible. Even those that don't get digested tend to come put whole! If you have any doubt about the age of the carcass then don't use it!