Raw bones - when can you give them?

[Gorran]

Daisy is 15 weeks now and I gave her a small amount of raw beef mince yesterday, she loved it! .

So, I was wondering when she could have a raw bone? We have a fantastic local butcher that I'd happily ask for a bone - can she have one now?

Also - does anyone feed their pup a mixture of food? Ie two meals kibble, one homecooked meal?

My pup had marrow bones from butcher at that age.

I personally wouldnt mix kibble with raw/homecooked, a complete food is just that, complete, and doesn't need anything added.

I feed exclusively raw and it costs me less than a tenner a month.

Gorran, I gave Hully her first one on Tuesday. She loved it. Didn't get a weight bearing one though.

She nearly fell asleep on it she kept going at it past her bed time

Oh and I do. She has Burns but her evening meal I am using to introduce some raw food.

I gave my pup a soup bone at that age. The pup's expression when they get their first bone is adorable!

I often use kibble as a base, and mix with soupy broth and sardines or chicken or tripe with carrots/green beans. Other times I use rice or pasta as the base. I know there was a thread here where someone said kibble and normal food should not be mixed (but had no evidence to back it). I mix the two and it works fine for my dogs.

My dogs must have cast-iron tummies because they eat every thing, and seem to enjoy the variety of foods. They have their method of eating. First slurp the soup. Then hunt for the meat and gobble that. Then the veggies, especially the sweet ones. Then finally the kibble/ rice.

Fab, thank you. So, if I go to the butcher later, what should I be asking for? Spot the novice dog owner...!

I usually ask for a bone for a pup or medium size dog or whatever. And butcher goes to the back and comes back with a bag full of goodies. And it is free.

Gorran, really beef bones aren't recommended to be avoided as they can break teeth.

However my butcher often has the none knuckle ones filled with marrow and with quite a bit of meat on. I got a couple of those as she was more interested in stripping it, than biting bits off.

The vet said these would be fine for her teeth.

Does anyone find that their dog gets an upset stomach after having a bone? My 18 month old loves bones but does get runny poo the next day. Nothing dreadful, she's obviously not ill or poisoned, it gradually improves and is back to normal within a couple of days. The bones are different types from different places, so I think it's the dog rather than the bone. She is fed a kibble-type diet and is otherwise very healthy.