Bones

[MyGuideJools]

Dogs love bones right? I'd like to get a nice bone for our pup (5 month Lab) to keep him busy when I'm trying to sit and have a cuppa
Am I right to believe I should get a raw bone? all the bones I've seen in pet shops etc are 'roasted' but I thought cooked bones were a no no due to splintering?
TIA

I know folks who only feed their dogs raw bones because they believe it is healthier and more natural for the dogtheir wild ancestors obv didn't have access to cooked ones! However they are very fussy about the quality of bonesmust be fresh, from animals kept in good healthy conditions and fed natural feed, etc. In my view cooked bones are fine and safer if you are uncertain of the provenance of the bone, but you are meant to avoid chicken bones as they do splinter and some dogs choke on them.

Go to your local butcher and ask for a dog bone. They’ll give you something suitable and better than anything you’d buy in a pet shop.

Raw feeders give raw chicken wings as they’re actually quite soft. Never cooked.
Or duck necks, lamb ribs are good.

It’s best to freeze them to knock back the bacteria first.

DHs childhood dog almost died after a roasted lamb leg bone (so a dense, heavy bone) splintered in his gut so I would say no to cooked bones in any form.

I get the large cow leg bones from many petshops, they last for ages and keep my dog amused. They love the marrow inside the bones.

You don't have to worry about splintering either.

nessie are they cooked tho?
I've no butchers around here, they seem to sadly be a dying breed, only the supermarket butcher.
I won't leave the dog alone with the bone but I obviously want it to be safe. He loves a pigs ear but demolishes it in 5 mins and they're expensive!

I order marrow and knuckle bones from here (others available like Wolftucker). They arrive frozen and go straight in the freezer.
www.naturesmenu.co.uk/catalogsearch/result?cat=4&q=Marrow+bones. They have a good amount of cartilage and meaty scraps in them for a good teeth cleaning. They also sell ribs, trachea etc for smaller dogs.
Only raw, never cooked which can splinter too easily. Never leave your dog unattended with the bone and don’t leave the bone out over night for them to keep going back to. Large weight bearing bones can be damaging to a dog’s teeth, which is why mine only get them for a short supervised period of time until all the cartilage meat and marrow is chewed off. Then they get chucked. You don’t want your dog to be chewing so long and hard on them that they fracture their teeth or break off shards. Your age dog may do better with rib bones. You must also be careful that the bone is not too small for the size of dog so that it presents a swallowing risk. Bones can be great, chewing is good mental stimulation for dogs, can clean their teeth and the right bones can be nutritionally good for them. But, you must choose the right bone for the dog and must never leave them unsupervised with it.

Thanks judas do you give them straight from freezer? sorry for all the questions, im a new dog owner & lots to learn!

These one ares I think but I've never had any problem with them splintering like other cooked bones such as the recently discontinued B&M ham bones, or home cooked lamb bones. So whether they are treated differently I don't know?

You can buy the bones I posted but just the knuckle ends, and they definitely won't splinter, your dog will just gnaw them.

I would also limit the amount of time they have access to the bones, my dog will eat this type for ever but it causes some 'hard poo' issues so I only let him have it every 3 days or so.

I wouldn't give a dog a cooked bone, even if it was allegedly safe.

Our lab loves bones but we need to be very careful or he eats the full thing and it makes him ill (sick/dire-rear), he's had a couple of overnighters at the vets because of them so it is a rare treat for 10 minutes or so only now, before we get the sad eyes when we take it away.

I do but my dogs are huge adult dogs, they also usually have them in the garden on warm days and spend a good hour or so licking the meaty bits as they defrost before chewing. I wouldn’t do it for a young dog, I’d defrost first, in a safe environment ie covered in cool dry place (to try to minimise bacterial growth, just as with human food), then give it to them. Make sure they’re ‘meaty’ bones and not totally stripped bones.

Btw even good, well trained dogs, can be reluctant to give up a lovely juicy bone to you, so make absolutely sure you have done a lot of work with your dog on the ‘leave it’ command first (or whatever name you want to give to it). You need to be able to safely take the bone off them in any emergency (small piece broken off, splinter, about to bury it so you can’t find it 😂). Which is why you need to supervise. I’m always nearby when my dogs have bones, I periodically go over to check on them and will pick the bone up and give it the once over occasionally to make sure it’s still intact.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm wondering if it's worth the stress

If dogs could read and type you’d almost certainly be flamed for that last comment!

Our local farm shop is mainly a butchery; it has a trolley full of bags of raw beef bones by the exit door, labelled 'for stock or dogs' iirc. We freeze them, give to the dog on the lawn straight from the freezer.

Have you tired a split antler? My dog loves them. But he’s almost one. Not sure what age they’re good for.

If your lab has their adult teeth definitely go for an antler. More pricey but never splinter, wont poison them and keeps them occupied for hours! Our lab loves them :-)

Morrissons do packaged up lamb bones. They're really cheap too

Pets at home and weirdly Dobbie garden centres have freezers with nature’s menu frozen bones and things like duck necks.

As pickle says, Morrisons sell marrow bones really cheap - we stick them in the freezer and feed direct from frozen. My dog is a crunching machine, though - for a pup you might want smaller and a bit softer!

witch sorry dogs!

I've seen the antlers, maybe I will treat him to one of them. I'm pretty sure he has all his adult teeth now, he's a big boy

When you say a split antler does that just mean they are cut in half?

Have you tried beef scalp? My dog goes through pigs ears really quickly but the scalp takes him a good while and you don't have to worry about bones splintering or being too hard for the teeth.

www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dog_treats_chews/beef/head_neck/212853?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI94yAi6b44gIVrLDtCh0OEAIcEAYYAiABEgJbAPD_BwE

I don't give my Lab the whole thing, I cut them up with a saw but I order the long ones rather than the short ones as the reviews for the short ones say they aren't great.

He is a Beaut!!!

Haven't read the whole thread but be very careful if you do give him bones. Yes, all dogs adore them BUT my previous dog could eat the whole of a marrow bone - every last bit and then get very uncomfortable indigestion - clearly the bits of bone going through her system. I had to ban bones as they were obviously very dangerous for her. When I was growing up, my Staffy had marrow bones and only ate the gristle/marrow and gnawed on the hard bits but was incapable of actually crunching up and swallowing bits of bone so they were quite safe for him. Current dog is only allowed antlers and yak cheese bars.