Beef bones

[deerewife]

I just picked up half a beef and I had asked the butcher to save back a couple of bones for the pups.
My boys think Christmas came early- the butcher gave me a huge box of bones that must weigh at least 60 lbs.
I want them to be able to enjoy this stash of treats, but I keep seeing conflicting info on safety- some people say to boil the bones to sterilize them, others say never cook bones in any way, and dh was wondering if it would be ok to cook them on low heat for several hours to basically dry the meat bits that are hanging on so they aren't as messy. Also are there certain bones I shouldn't give them?

[Mollysmom]

freeze em.
and then feed them outside.

prob solved.

the freezer will handle any funk that may lurk on the meat and obviously keep them from spoiling.
Raw bones are best, so dont worry about cooking them.

You're safe with beef, just supervise the "nom"fest as they might get overexcited about this treat and inhale more than they should (if their systems aren't used to raw meat they can get some rather explosive diarrhea not to mention gas that will knock flies of a turd)
In other words don't let them gorge on the whole 60lbs!

Feed outside like I said and won't have to worry about cleanup.

Nice score on the bones btw!

[ckranz]

There's a lot of stuff in general about bones and their uses.

Perhaps the biggest and most important thing about bones is knowing specifically the type of bone. This is primarily because of bone density. Bones from the load bearing portions of heavy animals like cows and steers are extremely dense. This can result in chipped teeth and should be avoided.

I like giving my dogs bones that have been frozen and raw. Piece generally have between 1/2 to 2/4 an inch of meat around the bone. Bones are often served as the meal of the day. The number of neckbones/meat the get is roughly the size of their head.

I usually get pork neck bones and to be on the safe side with pork I leave them frozen for 30 days before serving.

I also will on occasion feed chicken leg quarters...again frozen and usually 2-3 per meal.

With beef I would use ox tail, and rib bones, but not shoulder, or leg bones. With pork I would use anything left uncooked and froze for no less than 30 days. Chicken I avoid wings primarily because from a dietary stand point, they are too boney, as are backs. On rare occasions I will pick up some meaty lamb bones.

Cooked bones tend to splinter in to potentially sharp pieces which can of course perforate the esophagus, stomach and intestinal track. Raw bones are more supple and flexible reduce the likelyhood of this occuring.

Mine also eat their bones outside. They are good about eating them right away, and don't even try to hide them.

[Nettle]

Four raw feeders, five opinions!

I feed raw bones because cooking alters the structure and makes them risky, I agree with the freezing and feeding outside, I like the bones to have a reasonable covering of meat, feed chicken wings and stripped carcases quite happily but avoid very big load-bearing bones because of the risk of wear on teeth.

[Bro. Dave, OBB]

freeze em. and then feed them outside.

prob solved.

Do what Molly says. Do NOT cook the bones. Raw bones are digestable by dogs, cooked bones are barely touched by the digestive system. It's the cooked bone splinters that are the danger. Raw bone splinters, when they occur, are virtually dissolved by the stomach and intestinal fluids.

Freezing does more than preserve the food. Freezing is also deadly to most, if not all of the bacteria that are or can be harmful. When freezing keep in mind that longer is better than shorter. The longer the bones are in the freezer the more thorough the killing of bacteria will be. Also, dogs can tolerate all sorts of bacteria that would otherwise wreak havoc on us poor humans.

Structural bones, such as leg bones, are super hard and should be considered more or less as recreational bones. Ribs, on the other hand, are just fine the way you find them ... raw naked and without sauce.

Good luck with the great bone score.

P.S. My Maxx (ESS) thinks that fresh venison ribs are absolutely the Rolls Royce of bones.

[Butterfly_dawn]

Ditto the above. I feed raw food to my dog (most often chicken carcasses from the butcher with pet mince, occasionally wallaby and occasionally lamb offcuts, backbone, ribs etc). He loves them and crunches it all up. But big bones like beef leg bones are nowhere near chewable. The key is to make sure the balance of meat to bone is ok so the poo is not too hard (I try and imagine the proportions he would be eating if he had caught something to eat in the wild).

And don't cook them, not necessary. I have a big freezer full of bags with portions in that I defrost and feed. He gets fed outside, and loves every bone crunching minute, sometimes if it's not quite defrosted he buries it for later (I always know when he's done so by the dirt on his nose).

Don't know if anyone else finds this, but Nelson's poo is always smaller (like, half the volume) firmer and less stinky on raw food.

[jmbau]

Don't know if anyone else finds this, but Nelson's poo is always smaller (like, half the volume) firmer and less stinky on raw food.

Yup, mine too. Nice firmish consistency, none of that squidgy, smells-to-high-heaven ghastly stuff that most of the commercial cooked stuff produces.

[cheesehawk]

With pork I would use anything left uncooked and froze for no less than 30 days.

Isn't uncooked pork dangerous? I've always heard its extremely unsafe for people to eat undercooked pork, and had thought the same would apply to dogs. I'm not a nuitritionist nor a dietician, so please correct me if I'm wrong!