Puppies and raw bones

[Suzette]

I've done a search here and found bits and pieces on this topic (raw bones), but I would love to have some specific questions answered as this concept (feeding raw bones to dogs) is so new to me.

I have an 8 week old Pembroke Corgi named Piper. I want to give her raw bones but need some direction please. My specific questions are:

What size should the bones be? More specifically, given that Piper weighs 3.5 pounds right now, what would be the largest reasonable size and then, the smallest that she could safely have?

What types of bones would be safe for her - chicken, beef, ham? What types (ie: knucklebones, marrow type bones, etc.) should I avoid, and conversley to seek out?

I know some bones come with fat/gristle/marrow/etc. should these be removed/trimmed first? (I would think so, but again, I'm a novice at the whole raw bone thing, so. . .)

How long per session and then how many times a day should I let her gnaw on one before removing it? (By trading for it or more likely by distracting her since I doubt I will be able to offer anything better on a trade - lol - not just taking it away.)

Each time I remove it, can I freeze it until the next time, or is just refrigerating it enough?

Thank you sooo much for answering these questions for me! And any other info you care to share on this subject would be more than welcome and appreciated!

Suzette

[Suzette]

Oops, I just realized this is probably in the wrong spot (topic), but I don't know how to move it. Sorry.

[emmabeth]

S'okay, ill move it!

[Suzette]

No one? Okay, maybe I didn't ask nicely enough -- pretty please??

[Nettle]

How could I refuse?

Not ham - too salty, and cooked. Only raw bones should be fed. Not even the pet shop roasted bones are safe.

Leave all the fat and gristle on for her to chew.

It's okay to remove the bone and freeze it and represent it a couple of times unless weather is really hot.

While she has her baby teeth, a big bone will give her lots of chewing and she will get tired out from all the work she is putting into the chewing - then is the time to remove the bone in the way you say by trading up (smart owner - BIG bunch of flowers!) but big bones are not good once the adult teeth come through as they will start to wear. Whole marrowbones only - if cut in half there is danger of getting a jaw or nose or paw trapped.

All bones should have a good covering of meat.

Have you read our vast thread on raw feeding? It covers this pretty well.

Smaller bones eg whole chicken wings, breast of lamb cut into strips, are good to be completely crunched up

[Suzette]

Thanks so much Nettle. I appreciate the information!

For some reason, I didn't think to research the raw diet posts thinking that was mainly about food, not bones. Silly me!

[jacksdad]

been reading up on raw diets my self and meaty bones are a core part..but unless you know that your not thinking to look in the raw thread is logical.

[misskris]

sorry, quick question. Even though my questions are never quick... haha

- can you give raw meaty bones if your dog is NOT on a raw food diet? I have her on innova dry food and I supplement with veggies, fruits, and yogurt...

- where - o - where would I be able to get these raw meaty type bones? Grocery store? Do they sell just the bone or do i have to buy the whole shank / piece?

- The raw bone won't upset her tummy if she's never had raw food before? Would it be better if I trim off the meat for the first few times so her stomach gets used to it?

thanks so much all. See, told you my questions aren't that quick...lol..

[MPbandmom]

I buy the 3 to 10 pound bags of frozen chicken wing pieces and give a couple to my dogs in the morning. Sometimes they eat this and skip their kibble, and sometimes they eat this and some or all of their kibble. I have also bought turkey necks, turkey wings, and beef necks and ribs and pork necks which I then put in the freezer for a couple of weeks before feeding. My dogs are adults though. I buy all of these at a grocery store. My dogs don't seem to handle the beef as well as the other meats plus the beef neck bones seem to be too thick for them to totally consume. It took them a little while to figure out how to eat the frozen treats, but now they are pros.

[misskris]

thank you! sounds great! I'm planning on asking the vet tomorrow at her last vaccination appt. about the raw bone thing. Thanks so much for the advice!

[Suzette]

sorry, quick question. Even though my questions are never quick... haha

- can you give raw meaty bones if your dog is NOT on a raw food diet? I have her on innova dry food and I supplement with veggies, fruits, and yogurt...

- where - o - where would I be able to get these raw meaty type bones? Grocery store? Do they sell just the bone or do i have to buy the whole shank / piece?

- The raw bone won't upset her tummy if she's never had raw food before? Would it be better if I trim off the meat for the first few times so her stomach gets used to it?

thanks so much all. See, told you my questions aren't that quick...lol..

Hi Misskris, I'm not the expert on this, but I'll tell you my experience so far.

Yes, you can give raw meaty bones though your dog is not on a raw diet. My puppy is fed Taste of the Wild as her regular food, but I give her a raw bone to gnaw on almost every day. It doesn't add much to her actual food intake since the bones I've bought so far don't have tons of meat on them. If ever get some with more meat, I'll just cut back a bit on her regular food that day.

I get my bones at the local grocery store. If they don't have any prepackaged that day, I'll just ask the butcher and he's always happy to get one and wrap it up for me.

I was also concerned that the raw meat might upset Piper's tummy since she'd never had it before, but in her case, it didn't. And I've been giving her the raw bones for about three weeks now.

Hope this helps you some!

[misskris]

thank you, Suzette! It helps a ton!
I appreciate it!
kris

[emmabeth]

If you are going to want to combine a lot of raw food with a complete dry diet, then I would switch the dry part to a grain free one such as Taste of the Wild or Orijen etc.

Grain based foods combined with raw foods can cause some digestive upset because the grain based stuff and the raw stuff don't digest at the same rates.

If you are just feeding complete dry and giving raw meaty bones as a recreational thing it isnt such an issue (but I still prefer grain-free dog foods!)

The bone on its own is not that interesting, the fun for the dog comes in gnawing off the meat, fat, connective tissue etc - so dont strip bones of all that, though if there is TONS of fat and not much meat, strip out some of the fat, as that may well give your dog the squits!

Also once a bone is totally stripped, its 'shelf life' is limited as even raw bones WILL dry out in the sun and once the fat and water content is gone they can become brittle as if they were cooked. This does take a matter of weeks though, and leaving bones out in a sunny yard - so don't worry about it too much!