# Bone dilemma



## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

I give marrow bones, outside, from the butchers, I don't know about rib bones,they are rather too small I think. I also brush their teeth.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

I once had a dog get a flat rib bone stuck in the roof of her mouth. In 30+ years of raw feeding and probably a thousand pounds of bones, it's only happened once. She smelled awful awful awful.. we were at a dog show, and she began to act like she not only smelled bad but felt bad, so we hit the show vet... nothing according to him, saw a vet friend who was showing, nothing according to her. We decided to go home- she didn't feel well and I couldn't see making her show. On the way, I stopped for gas and happened to catch her looking up in my rear view. From that angle I could clearly see it was not her palate but a bone! EWWWW yck! It was wedged in so bad! Got home, took the pliers to it. It was disgusting. Major antibiotics after that and irrigating through her nose.... and never again have my dogs had flat rib bones. I vote marrow in the crate or outside. The bonus is, if they get them all cleaned out, you can put them in the dishwasher and then fill them up with peanut butter and celery!


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

Prism Goldens said:


> I once had a dog get a flat rib bone stuck in the roof of her mouth. In 30+ years of raw feeding and probably a thousand pounds of bones, it's only happened once. She smelled awful awful awful.. we were at a dog show, and she began to act like she not only smelled bad but felt bad, so we hit the show vet... nothing according to him, saw a vet friend who was showing, nothing according to her. We decided to go home- she didn't feel well and I couldn't see making her show. On the way, I stopped for gas and happened to catch her looking up in my rear view. From that angle I could clearly see it was not her palate but a bone! EWWWW yck! It was wedged in so bad! Got home, took the pliers to it. It was disgusting. Major antibiotics after that and irrigating through her nose.... and never again have my dogs had flat rib bones. I vote marrow in the crate or outside. The bonus is, if they get them all cleaned out, you can put them in the dishwasher and then fill them up with peanut butter and celery!


On Dr. Chris, Pet Vet - that comes on CBS Saturday mornings, he had a GR come in that had a flat bone stuck across the roof of the mouth. He also had to get pliers to pull it out of the dog's mouth. 

We just get Noah raw marrow bones from the butcher, about 2 inches thick I'd guess. They package up about six of them for less than $3, and I put them in the freezer and give them to Noah frozen.


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## LUCKYme (Mar 29, 2015)

I do not recommend any actual real "Bones". It takes one bite the right way to break a tooth and trust me that isn't good. My golden has exceptional teeth and last year while chewing on a bone he broke his pre-molar at the gum line and put a hair line fracture in his jaw bone. The oral surgeon then informed in that under no circumstances should a dog be given a bone that they can't bite through. Therefore, we stick to Zukes Z-Ridge dog bones. He gets two a week.


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## Chritty (Aug 17, 2014)

Wow. Beef rib bones are what we give. I'll keep checking her palate after giving them.


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## golfgal (Dec 31, 2013)

I would check at the meat dept of stores or butcher rather than pet stores. You can ask for knuckle, marrow, etc bones. My vet has always suggested frozen, raw bones that are not too small and too mix it up as marrow bones are good for certain types of chewing, knuckle bones for other ones. 

My hunter friends keep me supplied with big game bones but I find the raw meat gross (not to mention the diarrhea and the smell of the raw meat) and slow roast them for a bit in the oven as suggested by other dog people and the hunters.


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## Chritty (Aug 17, 2014)

Sorry for the wall of text but this is the advice I was given regarding bones

Types of Bones
There are two types of bones: long bones and flat bones. Long bones are the bones that are normally found in the legs and wings of animals. These bones are made for weight bearing and subsequently have a hard, smooth surface and a center filled with loads of marrow. The ends of these bones are soft and cartilagenous.
Flat bones are the bones found in the spinal column, ribs, pelvis and shoulder. They are softer than long bones and don’t contain as much marrow. They also have more convoluted surfaces.
Sources Of Bones
The size of the dog, determines how edible the bone is. In general, recreational bones are an addition to a balanced diet so the dog shouldn’t be consuming the entire bone (that would be a boney meal). Bones from cows, moose and other large animals are generally good for large, aggressive chewers and most dogs would be able to strip the meat off but not consume the entire bone. Bones from smaller animals such as deer, goats, pigs and lamb can be consumed by larger dogs but not by smaller breeds. Poultry bones are mostly edible for all sizes of dogs.
Safety First
Chewing bones, although safe, can create problems in your dog if you are not wise in your bone choices. Here are some bone related problems you’ll want to avoid.
Bowel blockages – long bones have soft ends that are more cartilage than bone. These types of bones may not be a good choice for large, aggressive chewers as they can tear off a lot of the bony end. This can cause compactions in some circumstances and may end in a visit to the vet for enemas or even surgery to remove the blockage. Signs of impaction can include bloating, a hunched over posture and frequent unsuccessful attempts to defecate or vomit. Watch your dog for these signs or, better yet, don’t feed these types of bones to large dogs. 

Broken teeth – long bones are also quite hard on their surface and this can result in broken teeth. Flat bones are a better choice for medium to large size dogs because they are softer and less apt to break teeth. They also last longer because they have interesting, craggy surfaces which hold the meat better than long bones, making them a much more interesting chew. 

Loose stools – dogs who are new to bones, or dogs eating more bones than usual, can suffer from loose stools. This is normally caused by the marrow inside the bone. Long bones contain more marrow than flat bones, although smaller dogs would have difficulty getting at the marrow in many long bones. 

Constipation – consuming large amounts of bone can cause constipation in dogs. The result is white or yellowish, powdery stools. It’s important to check on your dog to make sure he is not consuming too much bone at a sitting, in order to prevent constipation. Generally, if you choose the right bone for your dog, this won’t be an issue. Diets that are too high in calcium (which is found in high concentrations in bones) can cause some health issue with your dog, so it’s best to not let him consume too much bone, unless you balance it out with meat to add phosphorus. In general, if your dog consumes more of a recreational bone than you intended, simply feed him more meat and less bone if you are feeding a raw diet. If you feed a commercial food, you won’t have this option. 

Toxins – beware of bones from older animals. They can be filled with toxins and pollutants, so it’s best to find bones from young, ideally grass fed, animals.

What Too Buy

Here is a short list of bones you might want to try for your dog.

Large Size Dogs – beef neck bones, beef feet, beef pelvis bones

Medium Size Dogs – the above bones plus beef knuckle bones, deer and goat legs and beef ribs.


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