raw bones

lisar201

i woz just in the butchers there getting some meat and i asked him if he had any bones for my dog,so he gave me some lamb bones as he had no marrow ones left,As he gave them to me he said roast them for 20 mins before u give them to the dog as raw bones can give them mange, I was sort of shockedby this because my whole family has always given our dogs raw bones.even the cashier was like i would never give a dog raw bones so i am a little confused now!i always thought u were not suspossed to give a dog cooked bones as they can splinter and are harder 4 the dog to digest

morganafay

I have no idea how it'd give them mange.

Cherry Blossom

Mange is a contagious disease cause by mites! I have no idea how it would be in anyway possible for bones from a butcher to be contaminated with mites, if it is Health and Safety should have them closed down :rolleyes:

Zapperzy

That's absolute bs what your butcher told you. Bones should always be fed raw and never cooked because like you said they can splinter when cooked. As for giving a dog mange I don't know where he got that info from but it's definetely not true.
Next time your talking to that butcher please correct him as Im sure he is probably giving out incorrect info to unsuspecting dog owners who think they are doing what's best for their dog by following his advice.

sligopark

Aren't raw bones part and parcel of a BARF diet?

sophie1234

i thought that if u gave dogs raw lamb bones that it would get a taste for lamb and then if your every walking your dog near sheep/lambs ur in trouble!?! i always cook bones for my dog! and the ones you buy in pet shops ect (real ham bones and real lamb bones) always come cooked!!!

ISDW

sophie1234 wrote: »

i thought that if u gave dogs raw lamb bones that it would get a taste for lamb and then if your every walking your dog near sheep/lambs ur in trouble!?! i always cook bones for my dog! and the ones you buy in pet shops ect (real ham bones and real lamb bones) always come cooked!!!

No, thats a fallacy. How would you expect a dog to associate a raw bone that you give it with the wooly things in the field? Please don't cook the bones before you give them to the dog, dogs should only eat raw bones. I always put mine in the freezer for a while to kill any bacteria, or you can pop them into boiling water for a minute for the same effect, but literally just very quickly, you don't cook the bones.

Crazy Wabbit

snip

boomerang

I think he is confusing mites with worms. I avoid giving raw pork bones for this reason unless they've been in the freezer for three weeks or more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichinosis

But beef bones are grand to give fresh from raw, although I usually give them frozen.

sophie1234

ISDW wrote: »

No, thats a fallacy. How would you expect a dog to associate a raw bone that you give it with the wooly things in the field? Please don't cook the bones before you give them to the dog, dogs should only eat raw bones. I always put mine in the freezer for a while to kill any bacteria, or you can pop them into boiling water for a minute for the same effect, but literally just very quickly, you don't cook the bones.

well ive always been told to cook the bones by my vet! how come when you buy dog bones there cooked!!! and they associate it by sent of blood and meat!! ive had dogs my whole life and they have always been eating cooked bones because thats what i was told to do

The Sweeper

Cooked bones are brittle. They can splinter and the splinters can stick in the dog's gullet.

There's nothing remotely wrong with a large, raw, meaty bone for a dog.

fishfoodie

Microwave for a couple of minutes,.

It'll kill any nasties, but won't cook the bone.

Bearpup

I would never give my dogs cooked bones... from what I have been told they are to brittle and can cause serious damage if splintered....

The Sweeper

fishfoodie, microwave cooking by definition cooks from the inside out. If you wanted to kill nasties, you'd be better off blanching the bone in boiling water for a few seconds.

Personally I don't see the necessity. Use the same hygiene you'd use for your own food - if it smells rank, don't give it to the dog.

As for the nasties thing - have you seen the state of what your dog will dig up from the garden and wander about with in his mouth?!

sophie1234

i dont really do it to kill any bacterias or anything ive just done it all my life what the vet told me to do and looking at shop bought bones that are already cooked! if you buy a bone in a shop it NEVER comes raw does that no show something???????? my vet and others have always told me to cook the bones due to raw meat scent?

ISDW

sophie1234 wrote: »

i dont really do it to kill any bacterias or anything ive just done it all my life what the vet told me to do and looking at shop bought bones that are already cooked! if you buy a bone in a shop it NEVER comes raw does that no show something???????? my vet and others have always told me to cook the bones due to raw meat scent?

Well all of my dogs have raw bones and they haven't savaged any of us yet. But then, as a responsible owner, my dogs are always on the lead around sheep anyway, so it would never be an issue.

So do you roast the bones then, or boil them? Cos any cooked bones from pet shops are roasted. Pet shops also sell clothes for dogs, electric collars, prong collars and lots of other things that in my opinion aren't healthy for a dog, but hey ho, they're there to make money. Obviously pet shops can't sell raw bones, they don't have the facilities, its easier for them to have roasted, wrapped bones for sale. You keep quoting your vet, I've spoken to many, many vets who say NEVER give a dog a cooked bone, vets opinion vary on a lot of subjects.

If thats what you've always done, then carry on, I really hope that you never have any problems. But please, please, never give a dog a cooked chicken bone.

sophie1234

ISDW wrote: »

Well all of my dogs have raw bones and they haven't savaged any of us yet. But then, as a responsible owner, my dogs are always on the lead around sheep anyway, so it would never be an issue.

So do you roast the bones then, or boil them? Cos any cooked bones from pet shops are roasted. Pet shops also sell clothes for dogs, electric collars, prong collars and lots of other things that in my opinion aren't healthy for a dog, but hey ho, they're there to make money. Obviously pet shops can't sell raw bones, they don't have the facilities, its easier for them to have roasted, wrapped bones for sale. You keep quoting your vet, I've spoken to many, many vets who say NEVER give a dog a cooked bone, vets opinion vary on a lot of subjects.

If thats what you've always done, then carry on, I really hope that you never have any problems. But please, please, never give a dog a cooked chicken bone.

i never give my dog chicken bones full stop!!!
we roast them usually cuz were cooking the dinner and he loves the bits of fat that go crispy on them! I no not to give him chicken bones and infact i dont give him any bones that are to small only big ones!!

im qouteing my vet because ive asked him a few times and i suppose its who i trust when asking about my dogs welfare?

sophie1234

and im not arguing with any of you sure i may just give him the next bone raw! to see if he likes it!! he mainly only eats the outside and then the very inside and not the bone its self they ends up in garden being dug and burried in many places!!

Zapperzy

sophie1234 wrote: »

i never give my dog chicken bones full stop!!!
we roast them usually cuz were cooking the dinner and he loves the bits of fat that go crispy on them! I no not to give him chicken bones and infact i dont give him any bones that are to small only big ones!!

im qouteing my vet because ive asked him a few times and i suppose its who i trust when asking about my dogs welfare?

Chicken bones are actually fine to give to a dog provided they are raw,
just never give them cooked. My dog has gotten 1 or 2 chicken wings a week for the last few months and they have never done him any harm.
Vets unfortunately are not always up to speed with nutrition, they usually reccommend whatever is on their shelves because they get commision.

sophie1234

Zapperzy wrote: »

Chicken bones are actually fine to give to a dog provided they are raw,
just never give them cooked. My dog has gotten 1 or 2 chicken wings a week for the last few months and they have never done him any harm.
Vets unfortunately are not always up to speed with nutrition, they usually reccommend whatever is on their shelves because they get commision.

ah i still wouldnt want to give him chicken bones raw or cooked! most of the time the bones are cooked with the dinner anyways very rare we will have raw chicken bone left over to give to him!!

convert

Our dogs have always been given raw bones over the years and we've never had a problem with them chasing sheep or cattle because of it. Bone = nice and juicy. Cattle and sheep = big and scary! (and only to be challenged when hearding them on the farm with a human present! They never go near them otherwise.)

As for chicken bones, I'm not a big fan of giving them to dogs. I once had a collie swallow 2 chicken drumsticks whole! Frightened the life out of me! That said, she was the only one who ever did that, and all the other dogs have always eaten them 'properly'.

summer_ina_bowl

Zapperzy wrote: »

Chicken bones are actually fine to give to a dog provided they are raw,
just never give them cooked. My dog has gotten 1 or 2 chicken wings a week for the last few months and they have never done him any harm.
Vets unfortunately are not always up to speed with nutrition, they usually reccommend whatever is on their shelves because they get commision.

Lol, at the vets where i work, we advise against feeding chicken bones (raw or cooked) but highly recommend feeding large meaty bones - for nutrition, entertainment and dental health. To be honest we remove so many small/fine/sharp bones from dogs' throats (usually chicken bones or cooked pork ribs) that if we were so worried about commission for dog food (?) we'd just bypass the dog food altogether and start recommending that people feed their dogs loads of small sharp bones as that'd probably generate a whole lot more profit!! (fact:at our clinic, our dog food sales are not commission based, though a food company rep did once give me a free 2kg bag of food - granted it was ripped at the back and so couldn't be sold :S)

Zapperzy

summer_ina_bowl wrote: »

Lol, at the vets where i work, we advise against feeding chicken bones (raw or cooked) but highly recommend feeding large meaty bones - for nutrition, entertainment and dental health. To be honest we remove so many small/fine/sharp bones from dogs' throats (usually chicken bones or cooked pork ribs) that if we were so worried about commission for dog food (?) we'd just bypass the dog food altogether and start recommending that people feed their dogs loads of small sharp bones as that'd probably generate a whole lot more profit!! (fact:at our clinic, our dog food sales are not commission based, though a food company rep did once give me a free 2kg bag of food - granted it was ripped at the back and so couldn't be sold :S)

Out of interest are the chicken bones that get stuck in dog's throats cooked? I know of plenty of people who feed barf diets to their dogs and none of them have ever had any problems because of it, in fact it sometimes clears up the skin or coat problems that were present when the dog was being fed 'proper' dog food.
Sorry I had heard of a few people mentioning that their vet is always pushing a certain brand of food because they get commision, I just presumed all clinics work like this.

suziwalsh

sophie1234 wrote: »

i dont really do it to kill any bacterias or anything ive just done it all my life what the vet told me to do and looking at shop bought bones that are already cooked! if you buy a bone in a shop it NEVER comes raw does that no show something???????? my vet and others have always told me to cook the bones due to raw meat scent?

Definately not true I'm afraid. Always give my dogs raw bones mainly from frozen - hours of chewing. Pet shops sell cooked/dried bones as very hard to store raw meat bones. Just make sure bones are marrow bones very good for them. Live animals do not smell the same as dead animals so don't worry about that and raw bones should not be too bloody anyway....

summer_ina_bowl

When properly researched and fed correctly, the barf diet is fantastic and most dogs do really well on it, but you'll find that barf enthusiasts generally advocate the use of large bones to cut out the risks associated with smaller bones. The chicken bones seem to be usually cooked, the drumstick bone seems to be the main offender for medium to large dogs and the wing bones in small breeds.

Some vets will possibly get a bonus (e.g. buy 20 of a certain type get 2 free) on their dog foods which is why they tend to promote a particular brand, but I've never heard of any who are actually on commision. Of course there'll be a mark-up on pet foods (the difference between what it's bought in for and then sold for) but every item bought in any shop does!
Another reason vets usually stock and promote only a couple of brands is space - if we could stock and sell every dog food known to man kind, you can be sure we would! Any responsible vet will select their choice of brands to stock dependant on the cost, quality and the range available!

sophie1234

suziwalsh wrote: »

Definately not true I'm afraid. Always give my dogs raw bones mainly from frozen - hours of chewing. Pet shops sell cooked/dried bones as very hard to store raw meat bones. Just make sure bones are marrow bones very good for them. Live animals do not smell the same as dead animals so don't worry about that and raw bones should not be too bloody anyway....

ah right well any ways he loves the crispy bits on the cooked lamb bones and doesnt get them very frequently!! maybe once every 2 / 3 months they last him months any way!

suziwalsh

sophie1234 wrote: »

ah right well any ways he loves the crispy bits on the cooked lamb bones and doesnt get them very frequently!! maybe once every 2 / 3 months they last him months any way!

O yeah and won't do him any harm at all

Mine get cooked lamb bones too....

Nice to see everyones dogs are as spoilt as mine

sophie1234

suziwalsh wrote: »

O yeah and won't do him any harm at all

Mine get cooked lamb bones too....

Nice to see everyones dogs are as spoilt as mine

:D very spoilt!!!
but i thought this whole discussion was about NOT cooking bones?????????

CL32

Hope I don't add to the confusion here but I was pretty confused to start with too. I did a fair bit of research and took some advice off some Staffie forums I'm a member of, so here's my 2c..

NEVER EVER cooked bones - as mentioned already they can splinter and cause injury to the mouth, throat or compact in the guts.

Pork bones should be sterilized by freezing as parasites are a concern. (Think this applies in Europe but not North America)

Chicken bones are a staple of BARF - although some have a reservation about leg bones.

I've been feeding my girl chicken wings for breakfast every morning and raw meaty bones when I can get them as meal once or twice a week. She gets some fruit and veg too mixed in with kibble. Chicken carcasses are ideal.

I could see the difference in her coat within a week of giving her chicken wings and she seems to be thriving on it. She's stopped farting as much which is a godsend for anyone who knows Staffs. Theres also less poop to get rid of, and what does come out is good and firm.

Welruc

I have often given my mastiff whole raw chickens and he loves them, only last about ten minutes!!

The whole raw meat equals a dog trying to eat your neighbours sheep is utter nonsence, its far more natural for a dog to be eating raw meat.

CL32

deuceswild wrote: »

I have often given my mastiff whole raw chickens and he loves them, only last about ten minutes!!

The whole raw meat equals a dog trying to eat your neighbours sheep is utter nonsence, its far more natural for a dog to be eating raw meat.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop you right there and insist on a pic of your mastiff

Welruc

CL32 wrote: »

I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop you right there and insist on a pic of your mastiff

Here ya go

lisar201

awww ur mastiff is sooo cute!!!!

well i have decided to give her the raw bones and i checked with the vet and he said never give a dog cooked as i already mentioned they splinter and are diffcult to digest and i shall be telling the butcher the same!! thanks everybody for makeing things clearer for me

i have given her one and she has been in back garden for the last 4 hours acting like all her christmas's have come at once!! she cant seem to make up her mind as to what to do with it!!one minute she is burying it the next she is digging it back up again for another bit and then burying it again and digging it back up and so on!

Cherrycoke

deuceswild, he's a right stunner!