raw bones

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:

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.

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.

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....

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 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 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.

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.

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!

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.

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