Beef bones and puppies

[Neil Todd]

Was given some beef bones by mum for little Shea but not sure if should let him have them. Is it safe?

[Louise Perry]

Hi, are they cooked bones? I have given Reuben raw marrow bones from butchers and he loved them. I understand that cooked bones can splinter, so not safe but I know the raw marrow ones are okay. Someone else more experienced maybe able to advise better than me tho. Just make sure you get your pup use to the bone taken off them and given straight back to avoid any possessiveness over them.

[Sue and Cash]

Okay now I am worried to try one Fran. Our breeder recommended cow ears and so far Cash loves them. It takes him almost two hours to eat one and they seem to sort of disinegrate as he comes along so I know they are safe for him. I let him have one a couple times a week. Not sure if they have them over there. Not slimey smokey like pig ears. These are clean.

[Deb Bouttell]

We feed bones at least a couple of times a week, they crunch them up and eat them...but they must be raw.

[Neil Todd]

We didn't give Shea the bones that Neil's mum gave us as we realised that they were rib bones and more likely to splinter. Instead we got some raw marrow bones off the butcher. We gave Shea the first one without freezing it first and he seemed fine with it - he doesn't eat them per se - he just happily gnaws on them. I threw it away last night (after a couple of days of chewing) and gave him a fresh one from the freezer this morning. He seems to love them and so far hasn't shown any signs of an upset tummy. He is definitely nibbling less on us though! ;)

Debra (Neil's other half)

[Ossian]

Personally I wouldnt give cooked bones. that is when they can splinter into large shards. Same with the "roasted bones" you can buy in pet stores. If they get a crack in them they split and can nip the dogs lip or break a bit off that goes in the tummy.
a dogs stomcah acids immediately react on sharp "raw" matter ro refine it and make it less dangerous. The cooked bone is much more difficult to break down.

go raw with bones.
Ribs are fine if the dog is older and seriously working at chewing. Puppy stick to something big enough to drag around.

Worf of caution. dont leave a bone lying outside ovenight and then let the dog have it next day.

it is quite possible that rats have examined the bone (or pee'd on it) and susceptible puppies might be unwell

[Elizabeth Ball]

Dog bones have caused me all sorts of confusion; Bella has just enjoyed her first raw marrow bone as it has been warm enough that I can leave her in the garden with it (tried it in the house and I had issues with the smell which is bizarre given all the other things we have to deal with for our dogs but it was the raw meaty smell that turned my tum). I gave it to her for short-ish sessions to begin with to see how the marrow affected her tummy and there were no problems, so my question is once all the marrow and meaty bits have gone, do I leave her with the bone to chew? To be honest she seemed to lose interest in it once it had been stripped clean. I always stored it in a ziploc bag in the fridge between chew sessions and she had it for about 3 days which is when I began to question its hygiene and discarded it.

A friend of mine who I consider to be very knowledgable about dogs said he gave his dogs boiled bones that he stuffs with treats..... but I thought that cooked bones were bad? Do these behave differently?

I am very keen to give Bella something to promote constructive chewing and keep her occupied (but still supervised) and she is not at all interested in Nylabones, she has mastered the art of emptying a kong at speed and doesn't really chew the thing itself, so I wonder what else there is that is natural? I am interested in Susan's comment re: ears as I have seen them in the pet shop but didn't know how they behave when chewed i.e. would they go all stretchy like rawhide which at 6 months she might choke on; also someone with GSDs I met on a walk recommended Bull Pizzles to me but again I don't know how they behave under chewing and I haven't seen them again to ask further.

I feel like I am on such a learning curve with Bella and when I try to research what is the best for her I always seem to end up with contradictory advice - it's why I like this site so much and all the experience on it!