. Concerned about feedinig raw bones or cooked as there is much advice about disadvantages of both.Is raw hide safe for puppies?
Oh no cooked bones pleased , they tend to split far too easily and can be dangerous . Have a look in the Feeding section, loads of info in there for feeding raw foods , good luck x
definitely NOT cooked. We had an episode with a cooked bone from a pet shop, which splintered & caused sickness. We were lucky, no harm done. Could have been so much worse. I don't know why pet shops sell them.
Hi Gwenda. The general rule is raw bones are OK, but not too big. No weight-bearing bones from larger mammals (sheep, cows etc) because they're too hard and can splinter their teeth. I do give mine chunks of marrow bone on occasion (about one inch thick), but under strict supervision and they are not allowed to chew the bone, just work on getting the marrow out. You have to be confident that the dog is happy to have you remove the bone once it's finished with, though - I always swap it for a bit of dried tripe. Definitely never cooked bones, because they're likely to splinter. Rawhide is widely used, but it varies from dog to dog whether they tolerate it. It really upsets some dogs' tummies. You also have to be really careful you keep an eye out when they have it; you need to take it away when it gets small enough to swallow, because it could cause blockages. Also, much rawhide is very cheaply produced (often in China) and not within standards we would consider acceptable for regular dog food. There is much information online about the dangers of rawhide but most of it is anecdotal. Here (https://thesciencedog.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/keep-those-doggies-rollin-rawhide-rawhide/) is a summary of a couple of studies which states that pork rawhides are "better" than beef ones because they're more digestible. This has to be balanced with this quote: which means that, if the dog tears off larger pieces, rather than chewing it well, it could cause blockages in the small intestine. Another thing people use rawhides for is teeth cleaning, and, whilst it's true that they are better than nothing for cleaning teeth, tooth brushing is still considered superior: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11968913. Many, many people feed rawhides with no issues whatsoever. I feed mine an occasional cow ear (one or two a week). Other people consider them to be the work of the devil. You have to make up your own mind, given the evidence available.
Fiona, what types of bones would you suggest? Which "parts" I guess I'm asking. I really have no experience in choosing raw ones, but a shop near me sells raw bones in a freezer I noticed the other day. I think my Otis would love it. Have you heard of any puppies getting sick from the marrow? I'm always nervous to give him new treats. Also, how long does it keep your pups busy? The only chews I give my puppy are elk antlers, split and while although he definitely loves the split more.... and bully sticks and of course his normal chew toys. I also have a beef trachea laying around here that I haven't given him yet, any thoughts on that?
