Bones For Puppies

[pennyw74]

What sort of bones can I give my 10 week old Cavalier?

[First Time Puppy Owner]

Frozen Chicken Necks, Frozen Turkey Necks, Frozen Lamb Shanks (most of the meat cut of into extra meals) - helps with teething, keeping puppy cool in summer and generally prevents pup from swallowing the bones!

Supervise a couple of times to make sure pup is chewing!

[Mystiqview]

I would be going for softer type bones.

Chicken necks, wings, turkey necks.

Lamb brisket bones... Lamb flaps.. I would think shanks be a little to big at this point.

I would still supervise as they may choose not to chew properly and they can get stuck or wedged.

I would not be giving beef bones as these are lot harder and can break puppy teeth. Something to maybe consider when adult teeth are through - Beef Brisket.

[Cavandra]

If your pup hasnt been reared on bones, I would take it easy to begin with. I would start with chunky raw chicken mince , cut up necks in sizes where if she swallows whole it wont choke her, once you see she is chewing properly & making effort & not gulping you can start on bigger bones like wings & full chicken necks.

Turkey necks are no good as they are too big, and is more than she would eat in 1-2 days. Also most Cavaliers wont eat anything still cold from the fridge, they like it room temp, so I would be surprised if she would try frozen bones as suggested above, a great idea for larger breeds though I expect.

I mainly use necks & wing tips, tips are very soft & they love them. You can buy alot of wings cut the tips off & freeze the rest for when she is older.

[HollyMilo]

I used to feed my cavalier chicken necks and wings when she was younger but at about five months the little guts started to swallow them whole then bring them back up (still whole), so I stopped the necks and now I give her the ends off lamb shanks. Some supermarkets sell the shanks with a cut through the bone about 8cms from the bottom of the shank. You can easily cut the bottom bit off and Holly LOVES these.

You can see the bone in her mouth. She has never swallowed any of these bones whole and I just take the bone and through it away once she's had enough.

[DeltaCharlie]

Id stick with chicken bones and lamb flaps for now. Make sure they are frozen to stop them from gulping and to teach them to chew bones properly. At that age Delta mainly ate chicken bones (wings/frames/necks/drumsticks etc).

[persephone]

Hi..

any pups we have are always started on REALLY big bones..that CAN'T be swallowed at any stage..so they get used to the idea of chewing for extended periods..not gulping.

I don't believe in cutting bones into chunky pieces...in case of a pup trying to swallow it whole

[pennyw74]

Ok, I have tried her on chicken necks and she absolutely loves them. I think she's had about four or so.

My question is, I've been told that chicken necks are dangerous - a colleague heard a vet on the radio say never give puppies chicken necks - what are your views?

[Guest Tess32]

Whether they are dangerous depends on the puppy. Some puppies gulp them whole and depending on the size of the dog, they CAN get stuck going down. I gave them to my Collie pup for a while and he's a great chewer/eater, so I didn't have to worry about him.

I would go for chicken wings over chicken necks, personally.

It's important not to JUST feed chicken though. Dogs do need other types of meat.