Has Your Dog Ever Choked On A Raw Bone?

[corvus]

I said no, but plenty of times they have swallowed something too big and coughed it back up again for another go. I've never seen them or any other dog unable to sort it out on their own. Like others, Kivi has had bones stuck across the roof of his mouth before. One was a dried pig's trotter bone and the other I'm not really sure what it was, but my guess is a small roo shank. We get roo shanks from the pet store and they are a big favourite - very meaty and a bit of marrow in the bones - but they tend to splinter. They get those bones as a special treat, but I do worry about them. The small ones especially. Kivi got that one caught because he was playing with it while upside down.

I think there are risks with bones and I can understand why you wouldn't want to take those risks. Aside from choking, I believe it is also not uncommon to get bowel blockages from bones. I'm very uneasy about the thought of cutting them out of the diet all together, though. There is nothing in the world Kivi would be prepared to lie down and chew for over an hour but a bone. I was talking to this behaviour specialist recently about possible PhD projects and he was saying he thinks the pet food companies have missed something in bones, because there's more to a bone than just the nutritional value. Why do dogs want to sit down with an old bone that has no nutritional value and not only chew on it for ages, but defend it from other dogs? It seems like the act of chewing a bone is rewarding in itself. That really struck a chord with me, as I know when Kivi was teething I provided him with all sorts of chew toys and I smeared peanut butter on them or vegemite trying to get him interested in them, but the only thing he would chew was bones, and if there were no bones, the furniture. I ended up giving him bones while I was not at home in a desperate attempt to provide him with an outlet for his chewing that was acceptable. It was the only thing he would happily do for more than five minutes.

[Jilla]

Yes - had a 10 yo choke on a brisket bone and virtually die. She was blue and not breathing. It was horrible. I managed to reach the bone and push it sideways and air was released. Then hubbie managed to get his hand down her throat and pull the bone out after my 3 attempts had failed. Then heart massage and compressions and she coughed and then started breathing. It was the longest 5 mins of my life. I saw her go down and was with her for her frantic last attempts to breath... That was two years ago and she is still in brilliant health, but I am very careful now not to feed bones to older dogs or greedy gulpers. It was just so lucky that I was able to get there within seconds that day, hubbie was home,and we started working on her immediately. Another dog had woofed 'funny' and that made me look out the window. Another minute would have been too late.

[Gayle.]

Mine get bones every day.....they start their day with a chicken drumstick or lamb offcut, and often end it with a bowl of chicken pieces, lamb offcuts or some other raw edible bones.

They have been eating bones since they were weaned. It's part of their daily diet. They have never choked, and I don't usually closely supervise. Occasionally, something will go down "the wrong way" (just like it does for us) and a cough will bring it back up.

I wonder if this makes a difference. Being that they've had bones daily since they were tiny puppies, have they learned to manage bones safely, rather than being given bones as an adult and being expected to know what to do with them after a steady diet of kibble (which most dogs gulp down).

[Danois]

I will leave Boo with a big whole marrow bone 3-4 times a week. Sometimes he will get a split one provided the half is not thin and could wedge in his mouth.

He gets lamb flaps/ breast too but this is supervised.

He will get a chicken carcass but again supervised.

He gets a lamb shank on a Saturday (when I've collected the bones from the butcher) - my butchers laugh and call them toothpicks! I take the last bit of bone off him.

I am not hugely worried about him choking as he is a very gentle slow eater.

[JRzipper]

Mine get bones every day.....they start their day with a chicken drumstick or lamb offcut, and often end it with a bowl of chicken pieces, lamb offcuts or some other raw edible bones.

They have been eating bones since they were weaned. It's part of their daily diet. They have never choked, and I don't usually closely supervise. Occasionally, something will go down "the wrong way" (just like it does for us) and a cough will bring it back up.

I wonder if this makes a difference. Being that they've had bones daily since they were tiny puppies, have they learned to manage bones safely, rather than being given bones as an adult and being expected to know what to do with them after a steady diet of kibble (which most dogs gulp down).

I absolutely agree with this GayleK. I've been feeding bones for a decade and never had a problem but they have all started on bones as babies and once weaned my dogs have always had their own quiet place to eat their bones. They all carry their bones up onto their bed and take their time eating them. I've seen someone try to introduce bones to a "teenage" dog who'd never had a bone before and he tried to frantically gobble it down and choked almost immediately, luckily he managed to cough it out but I could see that this was a dog that would need to be closely watched.

[ninoid12]

I dont know if its technically 'choking', but i feed chicken carcasses/frames. My rotti has had the foulest burps and breathe a few times now, and i swear its the fatty parts stuck somewhere. Once she seemed to be choking/coughing/chucking up (not one, sort of a mixture of all three) and a big chunk of fat came out. Sort of like the dog on Bondi Vet that time, when they had to pull the pieces out from its throat. Not fun.

I now buy frames from another chicken place which has little fat chunks on it. Since then, she hasnt had that foul breathe and burps.

Fingers crossed! lol

[Jilla]

Mine get bones every day.....they start their day with a chicken drumstick or lamb offcut, and often end it with a bowl of chicken pieces, lamb offcuts or some other raw edible bones.

They have been eating bones since they were weaned. It's part of their daily diet. They have never choked, and I don't usually closely supervise. Occasionally, something will go down "the wrong way" (just like it does for us) and a cough will bring it back up.

I wonder if this makes a difference. Being that they've had bones daily since they were tiny puppies, have they learned to manage bones safely, rather than being given bones as an adult and being expected to know what to do with them after a steady diet of kibble (which most dogs gulp down).

I absolutely agree with this GayleK. I've been feeding bones for a decade and never had a problem but they have all started on bones as babies and once weaned my dogs have always had their own quiet place to eat their bones. They all carry their bones up onto their bed and take their time eating them. I've seen someone try to introduce bones to a "teenage" dog who'd never had a bone before and he tried to frantically gobble it down and choked almost immediately, luckily he managed to cough it out but I could see that this was a dog that would need to be closely watched.

This dog had been eating bones daily since a pup. I had two 'warnings' where the bone had stuck a little on her teeth but did not think any more of that. Her teeth were perfect BTW. No reasons for this choke except the brisket bone was a circular shape and she was in a hurry and swallowed it too quickly - and cut off her breathing when it lodged sideways across her wind pipe.

For all the people that say they give bones and 'watch them' or 'supervise them' - make sure you know the Heimlich technique. You simply do not have time to get to a Vet once they choke and suffocate and it is a particularly cruel way to see them die. http://www.ehow.com/how_2166868_perform-do...h-maneuver.html

I still feed bones - but not to her or any dog over middle age and not circular brisket bones - they get cut smaller or thrown away. I also feed chicken 'mince' which is the chicken cages minced into a sludge. I would rather risk bad teeth than another dog choke and suffocate like that.