Bones For Puppy?

[natamalie]

Hi guys,

I have just become the proud owner of a Ridgeback puppy who is now nearly 10 weeks old. I want to leave a bone for him during the day to help keep him occupied whilst my partner and I are at work. I thought I'd check if there are any paticular types/sizes of bones that are best and whether or not people think this is a good idea? My breeder recommended briskett bones but I'm struggling to find them after calling a few butchers now.

Thanks heaps!

[ButerflyGirl]

I have been feeding my puppy bones bassically since I brought him home when he was about 9 1/2 weeks old, the first bones I gave home were a beef leg bone (the ones with the knuckles at each end, looks like a cartoon type bone) which was cut into quarters, he liked that but only as long as the meat and the marrow lasted, he wasnt really that interested in it after that.

The vet that we went to told us that he personally prefered brisket bones over the leg bones because they are softer and the dogs eat the whole bone not just the yummy bits, and you dont end up with half eaten bones all around your yard (because they eat the whole lot).

I get my brisket bones from my butcher, sometimes I have to arrange a day to pick them up, because they are out of them and they arent boning out a beef carcase for a couple of days, but then I am also in the country where they get "county killed meat" they have the whole beast (minus the insides and head) delivered and then the butchers cut it themselves, whereas I believe in the cities, the butchers just get cuts of meat from wholesalers and then cut it into steaks/chops/etc from there, so wouldnt nesecarily get the "waste" bits, like the yummy bones for our puppies.

Oh and for interest sake the Brisket is what would be the chest bones if a cow was to walk on its hind legs.

If you want to keep him occupied you could try kangaroo back bones, that keeps my boy ammused for hours, once the big bits of meat are gone then he has to gnaw around all the little vertabra bits, and the bone is all one piece not like our bones which are lots of small vertabra held together. But unless you have a Kangaroo processor nearby I dont know how easy they would be to come across?

Vanessa

[Sandra777]

I would be wary of brisket bones in a dog the size & strength of a ridgeback. I know of three Staffordshire Bull Terriers which have tried to swallow beef brisket without chewing it to size - choked and died. I don't think this is such an issue with smaller dogs because they probably don't have the jaw strength to force the bone that far back in their mouths, but I would think a RR might do? Perhaps not a puppy, but do you REALLY want to find out the hard way? Hasn't put me off raw feeding, but no brisket ever passes my door

Those big leg bones are not much use for anything except breaking teeth so I really couldn't recommend them. Perhaps toys rather than a bone would be a better idea? IMO bones are for when there is active human supervision, not for play time. Just my opinion of course!

[luvsdogs]

Feeding raw meaty bones is what dogs were meant to eat but I wouldn't leave them with a puppy all day. By all means give him bones but be there to make sure he can handle them. Start with raw chicken wings, legs & thighs, turkey wings, lamb shanks & necks. The big weight bearing bones will chip the teeth if left with a dog to finish. I would only let them have a go at the cartilage on the ends & the marrow then dispose of them.

[natamalie]

Thanks heaps for the info guys. I think I might leave bones for when I'm there to supervise and stick to leaving toys during the day... and perhaps some rawhide chews? What are people's thoughts about these?

[persephone]

perhaps some rawhide chews? What are people's thoughts about these?

Not advised by me

Choking risk

stuffed, frozen KONG..

balls large enough to NOT entirely fit in a mouth...

some nylabones

a cardboard box or three to rip apart

[SmoothieGirl]

Cheap/easy amusements that my pup LOVES:

Soft drink bottle (no lid or branding labels left on) and food inside, just dry food, sometimes a bit of liver or natural dog biscuits. She does woof a little at them because she is so thrilled with the challenge

Used kitchen or toilet roll with similar food bits as above and the ends folded over. Yes, you do have to pick the bits up of the garden for days, but man they love ripping them up.

I'm going to give the cardboard box idea of Persephone's a try, I'd lay money that my girl would think Christmas arrived early.

[luvsdogs]

Thanks heaps for the info guys. I think I might leave bones for when I'm there to supervise and stick to leaving toys during the day... and perhaps some rawhide chews? What are people's thoughts about these?

I wouldn't give these either after reading the article in Urban Animal about dog treats.

You can scatter his dry food around your yard b4 going to work. Takes time to find all the bits & time for a nap when he's finished. Also buster cubes & frozen kongs.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a dehydrator & dry my own meat/fruits/vegies for treats.

[giraffez]

I'm also curious as I haven't been able to get some from my butcher either, is it like this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brisketphoto.jpg, if so, aren't these ribs? Or are they like http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen/images/r...cts/ribtips.jpg?

And are they mostly bones and high in fat?

Edited August 5, 2009 by giraffez

[natamalie]

Cheap/easy amusements that my pup LOVES:

Soft drink bottle (no lid or branding labels left on) and food inside, just dry food, sometimes a bit of liver or natural dog biscuits. She does woof a little at them because she is so thrilled with the challenge

Used kitchen or toilet roll with similar food bits as above and the ends folded over. Yes, you do have to pick the bits up of the garden for days, but man they love ripping them up.

I'm going to give the cardboard box idea of Persephone's a try, I'd lay money that my girl would think Christmas arrived early.

Thanks heaps for these ideas!! I'm definitely giving the toilet roll one a go. Should I just be putting in his usual dry food? He is getting Eagle Pack puppy for giant breeds, should i put a few kibbles of this in the tube or some other sort of treaty biscuit?

[vegemite_toast]

Cheap/easy amusements that my pup LOVES:

Soft drink bottle (no lid or branding labels left on) and food inside, just dry food, sometimes a bit of liver or natural dog biscuits. She does woof a little at them because she is so thrilled with the challenge

Used kitchen or toilet roll with similar food bits as above and the ends folded over. Yes, you do have to pick the bits up of the garden for days, but man they love ripping them up.

I'm going to give the cardboard box idea of Persephone's a try, I'd lay money that my girl would think Christmas arrived early.

Thanks heaps for these ideas!! I'm definitely giving the toilet roll one a go. Should I just be putting in his usual dry food? He is getting Eagle Pack puppy for giant breeds, should i put a few kibbles of this in the tube or some other sort of treaty biscuit?

My 12 year old dog and the 13 week old puppy both love these. They have so much fun ripping them apart, and I have never put any treats inside them. They actually go into the bathroom and steal the used rolls off the window sill because they love them so much.

They also love old pizza boxes. I guess the bit of food / oil residue and odours have permeated them, so the dogs find them irresistible.

And another vote for the soft drink bottle with some kibble / biscuits in it. My pup went wild with one yesterday, played with it for well over an hour, had a rest and then went back to it for more fun.

[kazrat]

Hiya, feel I have to post, from my own experience, I WILL NEVER give my dogs brisket bones again. Learnt the hard way, not our first of the breed but our first show prospect, OH came inside to check on me and bub,brestfeeding, went back out and he was gone.....took less than 3 mins with it. Still brings me to tears, and it was 10 yrs ago now. The guilt is just immense, almost unbearable and now I stick to raw chicken and watch until it's all gone. Even necks are sliced into discs these days and our guys just try to suck them down too quickly. But they still like their Texas T-bones to teeth on!!

I would be wary of brisket bones in a dog the size & strength of a ridgeback. I know of three Staffordshire Bull Terriers which have tried to swallow beef brisket without chewing it to size - choked and died. I don't think this is such an issue with smaller dogs because they probably don't have the jaw strength to force the bone that far back in their mouths, but I would think a RR might do? Perhaps not a puppy, but do you REALLY want to find out the hard way? Hasn't put me off raw feeding, but no brisket ever passes my door

Those big leg bones are not much use for anything except breaking teeth so I really couldn't recommend them. Perhaps toys rather than a bone would be a better idea? IMO bones are for when there is active human supervision, not for play time. Just my opinion of course!

[Red Fox]

Hi natamalie and welcome to DOL!!

I have a ridgie too

As the others have mentioned leaving bones unsupervised it probably not a good idea, same with pigs ears/rawhide chews. I will leave Kei alone with a large marrow bone now he's older but thats about it otherwise I am constantly checking on him. He' on a raw/BARF diet so he gets lots of bones (mainly chicken) but always when I'm home to supervise.

As as a baby puppy I would mix kibble with yogurt and freeze it inside his Kongs. I'd give these to him when I went out, along with biscuit balls and Kongs with cheese spread and dried liver inside. The frozen ones were the best though as they kept him occupied for ages

As for brisket bones my breeder recommended them too but we were unable to get any so use lamb flaps intead.

[poodlefan]

I have left my dogs with beef soup bones but I don't make a habit of it.

I feed dried beef pizzle and tendon for "stay at home" chewing.

[natamalie]

Hi natamalie and welcome to DOL!!

I have a ridgie too

As the others have mentioned leaving bones unsupervised it probably not a good idea, same with pigs ears/rawhide chews. I will leave Kei alone with a large marrow bone now he's older but thats about it otherwise I am constantly checking on him. He' on a raw/BARF diet so he gets lots of bones (mainly chicken) but always when I'm home to supervise.

As as a baby puppy I would mix kibble with yogurt and freeze it inside his Kongs. I'd give these to him when I went out, along with biscuit balls and Kongs with cheese spread and dried liver inside. The frozen ones were the best though as they kept him occupied for ages

As for brisket bones my breeder recommended them too but we were unable to get any so use lamb flaps intead.

Hi SecretKei!

Thanks for the info! I'm off out this afternoon to purchase some Kongs and I will definitely try the kibble and yogurt mix. How awesome are ridgies!!? hehehe, not that I'm bias or anything! ;p

[chiara]

Hi,

I've been giving my Rottweiler lamb leg bones since he was 10 weeks old. The bones are not cooked and I get them from a pet butchery where they sell raw diet stuff.

Kangaroo tail bones are good too, especially for the baby teeth it helps when they are loose and half falling out.

He used to just eat the meat on the outside and a bone would last him for a few days, now 10 months on he disintegrates a bone in a few hours and gets the marrow. The point is if the bone is too big he'll just eat the meat on the outside and play with it for a while, when he's ready he'll break through it, I wouldn't give him the smaller bones, as he is a big breed he might just swallow them... bigger is better!

For entertaining during the day I used to cut an old towel into strips (say 20 cm) and tie a knot in the middle or many knots and put a treat in the middle of the knot... cheaper than a Kong toy and kept my pup entertained for ages, just make sure your pup doesn't eat the towel... that can cause blockage in the intestines and that would require an operation that said my pup never ate the towel.

Hope this helps:-)

Edited August 11, 2009 by chiara