Tell Me Why Cooked Bones Are Bad!

[lovemesideways]

So I am a believer in never feeding a dog cooked bones, always told they will splinter and saw it myself when our family cat stole a cooked chicken bone out of the bin and the splintered bone got caught inside his jaw I got it out and he wasn't harmed (couple nasty scratches for me)

BUT my partner does not believe this. His family have had GSDs for years, and always fed them scraps and cooked bones and "they where always fine!"

Now he won't feed any of our dogs cooked bones, I've talked to him about it and told him all the risks but I know he still thinks that because his previous family dogs where fine, it must be ok. He won't feed any of our dogs cooked bones, but if he takes Ricky for a visit to his parents house, I know he still gets given the occasional cooked bone there. They even save their cooked bones and put them in a baggy to give to us every week or 2. Even after me telling them I will never give my dogs cooked bones and they just go into the bin.

So some actual facts, horror stories, real information on why this is a bad thing would be much appreciated.

[persephone]

As I understand it ..the chemical composition of bone changes when cooked. This product then becomes brittle ..and also not able to be properly digested ,as can raw bone. there is no 'goodness' left in a cooked bone ..only a risk .

[Malamum]

I'd tell him that there are plenty of people who have smoked all their lives and are "fine" but that's no consolation to the people who have developed emphysema.

Same goes with cooked bones - they were just lucky previously. Just because it didn't happen to them it doesn't mean that cooked bones can't splinter and cause issues.

It's just an unnecessary risk in my opinion.

[anniek]

Get a raw chicken thigh bone and a cooked chicken thigh bone. Smash them both with hammer, and blind freddy will see the difference.

Edited August 6, 2011 by anniek

[westiemum]

This.

As I understand it ..the chemical composition of bone changes when cooked. This product then becomes brittle ..and also not able to be properly digested ,as can raw bone. there is no 'goodness' left in a cooked bone ..only a risk .

[westiemum]

And this...

Get a raw chicken thigh bone and a cooked chicken thigh bone. Smash them both with hammer, and blind freddy will see the difference.

[Jonny]

As I understand it ..the chemical composition of bone changes when cooked. This product then becomes brittle ..and also not able to be properly digested ,as can raw bone. there is no 'goodness' left in a cooked bone ..only a risk .

This is untrue.

A study just done by a veterinary student at Sydney University in collaboration with the engineering faculty proved that a cooked bone is actually more easily digested and easier to be broken than a raw bone. But unfortunately the conclusion of the study said more research needed to be done :p

The paper was written by Chaves, Ilkin et al.

[Staranais]

As I understand it ..the chemical composition of bone changes when cooked. This product then becomes brittle ..and also not able to be properly digested ,as can raw bone. there is no 'goodness' left in a cooked bone ..only a risk .

This is untrue.

A study just done by a veterinary student at Sydney University in collaboration with the engineering faculty proved that a cooked bone is actually more easily digested and easier to be broken than a raw bone. But unfortunately the conclusion of the study said more research needed to be done :p

The paper was written by Chaves, Ilkin et al.

Where was it published? I can't seem to find it.

[Jonny]

As I understand it ..the chemical composition of bone changes when cooked. This product then becomes brittle ..and also not able to be properly digested ,as can raw bone. there is no 'goodness' left in a cooked bone ..only a risk .

This is untrue.

A study just done by a veterinary student at Sydney University in collaboration with the engineering faculty proved that a cooked bone is actually more easily digested and easier to be broken than a raw bone. But unfortunately the conclusion of the study said more research needed to be done :p

The paper was written by Chaves, Ilkin et al.

Where was it published? I can't seem to find it.

Published in a veterinary publication here in Australia. I'll try to find it at work on monday and get back to you.

[matilda1]

I'm a vet Nurse and I spend a lot of time time in Surgery pulling bits of cooked bone splinters out of dogs intestines.

For me that's all the proof I need.

[OSoSwift]

Cooked bones splinter far more than raw bones, they are harder and sharper than raw bones. They tend to get harder poops than if they have raw bones, and combine that with pieces of hard cooked bones and you have concrete spikey poos.

They do set harder and I am yet to see a dog who have a blockage of hard compacted poo from raw bones but I have seen many from cooked bones.

And I have seen many many many dogs end up very constipated and needing GA's and clean outs from cooked bones and only a very small number from raw bones.

I have seen more broken teeth from cooked than raw bones. Yes I have seen broken teeth from raw bones, but many more from cooked bones.

[Staranais]

As I understand it ..the chemical composition of bone changes when cooked. This product then becomes brittle ..and also not able to be properly digested ,as can raw bone. there is no 'goodness' left in a cooked bone ..only a risk .

This is untrue.

A study just done by a veterinary student at Sydney University in collaboration with the engineering faculty proved that a cooked bone is actually more easily digested and easier to be broken than a raw bone. But unfortunately the conclusion of the study said more research needed to be done :p

The paper was written by Chaves, Ilkin et al.

Where was it published? I can't seem to find it.

Published in a veterinary publication here in Australia. I'll try to find it at work on monday and get back to you.

Yes please!

[persephone]

I'd also be interested in looking at results of that study

[Nekhbet]

raw bone, and bones in an animal, are actually a living, changing system. Its not just hard calcium, they are made up of various proteins, cells, fats etc. Bones are a storage reserve for calcium to help maintain the bodys concentration which is required for nervous fucntion as well.

Now when you cook a bone, heat especially denatures and breaks down proteins, cells etc as well as dehydrates the product. So what was now a digestible matrix has been turned into whats not affected by the actualy cooking process - hard mineral matter which is what you see dogs poop out after eating a raw bone. In essence you're feeding your dog a lump of rock and hoping it passes through. It's the shape of bones, especially long bones, that make them shatter in shards. Most grow in a reasonably spiral manner so when you do crack them you notice big slivers.

Some dogs have always eaten cooked bones, my grandmother would snip all the bones with pliers for her rottweiler. Saying that it only takes one cooked bone to pierce the stomach/intestines. If you know its not a digestible product why tempt fate?

[GoldenGirl85]

raw bone, and bones in an animal, are actually a living, changing system. Its not just hard calcium, they are made up of various proteins, cells, fats etc. Bones are a storage reserve for calcium to help maintain the bodys concentration which is required for nervous fucntion as well.

Now when you cook a bone, heat especially denatures and breaks down proteins, cells etc as well as dehydrates the product. So what was now a digestible matrix has been turned into whats not affected by the actualy cooking process - hard mineral matter which is what you see dogs poop out after eating a raw bone. In essence you're feeding your dog a lump of rock and hoping it passes through. It's the shape of bones, especially long bones, that make them shatter in shards. Most grow in a reasonably spiral manner so when you do crack them you notice big slivers.

^^

This, exactly

[lovemesideways]

All this this great info. Thankyou! Really helps. I'll be printing it out if anyone has links to studies too please post them.

[lilli_star]

So I am a believer in never feeding a dog cooked bones, always told they will splinter and saw it myself when our family cat stole a cooked chicken bone out of the bin and the splintered bone got caught inside his jaw I got it out and he wasn't harmed (couple nasty scratches for me)

BUT my partner does not believe this. His family have had GSDs for years, and always fed them scraps and cooked bones and "they where always fine!"

Sigh. I know someone who says exactly the same thing! And he has GSDs too! His other argument is that in a bushfire, a bird/other animal would become 'cooked' and dogs in the wild would eat those and they're fine!

[PeiPei]

I'd never feed cooked bones to my pets but they thrive on raw bones. My vet couldn't believe how good my two dogs teeth were for their age. I follow barf & swear by it!

[moosepup]

So I am a believer in never feeding a dog cooked bones, always told they will splinter and saw it myself when our family cat stole a cooked chicken bone out of the bin and the splintered bone got caught inside his jaw I got it out and he wasn't harmed (couple nasty scratches for me)

BUT my partner does not believe this. His family have had GSDs for years, and always fed them scraps and cooked bones and "they where always fine!"

Sigh. I know someone who says exactly the same thing! And he has GSDs too! His other argument is that in a bushfire, a bird/other animal would become 'cooked' and dogs in the wild would eat those and they're fine!

Seriously?

I can just imagine all the wild dogs out there just hangin' for a bushfire "maaaannnn, can't wait for someone to torch this place! I'd love me some roasted magpie right about now."

[BCPuppy]

A couple of months ago with friends at a bbq, lots of yummy ribs, dog being fed the cooked bones, on voicing caution to dog owners was told 'oh he always has cooked bones and never had a problem'. Later that night a five hour dash to the nearest emergency vet, no fun on country roads with lots of large wildlife and dog in agony, dog was pts later next day with unrepairable internal damage. Beautiful 3 yr old dog lost his life through sheer stupidity imo. Made me angry.