Bones And Treats

[just1more]

Hi all,

Just wondering is anyone can suggest something that I can give Ripley, my 4 month old SBT, that will take him longer than 5 mins to consume? He currently gets turkey necks as he swallows chicken necks whole, but they only last 5mins. Chicken carcases last about 2 bites and he can't have beef bones as he has a sensitivity to beef. I gave him half a lamb thigh bone yesterday and it last about an hour...is it ok that he eat lamb leg bone? It hasn't seem to have done anything to him. He doesn't seem to have an interest in his kong or the other stuffable toy I have. If he can get the food out straight away he just leaves it. I have only stuffed them with lamb liver treats...what else could I use and how do I do it? Also, with the warmer weather, is it ok to give frozen bones? Or do they splinter to much? Thanks

[suziwong66]

Hi all,

Just wondering is anyone can suggest something that I can give Ripley, my 4 month old SBT, that will take him longer than 5 mins to consume? He currently gets turkey necks as he swallows chicken necks whole, but they only last 5mins. Chicken carcases last about 2 bites and he can't have beef bones as he has a sensitivity to beef. I gave him half a lamb thigh bone yesterday and it last about an hour...is it ok that he eat lamb leg bone? It hasn't seem to have done anything to him. He doesn't seem to have an interest in his kong or the other stuffable toy I have. If he can get the food out straight away he just leaves it. I have only stuffed them with lamb liver treats...what else could I use and how do I do it? Also, with the warmer weather, is it ok to give frozen bones? Or do they splinter to much? Thanks

I freeze 3-4 chicken necks together in a lump and Wilbur (13 weeks) gets it as part of his breakfast. If he gets them raw, they get wolfed down without chewing; being frozen makes him work for them. Perhaps you could freeze the turkey necks to help slow Ripley down. I also give Wilbur a lamb shank once or twice a week which takes him a little bit of time to eat and then he's happy gnawing on the fresh bone for a few more days

[Nekhbet]

if you feed only out of the food toys it will make the pup use them ... no point working hard if you know you're going to get an easy meal elsewhere ;)

in summer you can also fill an icecream container with raw meaty treats, fill with water and freeze. Tip out the next day, great on stinking hot days too

[TeamSnag]

Mine get beef whizzers

[persephone]

large lengths of roo tail

try & avoid the weight bearing bones ..ie: legs/shanks/ They can splinter lengthways..they don't 'crumble when chomped upon like rootails.briskets, pelvis bones or necks

[WreckitWhippet]

whole lamb necks, roo tails and lamb flaps, they can be used as a meal and entertainment.

I would not give a Stafford any hard bones, they have very powerful jaws and then can wear the teeth down and also fracture them. Stay away from any weight bearing bones as Pers suggested. It's not uncommon for Staffords to break teeth while eating and playing and anything you can do to reduce that, is better than the painfull surgery that comes with removing them.

[trinabean]

Roo tails are my dogs' favourite entertainment/bone!

I buy a bag of frozen tails and actually give them to him only slightly defrosted as that keeps him busy longer.

Another chewy activity that is more indoor-friendly is to firmly wedge chicken jerky down into a Kong. My dog works away at that for quite a while, especially if I make it almost impossible to get some of it out.

[just1more]

Thanks everyone

I was going to try roo tail but the only place I've been able to find so far sells chunks about the size of turkey necks anyway so don't see them lasting any longer

As for the toy, I just figured it was just him. He's never been a big self-entertainer. He loves to be my shadow and loves to "do" (train) things for me for his treats (if you get what I mean?) He doesn't play with his toys unless I play with him. He'll go and chew on his chew toys but that's about as much as he'll do without me :rolleyes: hence why I want something for him that'll keep him busy while I...well, get on with all the other stuff. Also, he doesn't eat a lot in the morning always leaving his kibble until closer to midday...is that normal? He gets a cup of advance kibble in the morning (which he hardly ever eats more than 1/3), one bone (turkey neck, thighs etc) for lunch and cup of homemade raw and yoghurt for dinner. Is that too much and why he's not interested in the kong?

Will try and get some lamb neck I think. And since it's meant to get up to 31degs over the next few days here I will defo be doing the freezer blocks :D

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Deer antler, cows hoof, an squirrel dude loaded with kibble.

Stuff loaded in kong and frozen.

At least - one of those is what my dog gets.

she can demolish those dried pigs trotters in about five minutes, but it takes my friend's jack russel and tenterfield over an hour to make a dent in one.

If my dog doesn't eat what I put down straight away (she gets 10 minutes), I take it away until the next meal time. If it happens a few times - it's obviously too much food unless she starts losing weight.

for a desexed dog you can reduce the recommended amount of kibble by 1/3. 1 cup of advance along with the other stuff, does seem like rather a lot of food. My dog is down to 3/4 tin mug of nutro if I give her nothing else but training treats. Mostly it's 1/4 tin mug of nutro (or as much as will fit in the squirrel dude) plus 450gm casserole (similar to tinned food but I make it myself so less stinky).

[WreckitWhippet]

I would not recommend deer antler for an SBT, they are hard and there's the risks of grinding teeth down, breaking or fracturing them. I know there's the argument that they can grind their teeth down on tennis balls etc, but you really need to look after your SBT's mouth the best you can, as any broken teeth ( especially canines and molars ) result in very painfull and major surgery.

[just1more]

Thanks again

Talk about wearing their teeth down! Ripley is teething ATM so has taken to chewing the edge of the concrete patio!! All 4 of his K9's are slowly go a tad flat! Lucky they are his baby ones! All his front teeth are now thru and the back ones are on their way out so he can get the concrete in his mouth that far so has gone back to his toys!

As for how much he eats...when I say he's 4 months old he's about the size of a 9month old or bigger!!! He's a big boy (his dad was 28kg and mum 22kg...not fat or tall, very broad and all muscle) he's all ready around 12kg and isn't fat. He still tucks in nicely behind his ribs which you can see and feel nicely I think I will drop his kibble down a touch though...I honestly think he doesn't eat it as he's waiting for something better He used to get his raw mix twice a day so is wondering why he's getting dished up this dry crap??!! Spoilt and fussy me thinks ;)