Feeding Bones

[PuddleDuck]

So, I have an issue with feeding bones. Doof, without fail, spews every time....usually brought on by stepping on to my carpet to ensure the most annoyingness possible. He can eat cow hooves, rawhide and deer antler with no issues.

I have no intention of changing their diet - they are on eukanuba and do brilliantly on it, it's fantastic.

I would really like to offer bones and remember someone on here saying once that their stomachs need to be conditioned to digest them? Any ideas how to do this???

[Nekhbet]

start with something small on a daily basis like minced raw chicken frames. Just gradually up it and then introduce chicken necks/wings etc. Remember too some dogs just dont do well on raw red meats so some minced beef/lamb/roo without preservatives is the way to go too.

Remember daily is better as the stomach will be able to change. Some natural yoghurt added to the mince can help as well.

[persephone]

What bones do you feed?

[PuddleDuck]

Thanks guys

Nekbhet how long would you take to build up the minced bones then transition to chicken wings/necks?

Persephone its been ages since I tried so can remember. They would have been red meat bones. Probably fairly heavy weight bearing bones I would think

It's just with the new baby I see them somewhat bored and would love a healthy enrichment treat for them

[persephone]

Some dogs do vomit, as sharp ,hard pointy bits of bone irritate their stomachs . fair enough, too!

try feeding chicken fames, lamb flaps/briskets. Turkey necks ..whole lamb necks as a meal ... anything that's not a leg, basically and big.Freeze also to slow down the chewing time ;)

[Esky the husky]

While you are transitioning them you could always put chicken carcass mince into a kong and freeze.

That keeps my girl busy for at least an hour!

[Inevitablue]

Dry food also raises the pH of the stomach to around 5 - 6, whereas a wild dog has a pH of 2 - 3. Bones don't dissolve at a pH close to neutral. Often the dogs stomach rejects the bone because of this.

If feeding bones is important, you could try by adding some raw meat to the Eukanuba, bring the stomach pH down a little.

[Nekhbet]

just see how the dog goes, if you see there is normal poos forming with a reasonable quantity of minced frames (eg a meals worth) then creep up to adding a neck in there.

Slow and steady, just keep checking your dogs poo. If you see its getting whiter and dryer thats fine and normal on a highly digestible diet. If you find the dog gets constipated on a meal of minced frames add some normal human (I use the homebrand one) bran to the mince and see if that helps.

It's a matter of just working at the dogs pace Baby steps and you get there. Yes dogs will vomit up bones that are indigestible but if they are still white then the stomach has not even tried. My lot will sometimes vomit up hard bits they cannot digest (normal canine behaviour) but you can see the juices have tried to erode them quite a lot.

[VJB]

I have no help with the bone issue as my dog reacts badly to raw bones as well.. unfortunately. If your dog is a bit bored, you could scatter his dry food around the yard for him to search for, as this can take some time and use his mind a bit. I do this with my dog for one of her feeds each day, and she happily walks around our yard finding all the dry food.

[Mason_Gibbs]

My dog used to vomit bones, started feeding raw roo, goat and lamb then started roo bones and no hassles. Sadly last weekend he nearly died choking on a bone and im too scared to feed them now!!

[jakeyjangels]

My dog used to vomit bones, started feeding raw roo, goat and lamb then started roo bones and no hassles. Sadly last weekend he nearly died choking on a bone and im too scared to feed them now!!

OMG How scary Which dog ? We couldn't feed Jake bones either as he used to choke on them too as he ate them too quickly. I watch Jangels & Louis like a hawk with their bones.

[Nekhbet]

if they are scoffing the bones down that fast they are too small - the RMBs you are feeding should be quite large not chopped up. RMBs was based on the concept of the dog eating as if it had caught the prey itself ... so ripping off meat/connective tissue and chewing off the edible bone parts. If you want to feed a flap you get the whooooooooole big thing for a large dog and decrease the usual diet to compensate for what they got

[Sandra777]

if they are scoffing the bones down that fast they are too small - the RMBs you are feeding should be quite large not chopped up. RMBs was based on the concept of the dog eating as if it had caught the prey itself ... so ripping off meat/connective tissue and chewing off the edible bone parts. If you want to feed a flap you get the whooooooooole big thing for a large dog and decrease the usual diet to compensate for what they got

Hmm - well that depends on the dog and the bone. I have had a dog choke and die on a bone (yes he was supervised), he chewed a piece off and tried swallowing it - so feeding a big bone doesn't mean they won't chew a piece off and try and swallow it anyway. This was brisket, I have never fed it again and never will - I know of two other dogs of the same breed who have done the same thing. Odd shaped things seem to help - chicken frame or even a whole chicken (or half, whatever size suits the dog), pigs heads have never cause a problem for mine either - maybe because they come wrapped up in a tough package and by the time the dog has pulled off a piece it's pretty well munched up? where as the brisket mine can chew off a piece in about three chews.

Dogs are all individuals so just experiment. Mine are liking carrots right now!

[persephone]

Agreed! Bones are things which can take a long time to chew/eat. any bone which can be swallowed almost straightaway is WAAY too small .

I remember when working at the vets, we told cat owners that any meat/bones fed to their cat was to be no smaller than the palm of a hand !! Obviously much bigger for dogs

[Poppy's mum]

I'm glad it's not just me with the vomity thing - 6 piles of smelly vomit after feeding a brisket bone and poo with bone slivers in. Nasty pointy bits. Too nervous to repeat the experience. There has to be a better way to keep teeth clean. Chicken wings are too small for big dogs/ a choking hazard. And I don't think they help dental health. Wish there was an easy answer!

[PuddleDuck]

Gingers mum that is exactly what doof does-brings up all the scary pointy bits. I've found deer antler good cos it's too hard for them to get pointy bits off-but they've bloody gone and lost interest in it again. Rawhide seems to help too but is as unnatural as all hell I believe. Cows hooves are good too but they've lost interest again. Might go rub some peanut butter on them tomorrow to get them interested again

[bedazzledx2]

Sheep horns are the absolute best for my three but they are really hard to source. Deer antlers are a good second but the kelpie chews his pretty quick and then starts playing with the nub and chucking it around in his mouth and I have visions of him choking on it so it goes in the bin

Chicken feet are a hot favourite when I can get them and whole chicken carcase a couple of times a week.

[Dame Aussie]

My two get shanks, lamb necks, chicken carcasses, chicken wings, legs etc. We freeze the bones first to slow them down and make them last longer.

Not every time, but sometimes one of them will have a spew the next moring and I'll find a bit of bone that they couldn't digest but I don't worry too much.

Recently we weren't able to get many bones and I could see the difference in their teeth just after a couple of weeks! So I'll always feed them bones, plus they love it! :D

[Mason_Gibbs]

My dog used to vomit bones, started feeding raw roo, goat and lamb then started roo bones and no hassles. Sadly last weekend he nearly died choking on a bone and im too scared to feed them now!!

OMG How scary Which dog ? We couldn't feed Jake bones either as he used to choke on them too as he ate them too quickly. I watch Jangels & Louis like a hawk with their bones.

It was my older boy Mason, it was the last piece of a biggesh roo tail bone.

[bostonbreeder]

Brisket bones are too soft and too fatty for many dogs. Never feed them. Shanks are good as are the chicken frames or turkey necks. Mine love veal necks and backs. Funny the only dogs in my breed that have choked and died were from dog sausage and tinned food and one pup choked on tinned mackerel but all fine on large bones.