Who's Dog Had Health Issues Due To Feeding Bones?

[Willem]

bones or no bones?

...there are thousands and thousands of opinions whether dogs should be fed with bones or not...and I'm a little bit confused now. Our BC loves chewing on a bone, and since we feed her regularly with bones she also stopped nibbling on doors, door frames etc...plus IMO it calms her down and burns some 'nervous' energy. Other positive side effects: the poo is firmer - I assume not only due to the bone, but also due to triggering enzymes that improves digestions when chewing on a bone (digestion starts in the mouth my grandpa told me :D ).

Now the risks mention by (some) vets, experts, dog owners and others who have an opinion about the topic are:

• tooth damage
  
• splinters causing internal injuries
  
• gastrointestinal obstruction (blockage in the digestive tract)
  
• diarrhea
  
• choking
  

to name a few. Obviously everyone has his own recipe and experience, but what works for one or one breed might not work for another dog owner / an other breed. Hence, to allow me to get a better picture about the risks, I would like to know about cases, where bones indeed caused injuries or even death of a dog including information about what type of bones were fed that caused it, dog breed, age, was a vet involved, etc etc....

Thanks in advance.

[Jumabaar]

My rules-

Not a weight bearing bone. Ie Ribs, neck, tails and chicken frames are my preferred choices.

Bigger than the dogs head.

There have been a few pancreatitis cases where a dog has had a large amount of marrow so for dogs that have had previous bouts of pancreatitis or there is a breed disposition I recommend staying away from marrow bones.

There are always risks. I chose to supervise when my dogs are eating bones. They also have don't have a large amount after a few days break.

[denali]

Mine get bones all the time. Chicken wings, necks, turkey necks, then the not so edible ones, brisket bones, marrow bones etc.

I gave them roo ribs once or twice but they freaked me out with the long shards they get crunched into.

I feed raw, so bones are needed for calcium, plus they provide teeth cleaning and enrichment :)

I work in a vet clinic, and recently had a dog in that was given cooked lamb bones and was severely constipated. Thankfully no further complications, just IV fluids and an enema needed, rather than surgery..

ETA: i have had no bone related incidents with my own dogs over the years, other than Kokoda swallowing a chicken neck whole and regurgitating it 5 seconds later He now chews them really well so clearly that wasnt pleasant for him..

Edited October 8, 2015 by denali

[Dame Aussie]

We feed chicken frames, chicken and turkey drumsticks, marylands, marrow bones, lamb necks and ribs and have never had an issue.

In my opinion the benefits far outweigh the risks and our vet always comments on how good our dogs teeth are.

[Salukifan]

18 years of feeding digestible bone to dogs. No issues.

I don't feed cooked or non-digestible bones. I think those are the problem ones.

[Willem]

Thanks a lot guys, that's the information I'm looking for.

@ Haredown Whippets:...could you recognize any abnormal wear and tear wrt teeth? ... 18 years of experience is a very long time...

@ denali: I guess you can overload a dog's digestion system with any kind of food if you feed too much, so this case might not really bone related. Working in a vet clinic: can you find out whether there have been other incidents your colleagues are aware of where a dog needed surgery due to bones?

[Salukifan]

Thanks a lot guys, that's the information I'm looking for.

@ Haredown Whippets:...could you recognize any abnormal wear and tear wrt teeth? ... 18 years of experience is a very long time...

@ denali: I guess you can overload a dog's digestion system with any kind of food if you feed too much, so this case might not really bone related. Working in a vet clinic: can you find out whether there have been other incidents your colleagues are aware of where a dog needed surgery due to bones?

I think when you have a 17.5 year old dog, the fact that they HAVE teeth is testament to diet (and regular dental). :D None of my dog's teeth have ever looked worn.

Lily the senior girl did have a slab fracture in one of her teeth and it eventually had to be removed. Could have been from a bone. No way of knowing really.

[denali]

Thanks a lot guys, that's the information I'm looking for.

@ Haredown Whippets:...could you recognize any abnormal wear and tear wrt teeth? ... 18 years of experience is a very long time...

@ denali: I guess you can overload a dog's digestion system with any kind of food if you feed too much, so this case might not really bone related. Working in a vet clinic: can you find out whether there have been other incidents your colleagues are aware of where a dog needed surgery due to bones?

Sure can, will ask tomorrow. Chris has been working here for 40 years, and remembers all the things like that :D

[WreckitWhippet]

Have always fed meaty bones. I avoid the heavy weight bearing bones as they can cause issues and fracture teeth, other than that I feed everything from chicken, rabbit, duck, turkey and roo to the usual beef and lamb

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I think it depends on the dog. I don't give my dog bones very often and if I do - I supervise the eating of them.

She can break a marrow bone (beef shin bone) into splinters... lamb shank bone was recommended by the vet but what she did to that was scary, long slithers of spikes like needles. I couldn't believe it. She wasn't any better with the beef(?) neck bones either.

She does do a reasonable job on a frozen turkey neck. It's too big and to hard for her to swallow whole so she does sort of mash that up properly before she swallows it.

Chicken wings are a bit of a problem if they're not frozen - she sort of breaks up the bone without breaking the skin and then sort of folds the whole thing up and swallows it like that ie one great sack of bone lumps. And of course - that gets stuck and she vomits it up - later. Completely gross.

And the bits of bone that she swallows whole - arrive at the other end - unchanged - still sharp and spikey and that causes problems too.

I much rather feed her a carrot.

A friend's dog inhaled a beef neck bone - and it got stuck in the chest and it cost $6000 to get it out. And my friend kept feeding the dog the beef neck bones after the dog healed up. WTF? The reason the dog inhaled the bone - was it feared the dog next door that was barking at the fence - could some how get it if she didn't eat it as fast as possible.

[Podengo]

I've never had a problem with my own dogs or family dogs and bones.

I work in a vet clinic and have seen quite a few bone related issues, off the top of my head in the last couple of months... A obstruction or two, bloat (30kg dog ate a lot of chicken necks) and a perforation (10kg eating rabbit). Have not seen any teeth issues or choking, but I have only been working 2 years.

[Steph M]

Mum has a Maltese who gets impacted anal glands and constipation after any bones other than a chicken neck twice a week, but our dogs eat loads of bone and never an issue.

[Rascalmyshadow]

We have been feeding bones my entire life, the only issue I've had is the odd dog that would swallow a whole chicken neck then vomit it back up, problem solved by flattening the neck with a hammer.

We use mainly chicken necks, wing tips, chicken frames, small marrow bones and ribs.

While working in the vet the dogs that came in with serious issues that were bone related were due to feeding cooked bones and there was a couple if pancreatitis cases which were potentially caused by too much marrow.

Years ago an old boss had to have surgery on her cattle dog due to a blockage but she had been feeding osso bucco every day for a long time, not the most suitable type of bone for dogs.

[persephone]

In 50 yrs of feeding bones .. the odd bit of canine constipation is all I have to record ...

[JulesP]

I didn't like the way Poppy would vomit up bits of bone with turkey wings so i stopped giving them to her.

I know of a dog a long time ago that died after a chicken frame caused internal perforations.

[Willem]

while I was working in the study the dog came in... I heard her chewing on something, she didn't get a bone the last 2 days so I checked what it was ... it was a stone! ... so it looks like if I don't feed her bones from time to time she will ruin her teeth by chewing on stones!

[denali]

while I was working in the study the dog came in... I heard her chewing on something, she didn't get a bone the last 2 days so I checked what it was ... it was a stone! ... so it looks like if I don't feed her bones from time to time she will ruin her teeth by chewing on stones!

Oh dear..

I asked, Chris said in all the years she has worked at the clinic she has only seen 3 bone related incidents all were good in the end also.

All from either cooked lamb or cooked chicken bones.

So you should be ok!

[Willem]

Thanks a lot.

I guess in my case there are more benefits from feeding bones from time to time than downsides. She is always chewing, and I never found bigger bone particles in her poo so it seems the risk that she swallows a bigger chunky piece is minimal.

2-3 bones a week, not cooked!!!!...and under supervision...should be ok. Without feeding her bones she will start again nibbling on wood (that might be treated) or even chewing on stones or whatever she finds in the garden or in the house.

[denali]

Thanks a lot.

I guess in my case there are more benefits from feeding bones from time to time than downsides. She is always chewing, and I never found bigger bone particles in her poo so it seems the risk that she swallows a bigger chunky piece is minimal.

2-3 bones a week, not cooked!!!!...and under supervision...should be ok. Without feeding her bones she will start again nibbling on wood (that might be treated) or even chewing on stones or whatever she finds in the garden or in the house.

Sounds perfect to me :) What a lucky dog!

[The Spotted Devil]

Raw, non weight bearing bones, larger than their head and frozen for the most part - that definitely slows them down and teaches puppies to chew properly. My cats get chicken necks and the dogs (Dally and 2 Springers) get frozen chicken frames, occasionally wings/Maryland and lamb necks. My litter stopped getting necks at 5 weeks as the little devils started swallowing them whole - in multiples Switched them up to wings and quarter frames, then to half frames. Em only gets marrow bones when she's in season - helps her restlessness. Never had a problem.

Edited October 9, 2015 by The Spotted Devil