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What Are The Best Bones To Feed Big Dogs


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I have just started BARF feeding my dogs and wanted to know what are the best sort of bones I could feed to GSD's I give them the big marrow bones and sometimes briskit (spelling) bones. I am told by my vet that the split in half marrow bones are the safest to give them. I am always worrying that if they had smaller bones that they could actually swallow it and could do them some harm. years ago I had a Shepherd and she got very sick and nearly died, the vet said it could be from a bone she had eaten and it may have puntured her inside so I have been a bone phobic ever since. I never feed any cooked bones of course, but was wondering if lamb off cuts, chicken frames or chicken wings would be ok? I have just got the Ian Billingherst books and have just started reading them.

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I feed my guys chicken frames and the lamb off-cuts I buy from the supermarket (Safeway Lavington always has a great range :rolleyes: ). I also get them the occasional lamb flap, kangaroo tail and beef neck - haven't had any problems with bones so far.

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Thanks for the replies :o Ok I am going to get brave and try some other types of bones. Forgot to mentiion that I attended a first aid course at my vets the other night and she mentioned that too many bones can cause bloat :laugh: something else to worry myself over now as I lost a Shepherd to bloat 3 years ago :laugh: has anyone else heared of this?

Off Topic: Saw you on the news last night Trisven13, great story :rolleyes: Those babys have GROWN, and I saw Bam Bam :laugh: gorgeous boy :rofl:

Edited by MLH
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The general rule for feeding bones has always been not to feed leg bones of any kind.

Having said that I do give my guys the leg bones sawn down the middle so they can get the marrow out but I don't leave it with them once the marrow has been eaten out.

Big, hard bones fed on a regular basis can wear dogs teeth down and if they do split, the bone is very hard and dangerous.

Softer bones like ribs, wings, necks, chicken frames, etc. are safer and usually can be completely consumed by your dog as long as the dog doesn't want to swallow the larger ones whole.

Always pick up left over bones after 24hrs and toss them away. :rolleyes:

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I used to give Jordan all sorts of bones on a really regular basis until he lost one of his back teeth and it got infected and he had a growth/lump under his eye which has since been succesfully removed. His 8 now so the rest of his teeth are a bit of a concern...

I find the best way to give the smaller ones such as chicken necks and wings is to stuff into kongs and freeze, as he will just inhale them otherwise... and also frozen kongs can entertain him for a lot longer than loose necks/wings. Or I freeze them into some water or really diluted stock in a ice cream container to give to him as an iceblock...

Otherwise i get the really soft bones such as brisket, ribs but give it to him frozen so again it lasts longer. Anything left over, i remove as soon as i can.

He gets bones only 2-3 times a week and the kongs also 2-3 times a week, alternating between them and his teeth are doing really well.

post-11617-1170886362_thumb.jpg

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I have really just start to feed bones recently so am always on the look out for new things. So far some we have tried and that the dogs loved were; chicken carcasses, chicken wings, chicken necks, huge marrow bones (only once a week though cause I worry about the damage to their teeth) lamb flap, lamb necks, whole raw sardines. They have some brisket bones at the moment so we'll see how they go with them.

Edited by he'smyhero
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I don't feed BARF to my GSD's but they get plenty of meaty bones...including pig feet and hocks, turkey wings/legs/necks/tails, Lamb necks/flaps/off cuts, Beef ribs/necks, chicken necks/wings/legs/frames/whole/mince, roo tails etc etc

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Just a note to add, when you get the butcher to split saw the bone lengthways just be a bit careful. I once did that for my boy to a big marrowbone, went outside a few minutes later to see pools of blood. He had split his tongue open because the edges of the cut bone were so sharp.......razor sharp actually. I didnt notice before I gave him the bone. From then on, I got it cut into 2 halves straight across the middle.

Not meaning to put a dampner on things but just thought I should mention it :(

edited for spelling

Edited by eclecticgirl
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I have Pyrenean Mountain Dogs. the types of bones they get are:

Chicken frames and quarters

Lamb flaps and necks

Beef brisket and any other parts I can get from my supplier including ribs/flaps, backbones and neck (they usually dont eat the whole bone of the necks!)

kangaroo tails

pork trotters, hocks, or tails (which include part of the backbone)

duck carcasses or quarters of boiler ducks

turkey necks or frames

I dont give beef marrow/leg bones. Too hard and not enough meat on them to be of any real use as a meal.

they also get big chunks of boneless beef on occasion (think roast size) as well as things like heart/liver/kidney in smaller quantities.

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Thanks again for the tips. Gawd that must have been awful with the marrow bone eclecticgirl, i will keep an eye on them when i get them in the future. Got some lamb necks yesturday but they were sliced up, guess they would be better if they were whole? Anyway the dogs loved them, will get some more next week, am getting brave with the bone thing now :eek:

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