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


Willem
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I think it's the individual dog and luck.

My old dog had no issues.

My current dog nearly died from a perforation after a lamb bone.

I believe the benefits outweigh the the risk on the whole.

My current dog still gets chicken frames and has had no further issues. I tried her on a lamb neck but found some disturbing small sharp fragments in her faeces so just sticking to chicken frames for now.

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It's definitely an individual thing, my collie can't tolerate bones - he's allergic to beef and pork, I tried some lamb bones recently and he ended up with diarhoea and needed a course metrogyl to get over it. Chicken bones are too small for him to safely eat.

As a vet nurse I've seen many issues - obstructions, constipation, teeth slab fractures, wedged in mouth, salmonella infections. But at the end of the day still recommend bones a couple times a week under supervision for short periods of time (ie. 20 minutes, enough time for the dog to chew the meat off). Since my boy can't have them it's a constant battle to make sure his teeth stay clean!

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My dogs mostly get a raw meaty bone diet of chicken legs, wings, the occasional Maryland piece, turkey wings, necks & small legs & breast fillets. Sometimes lamb pieces & sometimes flaps, pork, chicken hearts. I used to buy pork backbone pieces until my Border Collie got sick & wouldn't eat & wasn't herself. The vet could feel a solid mass in her stomach but was happy to wait & see what it was. A couple of days later her faeces had a sharp piece of bone sticking out of the edge of it. I stopped feeding this type of bone again.

Over the years my dogs have stolen cooked chicken bones that my mum used to put out for the birds with no problem thank goodness. My son's puppy, years ago when very little, used to swallow chicken necks whole as well as lamb ribs which I gave her as a single bone, only did that the once, she would yelp in pain as they went down. They never came out the other end nor were vomited up so I can only assume her digestive juices dissolved them.

When I was a child my parents always gave the dogs cooked t-bones but never chicken bones or cooked lamb chop bones & the cooked end off a lamb roast. Never a problem with those.

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I have read a commercial product package which said the slow cooked bones just crumble and deteriorate meaning they arent harmful. Can't find a reference. Dont think I'd bother risking it.

I think your are right ... I found this: bone broth ...so it seems that time is the key...

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've learnt a lot about the bone feeding process over the years.

Firstly, no weight bearing bones (as someone mentioned above). I used to give my dog turkey legs. He used to get through them, but now in old age, his teeth look good on the surface but are actually just falling out - the vet was really surprised at this. I do think that maybe the size and strength of the bones I gave him caused issues with the roots of the teeth/jaw. Not sure on the mechanics of it but that's my thinking on the matter.

Secondly, don't feed too many bones because it can lead to constipation (again I learnt this the hard way)

Thirdly, for some reason I've always had bad experience with lamb flaps with the dogs trying to swallow them too early and getting stuck. I have also had issues with chicken carcasses. So it's just being aware of the bones that suit your dog best.

Fourthly, always supervise with bones (that they're going to be eating), always.

Bones actually scare me a lot because I am aware of the potential problems, from experience and other people's experience. BUT in saying that, I do understand that they are necessary to keep the faeces firm, which particularly helps express anal glands.

Now my dog is old with few teeth left (due to them falling out from the jaw rather than rotting), I just feed him chicken necks and I also buy mince that has ground bone in it so he gets the benefits of the firm faeces.

If I had my time over again I would feed more appropriate bones to my dog (ie.non weight-bearing bones that are appropriate to his size).

Edited by Akay
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BUT in saying that, I do understand that they are necessary to keep the faeces firm, which particularly helps express anal glands. [/b]

size).

Bones are not fibre and do NOT assist in dealing with anal glands.

You are quite simply wrong. Bones firm the faeces up MORE than fibre. I prefer to listen to numerous Vets who have more knowledge than yourself in this area. Do a 6 year degree and then come back to me with knowledge rather than an opinion.

Edited by Akay
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I have found that bones .. by making stool nice & hard are good for anal glands .. the effort needed , and hardness really help with expression .

Precisely. The firm faeces apply pressure to the anal gland, helping them express naturally. Fibre can help, but nothing works quite like bone in hardening faeces. I cured my dog's anal gland issues (upon Vet advice)firming with bone, after trying unsuccessfully with increased fibre.

A simple search, such as "can feeding bones help with anal gland expression" provides a wealth of information on the topic.

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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.

Nope, you got that wrong. I've seen plenty of problems with dogs eating raw "digestible" bones.

Would you care to elaborate on what raw bones aren't "digestible"? I do understand cooked bones aren't digestible, but your choice of the word "or" in the sentence above appears to indicate that there are raw bones that are unable to be digested.

Edited by Akay
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I have found that bones .. by making stool nice & hard are good for anal glands .. the effort needed , and hardness really help with expression .

Yea I have to agree, my boy was having some anal gland issues for a while, vet advised to increase bone consumption for a short period and it worked perfectly.

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I have found that bones .. by making stool nice & hard are good for anal glands .. the effort needed , and hardness really help with expression .

Yea I have to agree, my boy was having some anal gland issues for a while, vet advised to increase bone consumption for a short period and it worked perfectly.

...and again I learned something new :)

wrt 'digestible' bones: all natural bones are somehow digestible respectively can provide nutrients / minerals, the problem with the cooked / BBQed ones is that they tend to splinter forming sharp objects that can cause internal injuries.

Edited by Willem
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I have found that bones .. by making stool nice & hard are good for anal glands .. the effort needed , and hardness really help with expression .

Yea I have to agree, my boy was having some anal gland issues for a while, vet advised to increase bone consumption for a short period and it worked perfectly.

...and again I learned something new :)

wrt 'digestible' bones: all natural bones are somehow digestible respectively can provide nutrients / minerals, the problem with the cooked / BBQed ones is that they tend to splinter forming sharp objects that can cause internal injuries.

My dogs got fat eating chicken frames. :) Our source delivered frames skin-on with big globs of fat. It's kinda hard to divide frames into smallish bits. 1 1/2 per day is too much. 1 was too little. I find weight control much easier with biscuits.

Edited by sandgrubber
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I have had major issues with bones. I used to feed chicken carcasses but one of my dogs who was never overly keen on them didn't chew it properly and ended up with an obstruction in his throat. A very long road to recovery with many hurdles and he has never been able to eat solid food again due to the scaring in his throat. Every single meal has to be blended and made into a liquid.

Most likely a freak accident but no bones here anymore

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