Am I doing the right thing?

Middie has a nice big smoked knuckle bone I'm letting him slowly work through. I only want him eating it in his crate, because it's.. messy and yucky, lol.

Once in a while he'll haul it out and bring it over to me so he can chew it on my lap. Apparently he's under the impression I like smelly, slimy bones on my pants. Every time he does this, I give him a stern no as I take the bone away and toss it back into his crate.

At first he was just taking it right back out and bringing it over to me, but since I've been doing this he's really improved and only tries to bring it out once a day or so. (Which is much better than it was when he first got the bone believe me, so there's been significant improvement.)

What I'm asking is, is there a better way to do this and should I be doing it differently? I don't want to lock him in his crate to chew on it, as the second I close the door he lies down and pouts rolleyes and I want him to be able to go in and munch on it when he feels like it.

Suggestions?

If you want to fix it quick (and can resist the pouty faces he's bound to give you), as soon as he takes the bone out of the crate take it right away from him and put it out of his sight. Give it back to him, in his crate, a while later. If he tries to take it out of the crate, take it away again. Repeat as needed.
This is how all my dogs learned to stay on their towels when eating raw, believe me, they learn quick.

Okay, I'll try that Lauren.. thanks

Just as an FYI, smoked knuckle bones aren't safe.

I have to agree with Jennifer...

Gonzo cracked a LARGE molar, on a smoked beef bone, several years ago. Luckily, he didn't crack it to a nerve or anything, but at 6 1/2 now, all of his teeth are perfectly white except for that one. D: It accumulates plaque like nobody's business. It looks pretty good now, but it's noticably dirtier than his other teeth. (You can see it, in the back)



I reallyyy recommend taking the bone away, and giving Middie something safe. I didn't think it was a big deal when I fed it (this was long before I fed Raw...), but I seriously regret it now. He will probably need it professionally cleaned later in life, and possibly extracted.

I was under the impression any type of (hard) bone can crack a tooth? Wouldn't that mean no bones are safe?

This is actually a topic I'm confused about, as I've heard lots of varying stories. Middie's eaten several of the smaller sized one with no problems. He gets the ends soaked through with saliva so even a fingernail can scrape them off. The, um "knuckle" part (the end of it that is sort of cap-like?) can just be chewed right down, easily. Not sure how that bit is dangerous. Though the very hard, long bits of the bone certainly aren't safe if he was determined to eat them, lol. He goes for the soft bits.

Maybe I'll start a thread about it in the health/nutrition forum. *sigh* All the conflicting information about bones is so confusing.

After what my dog Brody went through I will never feed any type of bone again it is just not worth it.

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64090

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64377


Keep in mind he had had many bones cooked/smoked and then I switched to raw when I heard cooked/smoked was bad and he never had a problem. It just took that one raw bone to almost do him in. I still have nightmares about it and I can't forgive myself. If he would have died because of me feeding him that stupid bone I don't know what I would have done. My mom just brought our dog Marley in to be fixed a few weeks ago and the vet told her it was a horrible impaction and they were really getting close to having to do surgery but they just think it was a miracle that they were able to get the bone out with the enemas. The vet said all the bone was chewed down really good but it was just so much he swallowed and it just cemented together into rocks. He gets extra cookies and I cook him chicken and special things like that now instead of bone.

I give Ella raw recreational bones all the time.
Any kind of altered-in-some-way-bone is going to weaken the bone and make it more succeptible to breaking in a bad way.
Supervision is the key, I think.

Also, bully sticks are awesome. They clean teeth and dogs usually LOVE them.

Why not feeding the messy stuff outside, on the yard lawn, for example. Let your dog to enjoiy more freedom, if you want him to be happy.

Ella's perfectly happy and she doesn't eat her messy stuff outside.
I let her eat it on my kitchen floor and then I mop up afterwards.

Oh, knuckle bones are very good! I wasn't saying they weren't, just smoked (cooked) knuckle bones are not because they have more chance of splintering.

I agree with lizmo, bones are great, but COOKED bones are a big no no, splinters easily can pierce through their stomaches.

Maybe just giving it to her when you kennel her, and will be gone for a while, that way it's a treat to her and no mess.

I have to agree about cooked bones. I stay away from cooked bones with my dogs. When I want them to have some yummy bones to chew on recreationally them I give them raw soup/marrow bones. I would have no problem with knucklebones themselves- it's the cooking process that makes them more dangerous.
Can you pick of some raw bones at a butcher or grocery store?

I did the same thing with Django and his blanket. He would move the chewie off the blanket, I would take it and put it back. That's not to say that he won't try to take it elsewhere, but if you give him something he will head immediately to his bed or blanket.