Which bones are safe chews?
- Thread starter girl-E
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It really depends on what you're wanting these bones for.
Rec bones are not consumed. They are generally too big and too thick for the dog to chew through. For some dogs these can be as large as weight bearing cow bones for others chicken legs are too heavy. There is a risk with rec bones of fracturing teeth if your dog is an aggressive chewer, some dogs however are really great at cleaning and polishing bones without getting overly aggressive about chewing on them. Generally speaking you should avoid cooked bones or bones with sharp edges.
RMBs - raw meaty bones are bones which are fully consumed by the dog usually as part of a diet plan. Raw diets do require some research. They can include raw chicken, pork, and pretty much anything else made of meat. A lot of people I know start with chicken backs, I usually start with necks, or small birds like game hens.
Rec bones are not consumed. They are generally too big and too thick for the dog to chew through. For some dogs these can be as large as weight bearing cow bones for others chicken legs are too heavy. There is a risk with rec bones of fracturing teeth if your dog is an aggressive chewer, some dogs however are really great at cleaning and polishing bones without getting overly aggressive about chewing on them. Generally speaking you should avoid cooked bones or bones with sharp edges.
RMBs - raw meaty bones are bones which are fully consumed by the dog usually as part of a diet plan. Raw diets do require some research. They can include raw chicken, pork, and pretty much anything else made of meat. A lot of people I know start with chicken backs, I usually start with necks, or small birds like game hens.
I don't do any bones because I am paranoid about broken teeth, or cemented pieces in the gut like one Golden had on here. No skinny rawhides, or greenies.
I do let my dogs have flat thin rawhide sheets, but I make sure that they are made in the states, and do not contain formaldehyde. (sp?) and even so those if not monitored can be a choking hazard. I let my dogs have hooves but I make sure to get rid of the small pieces.
I do let my dogs have flat thin rawhide sheets, but I make sure that they are made in the states, and do not contain formaldehyde. (sp?) and even so those if not monitored can be a choking hazard. I let my dogs have hooves but I make sure to get rid of the small pieces.
All I use are bully sticks and Himalayan chews. Bully sticks are 100% digestible. I get mine from bestbullysticks.com and have found they have the best prices! My 16lb dog takes a while to get through a thick 6" odor-free one... usually a few days but he doesn't aggressively chew on it, either. Himalayans last much longer. Of course I take them away when they get down to 1-2".
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I've been feeding raw bones for many years and have only had one broken tooth on an aggressive chewer (she did that about 4 years ago -- had the tooth removed and she hasn't broken another since). Well worth the risk in my opinion, because my dogs' teeth are always great. I tend to buy the larger bones like cow leg bones or knuckle bones for my Belgian shepherds.
I have fed raw recreational bones for a few years and have had one of my dogs break his large back tooth on a raw beef marrow bone. I don't feel comfortable feeding raw large animal weight bearing bones anymore, now my dogs get raw beef rib bones and deer antlers for recreational chewing, plus they are fed a Prey Model raw diet so they get a lot of Raw Meaty Bones too.