raw beef bones - Page 1

Well, I have another question for this board. So far I have been happy that some of you have posted real detailed responses to my questions, thanks so much. Now the new question: my almost 8 months old GSD eats only Solid Gold Wolfcub and occassionally he gets a raw hide chew or a tarter chew and some natural dog cookies. Now my friend gave him a raw beef bone. Of course he loved it and now I'm wondering, is it good for him? Should I go and buy some more and give them to him on occassion? How many can I give him in one week, if any and are they good for him? Should I get just the bones with the marrow in it or knuckles too? We had been on a trip, which was his first one, and the last day he had the runs really bad, but that was about two days after the knuckle bone. The first one was a real bone and he didn't have any problems. We kind of think it was the water at the campground that had too much iron in it and that made him get the dribbles A day later all was back to normal. I know there are some very experienced GSD owner out there, so I look forward to more good advice thanks

I don't give raw hide chews. GSDs can easily devlop digestive ills from them that you really don't want to deal with. I give as a special treat solid buffalo marrow bone but beef is just as good. Never give cooked bones as they can splinter with the splinters perforating the dogs insides. I don't see a lot of difference between knuckle and marrow bones except they like the marrow better and will spend hours blissfully making sure they have gotten every scrap of that marrow. I also give them briefly under supervision to teething puppies. Seems to help the bite happy little maniacs shed puppy teeth.

My 6 month and 3 month olds are out chewing beef bones right now. They love it and makes their gums feel better. Also it has been quiet back there for 3 hours strait. LOL Gotta love that.

Raw beef bones are good, never cooked bones though. I agree with ProudShepherdPoppa on all he wrote. I do have one female that can crunch up knuckle bones and one time became impacted when she found one in the yard that was not picked up. She cannot eat the long marrow bones though, so they are all she gets now. If you give knuckle bones I would watch your dog to be sure he isn't like her. I never had another dog devour one before her though. I think a bone a few times a week is good enough. I don't think the knuckle bone caused your dog to have the runs being as it showed up 2 days later. It could have been the stress from the trip, the water, or maybe he found something nasty to eat in the grass. I guess it depends on where you were and his opportunity for that.

I never give rawhide, as my 3 yo nearly choked on them long ago. I had to go pull pieces out of his mouth (stuck in his teeth) and throat when he was a pup. I now give some pressed bone, it does not pull off in large, dangerous chunks. I did find that marrow bones are too rich for my dogs, and would give them the runs. I have heard it can help to scoop out some of the marrow so they don't get too much at one time. I also remove these hard bones after a few days, as they dry out they can get brittle, and an older dog can break their teeth. The dogs love cow hoofs, but again, I remove when they are well chewed.

Knuckle bones are the best but they can give the dog the runs. I don't give steak bones or any that have sharp edges (except the big knuckle bones) just watch for when they get too small. I'm a no go on the rawhide.

You are getting solid advice in my opinion. I agree on the marrow. They love it and it will keep them busy working for it. As has been mentioned, DO NOT GIVE THEM COOKED BONES. NEVER. They cannot be digested like raw bones. Wild prey animals have no problems with raw bones. The only thing that I would advice you to do is make sure you are throwing them away after a day or two. I used to give them fresh bones 2-3 times a week but I don't know if that is what's best. Keep the questions coming, it's good for all of us.

thanks again for the good advice, I know when I come here I get help and quick too. I will go and buy some beef bones at our local butcher (there is only one in this town) and give them to my puppy about twice a week. I also will not give him rawhide bones either. I do have the pressed rawhide bones and so far he hasn't had a problem with them. When I gave him the knuckle bone, he was done with it in about one hour. We looked everywhere to find it, but I guess he ate it all. The runs he had didn't show up until about two or three days after he had the marrow bone, so we guess it was the water at the campground even though we have a filter in the 5-wheel. Thanks again for all your help in keeping my puppy healthy and happy Tucker's mom

BTW I can get organically grown frozen buffalo marrow bones or knuckle bones, from a local farm for $2.50/lb. No hormones or pesticides,and lower in fat and cholesterol than beef. I am putting in an order tomorrow. If anyone is in DC area and would like to try some on their dogs, e-mail me and I will see what I can do.

I feed all sorts raw bones with meat every day because I have so many. I feed RAW/BARF 100% so my dogs bowels can hack anything and have solid stool. Just NEVER feed leg bones. JMO.