Are raw bones safe???

I can only say that I've been doing raw bones and even raw meat and bones for 8 plus years without any issues.  And, I've had foster children in my home, including infants.  Dogs can be taught to go to a "place" for their bones, be it a crate, a mat, whatever that can be easily disinfected.

Thanks for your response, and for sharing your positive experience.  Having a cleanable place for the dogs to eat the bones is a great idea.  How do you keep the dogs clean?  For some reason I imagine them getting stuff on their legs (when they hold the bones) and on their lips and cheeks.  Can this residue get on floors, furniture, clothes and kids and cause a health risk?

M

That is a good idea!

M

Honestly?  My dogs don't let the slightest bit of residue remain anywhere, including themselves.  But, yeah, a quick wipe with white vinegar on a paper towel?  That should certainly ease your mind.  I use white vinegar for cleaning a lot of things since it's non toxic and disinfects.

Bailey is fed an all raw diet, he eats raw meat and bone every day, and we have never had any problems with it. He has learned to eat on his mat (an old towel) I can hand him a RMB from any room, and he will grab it then run to the kitchen to find his towel. After he is done eating he likes to jump onto his bed and rub his face all over the blanket (kind of like he is trying to clean his mouth, lol)

I'm really laid back about feeding my guys raw. If they get a raw bone, the only rule is that they have to keep it in their dog bed. There are dog beds in the kitchen, office, living room, and bedroom, and I don't care which they are in as long as they stay in it. It took a little training in the beginning, but there's no problem now.

Then I just pick the beds up every so often and thrown them in the wash. I have Schnauzers, with beards and longer leg hair, and I never have to clean them afterwards.

Just make sure that when you are feeding raw bones, having more meat on them is better, and make sure you aren't feeding the types of bones that might have sharp/pointy edges (like pre-cut pork chops) from a fake cut. Things like turkey/chicken necks, pig's feet, pork hocks, just about any type of rib bone, would be a good bone to use.

Kim_MacMillan

Just make sure that when you are feeding raw bones, having more meat on them is better, and make sure you aren't feeding the types of bones that might have sharp/pointy edges (like pre-cut pork chops) from a fake cut. Things like turkey/chicken necks, pig's feet, pork hocks, just about any type of rib bone, would be a good bone to use.

Along these lines, be careful if you've never fed raw.  I'm all for raw feeding and would love to do exclusively raw if I had access to good meat and the freezer space, but my dogs are kibble fed and the past few times I've fed raw, it hasn't ended well.  I think that in order for it to work, the dog needs to eat raw semi-consistently (routine raw snacks or maybe a few raw meals a week).  Perhaps if not they don't maintain the correct digestive enzymes?  I'm not sure but none of my dogs seem to appropriately digest raw bones.  The last thing I tried were dried beef tracheas which is not even bone.  The seller insisted it would not give my dogs diarrhea and that his Jack Russell could eat a whole one just fine.  So I split one into three pieces and gave my dogs (GSDs, so like ten times a JRT) each one third and they all had diarrhea and were pooping out large chunks of undigested cartilage even though it is considered digestible and safe for dogs.  Before that I tried some kind of raw lamb bone with meat on it that I got from a pet store so I knew it was OK for dogs.  This also resulted in massive diarrhea and pooping out chunks of bone.  My friend feeds her GSD raw a few times a week and her dog actually gets harder poops when eating raw bones, mine seem to have the opposite effect.  I've kind of given up on them eating bone, so I just use marrow bones since they just chew them and don't actually eat the bone, or just raw meat, every once in a while.

Bone is supposed to harden up the ***. It's easy to tell when I feed a meaty meal or a bony meal here, as their stool tells the entire story. 

I'm not sure why you're having bad luck, I have several friends who will feed raw occasionally while feeding a kibble diet (mostly raw meaty bones for teeth health) and have no problems. That's strange indeed. Lamb and beef (the trachea surely would be quite rich!) might be a bit rich for a first try though....chicken or turkey is generally the go-to meat for dogs starting to feed raw. Perhaps if you were to try again you might try a chicken or turkey neck.

It can take time for the body to learn to adjust to digesting raw meat, as some of the enzymes used to break down meats become basically inactive due to the lack of need with a kibble diet. It's like going on a diet for 6-9 months and then eating McD's meal for supper...often it doesn't end well for the person whose body is now used to real, healthy food *G*.

One dog 2 many

How do I disinfect a dog that has spent an hour wrangling with a raw bone ?  If my dog eats a raw bone, and then snuggles with my toddler ... doesn't this put her at risk from whatever germs may have been in the raw meat?

What I do is I use wet a towel and put some Dawn dish liquid on it and go over her face, paws, etc.  Then I rinse the towel with warm water and go over her again. 

Liesje

Along these lines, be careful if you've never fed raw.  I'm all for raw feeding and would love to do exclusively raw if I had access to good meat and the freezer space, but my dogs are kibble fed and the past few times I've fed raw, it hasn't ended well.  I think that in order for it to work, the dog needs to eat raw semi-consistently (routine raw snacks or maybe a few raw meals a week).  Perhaps if not they don't maintain the correct digestive enzymes?  I'm not sure but none of my dogs seem to appropriately digest raw bones.  The last thing I tried were dried beef tracheas which is not even bone.  The seller insisted it would not give my dogs diarrhea and that his Jack Russell could eat a whole one just fine.  So I split one into three pieces and gave my dogs (GSDs, so like ten times a JRT) each one third and they all had diarrhea and were pooping out large chunks of undigested cartilage even though it is considered digestible and safe for dogs.  Before that I tried some kind of raw lamb bone with meat on it that I got from a pet store so I knew it was OK for dogs.  This also resulted in massive diarrhea and pooping out chunks of bone.  My friend feeds her GSD raw a few times a week and her dog actually gets harder poops when eating raw bones, mine seem to have the opposite effect.  I've kind of given up on them eating bone, so I just use marrow bones since they just chew them and don't actually eat the bone, or just raw meat, every once in a while.

IME, dogs who dont eat raw regularly can sometimes have issues with it when they do eat it. Since your dogs dog eat raw all the time, I think beef and lamb is way to strong/rich for them to tolerate since they are not used to it. If you wanted to try supplementing their kibble with raw, try chicken or turkey (those are the 2 meats used mainly when first switching a dog to a raw diet because they're so bland) in small amounts. Once you give that a couple times a week and they're OK with it, then you can try adding richer meats.

I'll probably stick to kibble since they do fine on it and Coke doesn't tolerate turkey (we use Lamb and Rice kibbles).  My main concern was that they were pooping out cartilage and bone that should be fully digestible.  They do fine with beef marrow bones (as long as I take out some of the marrow since it is so rich) but just chew on them for a few days and eat the meat/marrow, not the actual bone. 

As far as disinfecting, the only thing I do is wipe the crate trays.  Otherwise they chew bones outside.  I've never wiped the actual dog.

 I've never bothered to clean mine up, either, unless they just REALLY got gross. They get dried tracheas, nightly, and we're moving over to a mostly raw diet with Honest Kitchen as the base. They're bathed roughly every 10-14 days. They are around people and dogs of all shapes and sizes on a daily basis, and never a problem. I know a 4 year old who's lived with raw dogs and cats her entire life, and not had a problem with it.

 I figure touching a shopping cart at the grocery store is just as likely to pass on germs. I've never bothered to wipe my dogs down after raw treats. I'm pretty low key about germs though.