How to prepare marrow bones?

    • Gold Top Dog

    How to prepare marrow bones?

    My dogs love those large, precooked marrow bones you can get at petstores.  But I saw some raw marrow bones about the same size at my local supermarket the other day, and I wondered if I could make my own for my dogs.

    I know some people feed their dogs raw meat and bones, but I would rather stick to cooked.  I'm thinking I would have to get rid of most of the meat on the bone first, then boil or bake it?  How long should I cook it for?  I dont want to cook it too long that they can break apart the bone and swallow it.

    Has anybody tried this before?  Or is it a stupid idea and I should just stick to petstore bones?
    • Gold Top Dog
    ANY heat, and I mean even running the bone under hot water, changes the moleculer structure of the bone causing it to be more brittle, more prone to splintering and more DANGEROUS.  I would LOVE to see those petstore bones flat out OUTLAWED.  Stick to raw or find another treat.  Literally cooked bones can KILL your dogs.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Even the petstore marrow bones can be dangerous?  Haygl has had his for well over a month.  He has removed every particle of meat and bone marrow, but the bone doesn't seem to be breaking or splintering.  And it's doing wonders for his teeth.  I do keep an eye on him when he chews it though.

    The thing with raw bones is, I've tried feeding them raw food, like just starting with a few pieces of meat, but they seemed to be more prone to upset tummies when they were on raw food.  But maybe if I remove ALL the meat from the bone, he might be able to tolerate it?

    The other thing is, there's no way I'll be allowed to feed him raw bones in the house.  He would have to eat it outside, and probably not always under supervision. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    use a butter knife and scoop the marrow out of the grocery store marrow bones.  There is sooo little meat on the real things that it should be fine for his tummy. 
     
    Is he crate trained?  I give bones in crates, ONLY.  Or train him to chew it on a cheap vinyl shower curtain.....give it to him on the curtain and when you can't watch him anymore, take it away.
     
    Any bone sold in the petstore, unless they have a fridge or freezer you're getting them from, in other words anything other than RAW has been treated, smoked or otherwise preserved and yeah, they are dangerous.
    • Bronze
    Hey Glenda, why do you scoop the marrow out of the bone?  Jake only gets bones in the kitchen where I can clean the floor when he is done [:)]
    • Gold Top Dog
    *I* don't.  But I do when I first introduce marrow bones because the marrow is VERY rich and *can* cause diaherra.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I guess I lucked out with my three. They get marrow bones at least twice a week and no upset tummies. (Knock on wood)
    • Gold Top Dog
    ORIGINAL: glenmar

    ANY heat, and I mean even running the bone under hot water, changes the moleculer structure of the bone causing it to be more brittle, more prone to splintering and more DANGEROUS.  I would LOVE to see those petstore bones flat out OUTLAWED.  Stick to raw or find another treat.  Literally cooked bones can KILL your dogs.

     
    But is it not true that you can get worms from uncooked meat? I assume the same goes for dogs.
     
    I've given my dog marrow bones before, and I saw no dangerous side-effects at all. We took them away, as occasionally she would vomit, but we still don't really know what caused it. Could have been anything. But no diarrhea.
    • Puppy
    It's been suggested to me by three different vets that if we feed raw chicken necks to our dogs, they will never have to have their teeth cleaned.  Even my 17 year old little Tibetan spaniel chows down voraciously on the chicken necks.  My dogs eat raw and foods I prepare myself, nothing artificial, as well as fresh killed game (rabbits and dove) - they are country dogs, after all.  I add live culture yogurt, eggs, flax seed and wheat germ to some of my mutt loaf mixes - using ground turkey, beef or chicken.  They are the hardiest, healthiest dogs I've seen.
    • Puppy
    Mouse waving to old friends
     
    Never, never cook marrow bones, when you first introduce (like glenmar said) scoop some marrow out. I buy the ones with no red meat on the bone and keep them in the freezer, Shamus loves getting one on a hot day. He knows to eat them on his bed, but occasionally we will find one (cleaned out) hidden under a couch cushion.
     
    • Gold Top Dog
    How about the sterilized bones you can buy from the pet store and fill yourself?  are those cooked or treated?  Iwas reading not to cook them so we bought our dog one of those and fill it with peanut butter and freeze, or cheese...... are those OK?
    • Gold Top Dog
    Steralizing requires heat, of some kind, so yes. They're dangerous.

    Any bone that isn't RAW  is not safe.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I'd be interested to know if they sterilize using heat or some sort of chemical - there are some gases used on human products, or UV light can be used.  Hmmm....
     
    So where do you get truly raw bones from?  and what kind are best, if there is a choice?
    • Gold Top Dog
    But is it not true that you can get worms from uncooked meat? I assume the same goes for dogs.

    i know this thread is a few weeks old but i had to post this link, please take a look at it
    [linkhttp://rawfed.com/myths/parasites.html]http://rawfed.com/myths/parasites.html[/link]
    • Gold Top Dog
    thanks for the link!