Bone Question--Willow

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    Bone Question--Willow

    Willow's got a beef marrow bone.  She's been working on it for almost an hour. 

    If she breaks it do I need to take it away?? 

    Thanks!

    I can't remember I know I've read about this before though. 

    Lori

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    If she breaks it, she's GOOD!!!

    If one of mine were to break it, I'd definitely take it away.

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    I don't think she'll be able to break it, but if she does, take the little pieces away and supervise a bit more closely since the bone will be a bit more fragile.
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    Thanks!  I didn't think she'd break it either but some of the sounds I've heard sound like cracking.  But, it's still in one piece.  It was pretty thick.  Hopefully, she just cleans her teeth and doesn't break them!  It's been over an hour of chewing--most I've ever seen her do.  She's had raw lamb bones before but has never been this interested in a bone. 

    And, they were so cheap---$3 for 3 of them. 

    Oh, and Glenda, I remember you saying to scoop some of the marrow out so I did that too.  DH was like what the heck are you doing to the bone??

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    Umm, yeah.  Tell DH unless HE wants to clean up the screaming *****, that you NEED to remove the marrow, or at least some of it.  Marrow is pretty darned rich, which probably wouldn't sit well with her tender tummy, and even the heartiest dog can get diaherra from it's richness.

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    Yeah, he was cool with it once I explained the reasons.  He thinks I'm a dog genius but no, I get it from here, LOL!! 

    She did almost 2 straight hours of chewing--a Willow record.  And, it's in one piece.  Now, she's out on her bed--probably done for the night! 

    I hope her jaw doesn't hurt later. 

    Lori

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    Bailey chews on beef marrow bones almost daily, so hes got a pretty strong jaw, and he can only get tiny pieces of bone of the ends, he has never cracked any bone off.  I always check in on him often when hes chewing on bones though, just incase. If he cracks off any peices of bone that are too big/hard/sharp for him to eat i take them away.

    glenmar

    Umm, yeah.  Tell DH unless HE wants to clean up the screaming *****, that you NEED to remove the marrow, or at least some of it.  Marrow is pretty darned rich, which probably wouldn't sit well with her tender tummy, and even the heartiest dog can get diaherra from it's richness.

    Really? Ive never heard that before. When Bailey chewing on marrow bones, i sometimes help him get the marrow out in the middle that he cant reach. He has never had any problems eating all the marrow out of a good sized bone, no upset tummy or diarrhea at all. But, Bailey eats all raw and no kibble, so i guess its just because he has a tuff tummy?

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     Emma broke one, once, but she has jaws of steel, and it was a little thin, and had been refrozen. I did take it away. Since I quit buying thin ones, none have been broken, and they lie around until I get sick of stepping on them, LOL.

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     Glad she enjoyed it!!

    Bugsy broke one when he was under a year - he rarely gets one now except when it looks like a dinosaur bone with the knuckles still on it LOL

    He has never gotten and issues from eating marrow but his gut is fairly hearty

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    Spazzy
    Really? Ive never heard that before. When Bailey chewing on marrow bones, i sometimes help him get the marrow out in the middle that he cant reach. He has never had any problems eating all the marrow out of a good sized bone, no upset tummy or diarrhea at all. But, Bailey eats all raw and no kibble, so i guess its just because he has a tuff tummy?

    Crusher is fine with them now.  The first time, he had the runs for a day, and at the time I didn't think anything of it because he had serious issues when he was younger.  But now he's fine.  I do think eating raw helps.  But for a dog with digestive issues like Willow, removing some of the marrow would be hugely advisable.  Even a dog that is fed a fairly lean raw diet might have a problem with the marrow, at least until they get used to it.

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    Thanks!  Yeah, she's definately has issues with her digestion so I'm glad I took the middle out.  I only left the tiniest amount. 

    It kills me because I've spent lots on those raw bones from Natures Variety and this cheap thing she chewed for 2 hours.  CHOWS!

    Edited to say--I just looked at her teeth and it did an amazing job cleaning them.  I am thrilled with that.  Her teeth really need a dental and this just "might" take care of it instead. 

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    Maybe it's an AIHA thing with Willow breaking her chewing record.  I know that when I give Tessy bones now she chews and chews for so long and so hard that when she finally does look up she's all out of breath.  I usually get the dogs the tarter buster bones but the last time I got some marrow bones from the butcher.  I'm not sure if it was the marrow bone or not that caused it but the next day is when Tessy got the retrobulbar abscess.  When Tessy chews on bones lately there's very little left when she's done with them.  She's still on the immunosuppresants though.  Be interesting to see her when she's off them.  Wonder if she might still be a chewing monster.

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    My dogs break off pieces of the end. When they start to do that, I usually take them away and toss them out.

    I usually buy the bones from kroger. $1 ish for 2 bones. When i go and I clean them out of their supply :) lately though I've been getting free deer bones, which is just as good. The dogs love them and yeah, it does a great job on their teeth. Even the vet comments on how clean their teeth is.

    The best bonus, it keeps them all occupied for a while when I want some no-dog-time

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    Johnny, Willow is still 50lbs compared to her pre Prednisone weight of barely maintaining 45. 

    Does anyone know, is it OK for her to have a marrow bone a day?  Or, is that too much.  I just really want to take advantage of the teeth cleaning aspect of this. 

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    I usually leave marrow bones out each evening (so we can supervise) so that everyone can chew when they wantSmile