dangers of feeding raw bones

On my end, I have a new trash can and it's all I can do as the owners of the JRT are incapable of controlling their dog and the town is incapable of making them keep him in a yard, mostly because the current mayor doesn't care.

 
  Years ago we had a county sheriff who shot any dogs he saw running loose; definitely not the ideal form of animal control but it was effective. []

I asked a police officer if I should start carrying a pellet gun for these loose dogs. I wasn't planning on using it, just making a point. It's actually their owners that need a pellet in the kiester. Or a spanking. Or to have their dog taken away. The way I was raised, if you can't handle something properly, you can't have it at all. Everything you do or fail to do entails responsibility.
 

Our dogs cannot read about the pros and cons concerning feeding raw bones so we have to recognize both sides of the issue and make the decision for them.

 
 I agree with you there. And like others, I have fed Shadow, before I knew better, a cooked pork chop, bone and all and he crunched it smithereens and didn't have a problem. Another time, a cooked beef rib. He at the meat and the soft bone at the end but didn't care for the main bone. Still, no problem. Then I learned of the dangers of cooked bones and bones in general. For me, it's not worth the risk. Now, Shadow can pick up something on the street when we're walking, seeing it before I do, and eat it and not have a problem and such things are going to happen. Just the same, we accept a level of risk that we're willing to take.
 
And  I shall continue to be a pariah for going against the current popular thought.

Raw bones actually have very little nutritional value;

I wasnt going to comment at all on this thread as my blood is already at boiling point,which it seems the OPs of these kinds of  threads are looking for [:@](Long term raw feeder here),until i saw the above comment! I dont have the energy to even look at the link,because to be honest, i know better [] Chicken necks for example are pretty much a complete food on their own,they contain everything a dog needs,dogs CAN survive quite healthily on a diet of a variety of rmbs.

Thousands of dogs eat rmbs on a daily basis without incident,you may hear of the odd one with problems,however you dont tend to hear the full set of circumstances that go along with it.
How alert would an owner be to let her dog have a bone impaction? The dog probably wouldnt have pooped for days,be in pain and a myriad of other problems. Some owners just shouldnt go near bones!

just so you know edie, i started this topic because i happened to run across the article (i wasnt even looking for something like this) and thought i would share what some might believe to be valuable information.  i havent even stated whether i agree with the article or not, not trying to get your blood boiling just sharing info.  im sure there are some out there who find it interesting.  there is nothing wrong with people having ideas and posting information that differs from what you believe.  i do resent the accusation that i was trying to stir something up here.

I think it also depends, majorly, on the dog's ability to break things down. Emma has, twice in her life, been through a barium series for a suspected obstruction. One other time (seperate incidence), she was so blocked, she couldn't *stand* for 24 hours. It was a Sunday, and the vet will not sedate her without a full staff, so as long as she'd eat, he wouldn't see her. That night, she screamed through pooping out the bits of bone, got up, and was totally normal. We've decided that it was pressing on the pinched nerve she has in the lower part of her spine, causing temporary paralysis. That particular incident was from 1/2 of a raw turkey neck. One of the incidences was a corn dog stick, and the other was from a 1" peice of pork shoulder bone (raw).

My mom's dog, Toby, is 13, and has been fed quite a few cooked bones in his long life. He no longer gets cooked bones, b/c it's now widely known that they're dangerous. Like everyone else has said about their dogs, he's had steak bones, pork chop bones, etc etc. He's not intentionally been fed a chicken bone, but he's had them. He always got the bone out of hams. He's never been sick from anything but the packet of Woolite he ate when he was 6 months old.

Teenie eats raw bones every day. She's in awesome shape.

That's an interesting article, Jaye. Of course, there are risks to every feeding style, and every treat. It's almost scary to think about....

i havent even stated whether i agree with the article or not,

Exactly! Which is what brought me to my conclusion in the first place... You just posted the link and said nothing,no reasons of why you posted the link on a message board,no nothing! The only people who post these kinds of links on a forum frequented by many raw feeders are those that are against it. This is in my experience anyways. Well,i refuse to be fodder for a rawV whatever thread,so have fun[]

I wasnt going to comment at all on this thread as my blood is already at boiling point,which it seems the OPs of these kinds of threads are looking for

 
 Sorry, Edie; That wasn't my intention. I really don't like stirring the pot. According to the link, the only real nutritional benefit bones provide is a good source of calcium and phosphorus :
         
   " 65 to 70 percent of the bone is composed of inorganic substances.   Almost all of this inorganic substance is a compound called hydroxyapatite. [Think of this substance as little mineral crystals.]  The chemical composition of hydroxyapatite is (10 Calcium atoms, 6 Phosphorus atoms,  26 Oxygen atoms, and 2 Hydrogen atoms). 
    Therefore, 65 to 70 percent of bone is a mineral compound called hydroxyapatite that is composed of nothing more than Calcium, Phosphorus, Oxygen and Hydrogen.  There are no Vitamins, Fatty Acids, enzymes, proteins or carbohydrates in this, the largest component of raw bone.  It is a nice source of Calcium and Phosphorus, though "
 
    I would be happy to read any links that you have stating the nutritional content of bones.

ORIGINAL: Edie

i havent even stated whether i agree with the article or not,

Exactly! Which is what brought me to my conclusion in the first place... You just posted the link and said nothing,no reasons of why you posted the link on a message board,no nothing! The only people who post these kinds of links on a forum frequented by many raw feeders are those that are against it. This is in my experience anyways. Well,i refuse to be fodder for a rawV whatever thread,so have fun[]

 
actually i did state a reason when i posted the link, to share the info.  i havnt made up my mind yet either which is why i have not taken a stance on it.  i DID, however, find it interesting and thought others might as well.  raw feeders are not the only people who frequent this forum.  there are kibble feeders as well, and also people like me who just havnt come to a conclusion of their own yet, in which case, any info out there is helpful!  its up to each individual to decide if they agree with the particular info posted or not.  i dont understand why you would have a problem with that.

Jessiesmom i am not an avid websurfer,most of the info i have comes from books. My info on the nutritional info of bones comes from Billinghursts writings.

Even tho i HATE googling,i shall have a look for you a bit later,as i'm sure i have seen something about the nu. of bones on the net somewhere[]

There are no Vitamins, Fatty Acids, enzymes, proteins

This is the exact opposite of what billinghurst says,who is right?

ORIGINAL: Edie

There are no Vitamins, Fatty Acids, enzymes, proteins

This is the exact opposite of what billinghurst says,who is right?

It's not who is right, because both parties will tell you that they are... it's who a person choses to believe, after they have done enough of their own independent research to make an educated decision about what they are comfortable with. And it's about respecting that decision, because I personally will not fault any decision anyone makes for themselves, as long as it is an informed one.

This is the exact opposite of what billinghurst says,who is right?

 
 Maybe they're both right. The site I referred to was regarding the composition of bones only whereas Billinghurst may have been referring to raw meaty bones ? ( I don't have his book)  in which case the meat would provide some nutrients.

whereas Billinghurst may have been referring to raw meaty bones ?

Yes he was.Rmbs either have enzymes,fatty acids,proteins,vitamins and minerals or they dont!One is right and the other wrong IMHO.

He has,i believe done nutritional analysis on rmbs and concluded they are full of all the vitamins and minerals a dog needs and can infact live solely on rmbs if need be.

As for the dangers of feeding dogs RAW bones,i believe the positives far outweight the negatives,there are literally thousands of positve stories and research and evidence regarding feeding rmbs to dogs,compared to a small handful of negatives(most negative sites have a hidden agenda),in which case i am almost positive that the owners gave their dogs cooked bones,didnt supervise them properly whilst giving to large or too small a bone etc etc.There are a myriad of things an owner can do wrong![&:]

First post in "new" forum. I had a few on nutrition in the earlier forum.

For what it's worth, I have always been very concerned with my current pet family's teeth (1 cocker, 2 Norwegian Forest Cats) and have tried to feed raw from day one, about four years ago. None of them eat raw exclusively, but the cocker eats free range odd chicken parts every day. My butcher sells them for soup at about $.49 a pound: necks, backs, fileted ribs, the occasional leg.

It's important he doesn't gulp them. He's very efficient, but he chews. I only keep two days bones defrosted in the fridge at one time. Usually anything raw is frozen for a couple of days before feeding.

I find it thrilling that this dog who can be food possessive and snappy, when fed a RMB remains on his newspaper in the kitchen. Not once has he run wild through the apartment with raw meat trailing behind him. In this I feel blessed and it encourages me to continue to feed him his bones.

It has been very difficult for me to find a vet that supports me in this. My current vet is so busy she acknowledges I am a thoughtful guardian, checks his blood and vitals regularly, and doesn't lecture me.

I honestly think that there are all kinds of dogs who shouldn't eat raw chicken, goat, rabbit, duck or pheasant bones but that it has much more to do with how they gulp their food, how they eat in the space you allow them to eat in (some people only feed bones in the crate and that's the only way they could feed them), and how, if you have more than one dog, you manage your pack when they eat.

Just as important is a really good butcher. If you get fresh relatively unadulterated meat and handle it sensibly as you would if an infant were in the house and you cooked for the family, I think "food poisoning" is the least of it. Feral dogs proably die more often of violence than food poisoning and they eat garbage.

Again, for what it's worth, I'm of the Lonsdale school rather than Billinghurst, and feed all three animals Innova, PetGuard, Wysong, Canidae, TWO both canned and dry along with their raw.

Knock wood, never a problem from their diet.