marrow bones

If the only bones she'll chew are cooked ones, I'd just avoid using bones at all.  Even supervised, she could still break off a piece and swallow it before you could react.  I'm very surprised that she doesn't like the raw bone though.  I'd continue to try giving her that one and maybe she'll start to enjoy it.  My dogs get a deliriously happy look in their eyes when I even get one out [].

Have you tried giving it frozen?  Or thawed if you are doing frozen? 

My dog will sometimes start eating it straight away other times he will leave it for a little while before he wants it. Definatly do not give cooked bones.

I had a pit bull that spent half of her life chewing on boiled marrow bones. I did not know any better, and she was a pain in the butt when we had company, so I would regularly buy marrow bones,,, bring them home and cook them (make soup from the broth) and freeze them. When we would have company, Sammy would get a fresh new bone.  We did this for years,,,I guess we were lucky that nothing ever happened. I wouldn't do it now though. Actually, I get kind of nervous even giving Bubby a raw bone!!

Huh. . .makes me wonder, if a power chewer like a pit bull never had a problem, is there really anything to worry about?

I have said before we grew up giving the chicken, quail, dove, duck, steak, pork chopbones to our dogs and never thought about it and never had one problem.   I am not quite sure when I came to realize that maybe all those cooked bones could be dangerous and didn't give them to my dogs--I am talking a long time ago.  Still, I didn't think about it much until that day i saw that lab puppy in the work area at my vets with a punctured stomach and peritonitis from a pork chop bone--I suspect it was probably cooked, but do not know for sure.  The puppy died.  I have never been able to get that out of my mind.  I may could give mine bones, cooked or raw, for the rest of their lives and never have a problem.  BUT if one of them did, i would never be able to forgive myself for having put that dog in danger...or worse, caused his/her death.

Sandra - I have to agree with you but I will say I've felt safest with the marrow bones.  When I had Sassy on the elimination diet of pork & buckwheat, and I gave her pork neck bones, it was the first time in the 5 years we've had her that she threw up and there it was mostly bile and bone fragments.  The neck bones seemed soft enough and she consumed the entire thing.  When I mentioned it the vet and said I didn't think it was probably a big deal, she said "well, do you like vomiting?"  Well, she needn't say more cause I will do anything to avoid the "v" word and I've not given any bones since.  I think that the marrow bones are pretty darn safe, but I guess any bone has the potential to break off.

ORIGINAL: loveukaykay

Have you tried giving it frozen?  Or thawed if you are doing frozen? 

 
I offered her a frozen RMB today (last time I tried giving her thawed), but she didn't care for it at all. I'm surprised myself that she only likes cooked bones as I've heard lots of other dog owners raving about raw bones. I wish I could still give them to her (she'd lick out the marrow like there was no tomorrow), but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

What about boiling a pot of water and then dipping the bone in with a pair of tongs for 20 or so seconds? This might be just enough to get her interested.Eventually you could douse the bone less and less until she is eventually eating it fully raw.

I'm one of those dog owners that" rave about raw bones".I dont know what myself or my dogs would do without them [&:] They keep their teeth and gums clean and healthy,keeps them mentally and physically occupied for hours AND they're healthy and a natural part of the canine diet,that no dog should ever have to be deprived of!

I think, if you are talking about the big, thick marrow bones, it can also depend on the dog.

My dog is generally a "power chewer" - that is with a raw bone, she will take big chunks out of it - not good! But with a boiled marrow bone, she chews very "gently" and never once have I seen her take a chunk off (I always, ALWAYS supervise her). I try to get her raw ones but it seems she always goes to town on them, and even though raw is safer than cooked, I don't like her swallowing hunks of bone.

I would try what Edie suggested, and dip the bone in boiling water...maybe it is the little bits of meat/gristle on the bone that she likes cooked - they smell more when cooked.

I told the housekeeper to boil a marrow bone for a while, and when it came out it was kind of cooked but not fit-for-a-human cooked. She did like it a lot. Does that count? I do only give the massive ones, usually they don't have much gristle on the sides. I think Mika enjoys both the marrow and the gristle, although she does go for the gristle first... But she isn't a power chewer (In fact, hardly a chewer at all! She will ignore Kongs and chewies and such.) so I was thinking it would be OK.    

Hmm I suppose the idea of boiling less and less each time could def work.

BUT if one of them did, i would never be able to forgive myself for having put that dog in danger

 
That is why my vet, and a number of others who's resources I have read, advise against it. The only nutrition they get is from the meat. And the possible risk of fragments and bone impaction/perforation is not worth the risk, in their professional opinion. I'm not against others doing so, just thought I would offer what I know of a vet's reasoning.
 
Yes, there is risk in everything. Dogs can hack on a piece of kibble, which is round and will come back up. Sometimes, a whole little bone can get cross-threaded, creating a problem until it is removed or passes.
 

I do know chances are none of my 3 would have a problem.  But there are already so many things that can harm them that i can't control, so i do control what i can ...and not giving them bones is among the things I can control
 
As careful as we try to be, somethings happen.  We had mice.  Because of having 3 dogs, 1 cat, and 3 grandkids, there was no way I was going to put mouse/rat poison around the house.  SO we put it in the attic as  we could hear them there, but did find droppings in garage and kitchen.  And one day while getting a box of toys down (I had saved our boys Fisher Price, Playschool, etc toys) for the grandkids, a bar of d-con was accidently knocked out and Honey found it and ate it.  Luckily i caught her throwing up within 10 minutes of when she went into the garage and got her right to the vet.  But the thing is we were so darn careful about placing it in the attic--and still thru a fluke Honey got some.