Dog Community

When dogs consume recreational bones...

Posted : 4/2/2008 5:57:32 PM

So I gave the pups beef marrow bones last night, with the idea that they'd spend a long time extracting the marrow and chewing off the cartilage and meaty stuff, then I'd throw out the bone part when they had cleaned it off. Well, that's what Tojo did, but Rakka managed to consume the entire thing, bone and all, in about an hour. She just worked at it, scraping it with her teeth until he had worn it down to nothing and crunched up the last little piece. I have read that dogs aren't supposed to be able to eat the bone part... should I not give these to her? Should I take it away if she starts eating the bone? Or is it okay? She didn't seem to have any troubles with it at all and she wasn't breaking off sharp pieces at all, just scraping it down.

huskymom

Posted : 4/2/2008 6:13:01 PM

Other than a possible overload in calcium, I wouldn't worry too much. Especially since you were watching her. There have been times that what I thought was a good marrow bone, turned out to be thin enough for one or the other of my dogs to consume. They haven't had any problems.

cakana

Posted : 4/2/2008 6:20:35 PM

I agree that it's probably fine if it's just a matter of scraping it down. The last time I gave one to one of my dogs, she managed to break off a chunk towards the end. It was large enough that it worried me and I ended up taking the entire bone away.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 4/2/2008 7:27:08 PM

If you get grass fed/organic/older bones, they're a good bit thicker than regular ones. I had a big problem with Emma biting off pieces of marrow bones, and had quit giving them to her. I ordered a box of grass fed bones, for Teenie, and was shocked when I saw them. The bone wall around the marrow was about 4 times as thick as the bones I'd been getting at Publix.

They were cheaper, too.

rolenta

Posted : 4/3/2008 12:42:18 PM

Thanks for the responses. Maybe I can try a different source for the bones and see if I get a tougher one. Otherwise, I'll just let her eat the bones!

aerial1313

Posted : 4/3/2008 1:38:13 PM

jennie_c_d

If you get grass fed/organic/older bones, they're a good bit thicker than regular ones. I had a big problem with Emma biting off pieces of marrow bones, and had quit giving them to her. I ordered a box of grass fed bones, for Teenie, and was shocked when I saw them. The bone wall around the marrow was about 4 times as thick as the bones I'd been getting at Publix.

They were cheaper, too.

Do you mind sharing your source? I'd like to find some good marrow bones. Harry has lost almost all of his puppy teeth...should I wait until all his adult teeth are in before trying one of these? Currently I use bully sticks for his chew of choice. Also, are marrow bones really messy? Should they be relegated for outdoor chewing only?

Thanks!

Jewlieee

Posted : 4/3/2008 2:18:43 PM

Yeah, where do you buy them? I was buying mine from our feed store but they stopped carrying them. We don't have any butchers around here either other than your typical grocery store like krogers.

rolenta

Posted : 4/3/2008 2:30:31 PM

There's most likely a butcher in your area that sells to restaurants, grocery stores, and so on. There's one in my area that doesn't market to the general public, but if you go in and ask for something they'll give it to you. For example, I wanted a pork liver so I went in and asked for one, they told me when they butchering pigs next, and I came later on to pick up my pork liver. I got their contact information by asking the butcher where he got his meat. You could ask the grocery stores and restaurants where they get their meat.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 4/3/2008 4:47:44 PM

Blue Ridge Beef.

And yeah, they're messy. They're raw bones. Blood, sinew, marrow. Emma gets them in her crate.

aerial1313

Posted : 4/4/2008 8:33:36 AM

jennie_c_d

Blue Ridge Beef.

And yeah, they're messy. They're raw bones. Blood, sinew, marrow. Emma gets them in her crate.

Thanks! Harry prefers his chewies while sitting on the couch. I'd have to close the crate door to keep him in it while chewing a bone, or relegate him to the great outdoors. That would be fine on a nice day if I want to hang out in the backyard with him, so I'll keep it in mind. I don't want that mess on my couches, though. Stick out tongue

rolenta

Posted : 4/4/2008 11:25:28 AM

Maybe you could put a towel on your couch?

huskymom

Posted : 4/4/2008 3:25:56 PM

Crusher learned when he has a marrow bone that it has to stay on the towel. He has a nasty habit of picking it up and dropping it to loosen bits, and it got really really noisy on the tile. I just kept taking it away from him and bringing it back to his towel. Eventually he got annoyed enough with my interruptions that he just stayed put.

kpwlee

Posted : 4/5/2008 9:42:58 AM

Bugsy is the same he used to be desperate to wander when he got a raw bone but he now gets excited when I lay his towel on the kitchen floor. He knows that if he leaves the towel he leaves his bone - therefore he doesn't leave his towel Wink