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Caution on raw bones: picture of a dangerous undigested bone

Karlin

Administrator
Staff member
I have meant to post this image for ages -- having had 2 experienced, raw fed cavaliers both have similar, dangerous problems with raw meaty bones. In both cases, the dogs became ill many hours after having been fed chicken wings, and eventually–and fortunately–vomited back up extremely sharp, completely undigested shards/broken pieces of raw bone that could easily have killed them (and I am very lucky it did not punctured their stomach). I was preparing to take the dog that vomited the piece shown below to the emergency vet in the middle of the night because he had increasingly become distressed, when he brought this up *12 hours* after having been fed a chicken wing.

In short, this is exactly what raw bone advocates say cannot possibly happen:

* raw bones are never supposed to splinter into dangerous shards
* raw bones are supposed to be easily and quickly dissolved in the stomach, giving extra insurance that any broken pieces will not remain dangerously intact

On RMB feeding -- I was not a newcomer and nor were the affected dogs. Neither gulps bones or eats in any way improperly. I own the well known raw meaty bones books, have read the various forums for ages, and had fed raw for a considerable time, believing this to be a great choice for a healthy diet. In the end, I came very close to potentially losing 2 of my Cavaliers. Note that these ( meaty chicken wings) are one of the favourites for raw feeding and supposed to be the safest of raw bones to give–they have plenty of skin and meat to help cushion the bone (although ultimately, it is probably those factors which meant the stomach wasn't pierced by the bone pieces).

With the 2nd dog, it was a bone shard from a larger raw bone.

The piece measures about 4 cm, or over an inch and a half and remains extremely sharp on the broken end.

The fact that I had the same problem with 2 different dogs over time indicates that these kinds of incidents are probably a lot more frequent than people notice–especially as a lot of people are not with their dogs constantly if they work during the day. I work from home and therefore the dogs are around me all the time.

Many different kinds of things that we give our dogs are potentially risky, from toys through to different types of chews. My point is not that people should avoid feeding raw bones–it is that people need to make a risk decision on the issue, because there is so much incorrect information out there making claims about how safe it is to feed such bones, when there is a potential risk involved. People may feel the health benefits outweigh the risks, but the risks are definitely there. The evidence below underlines possible risks -- and that it could be your cavalier the next time.

6358378589_2604933333.jpg
 
I've actually spoken to several vets who also mentioned that they've had to perform emergency surgery on dogs who had raw bones splinter in their tummies before. Contrary to what raw advocates say, it does happen and many vets have actually had experience with it.

I would much rather feed ground raw food anyway--my dogs don't fancy having to chow down chicken wings and like the ground patties or medallions better. There's bone in there already anyway!
 
I think I read somewhere that wolves are more protected from this type of incident due to consuming skin/hair of the carcass - other undigestibles that wrap around the bones to ease movement through GI tract. People generally don't feed their dogs animal hair.

Despite eating raw meat in the wild, wolves can live twice as long in captivity where many are fed kibble.

I am by no means anti-raw. I am just against thinking that "natural" is always better.
 
I don't know much about raw feeding, but that bone shard is horrendous.
I'm sure it is really beneficial to our furry buddies when on a raw diet, but personally I cannot move past
the fact that they are domesticated animals and I feed my little guy as such.

The vet recommended that we feed Jessie chicken necks, but that very photo is the main reason why I've decided
against it, and seeing that confirms it. I am by no means having a crack at anyone's choices, just voicing my personal
preferences.

What do you feed your dogs Karlin, if you don't mind me asking.
 
For anybody reading - you can get raw food that is entirely ground up (including bones) such that there is no chance of shards or large pieces being present. Bravo is one such company that makes ground raw that is AAFCO approved as well. They also have boneless formulas (which you obviously need to add calcium to). Nature's Variety is another company with AAFCO approved products as well as freeze-dried raw.
 
For anybody reading - you can get raw food that is entirely ground up (including bones) such that there is no chance of shards or large pieces being present. Bravo is one such company that makes ground raw that is AAFCO approved as well. They also have boneless formulas (which you obviously need to add calcium to). Nature's Variety is another company with AAFCO approved products as well as freeze-dried raw.

In the UK, Darlings and K9 natural offer this.

I used to give my dogs Chicken Wings until Molly swallowed one whole :shock: I immediately stopped and decided to feed them in small pieces. One night, Dotty went outside for the toilet and screamed, I couldn't find any reason for her screaming, she went to bed content (I didn't sleep) the next morning the same thing happened. Eventually she passed a tiny piece of sharp bone :eek: We were very lucky she passed this and it didn't cause any other damage. No bones now - They get plenty of ground bone in their food.
 
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