Bones??

[Murph]

Hi Guys,

I have a question for all you Cav experts. When Penny was a little pup we gave her a rib bone (about 4 inches long). She was eating it with such determination that I was scared she would eat the whole thing and i tried to take it off her! Big mistake!! She promptly chewed it a few times and swallowed it!!! Needless to say i panicked and thought she was going to die (very dramatic i know) but all was ok and she wasnt sick at all! She seemed to have digested it.

Anyway, She is now 9 months old and since that experience i am terrified of giving her bones but my mother in law gave us a lamb bone the other day for her and its in the fridge and i would know she would love it but im scared to give it to her.

Are bones dangerous for dogs/cavs? Its about 4 inches long with a round joint at the bottom of it and there is nice meat on it too....

What will i do? Will i throw it out or give it to her?

thanks

Murph

[Cathy Moon]

Prepare yourself - you're going to hear all different opinions!

There's something about bones that makes me nervous. The pups can chew off splinters, break a tooth, get intestinal blockage, etc.

My hubby always wants to give our cavs bones, but I am too worried. In my opinion, Bully sticks are a good option, because our vet told me if they swallow a bully stick stub it will be digested. We keep a close eye on them when they're chewing - watching for choking, but it has not happened yet, touch wood!

[Murph]

Thanks Cathy for your reply....... Im very like you, too nervous to give it to her... I think i might just throw them out to be on the safe side..

I would rather be safe than sorry.

Murph

[Cupcake Love]

I'm really nervous about giving Cupcake bones. My husband and I were eating dinner at my parent's home about a month ago and my father dropped a large steak bone on the floor for Cupcake and Nacho to eat. Even though I was watching them chew on the bone somehow a piece splintered off and got stuck on the roof of Cupcake's mouth! She started thrashing her head around like a bucking bronco and I was terrified that she was choking. Thankfully it didn't pierce the skin, but it scared me to death and now she is only allowed to have her pink-squeaky-toy bone.

Keep in mind this is just my experience. Sometimes I think Cupcake's main hobby is making me worry about her!

[matties mum]

I am very unsure about giving bones has one of my dogs a cocker spaniel called Ben did die because of having bones he was very ill and I kept being told that he was a crybaby he had what is called adhesion were the part of the bowel stuck together so was in a lot of pain he had to have an operation in the end but it did no good he was 5 years old and should have had a few more years Aileen

[Karlin]

Dogs should never, ever be given cooked bones -- these will splinter into shards and can easily puncture an intestine and cause serious problems or death.

Many people feed different types of raw bones and many feel they are excellent for teeth and gum health. I very occasionally will feed raw chicken wings cut into three pieces at the joints, and more regularly, raw chicken necks, which have small crunchy bones. In both cases the dogs love them and crunch them down.

I also like marrow bone slices if you can get them raw from a butcher. These are really hard and mostly the dogs will work at getting the marrow and gnawing at the outside of the bone.

There are alternatives to bones such as bully sticks (Lidl sells these as 'pizzle sticks' in Ireland and is the only place that sells them). I also like the flat thick rawhide sheets but I take them and throw them out when they get small enough to swallow as rawhide can cause blockage problems. Also the chewable veg-based sticks etc that Petstop now has are an option. My dogs also like hooves but I don;t know anywhere in Ireland that sells them except at the annual national dog show when there's a guy over from the UK.

[goldcountryrose]

Following some advice I saw here I bought my Cav some raw marrow bones today. I gave him one and put the other two in the freezer. They are pretty big for my little guy. The one I gave him is just a round marrow bone, about 2 inches high and about 1-1/2 in diameter.

He has gotten every bit of the marrow out, in about 3 hours. I can only say that he seems obsessed. I sure hope this is healthy for him. Because he hasn't let that bone out of his mouth in the last 3 hours.

[goldcountryrose]

BTW, Off Topic:

That picture of cupcake is about the cutest picture I've ever seen.

[Cupcake Love]

Awh, thank you! The little rascal got into the Christmas gifts and was happily attacking that bow. She sure made a mess, but was so adorable I had to take a picture.

Isn't it funny how they'll obsess over things like that and not let it out of their sights?

[Claire]

I have some pictures on another thread Look what mum got us - my butcher just lets me have beef bones, which the boys have uncooked, the butcher says these are the strongest bone they have and would not recommend anything else as they tend to splinter.