# 8 wk old puppy and marrow soup bones



## RichardMorris (Jul 24, 2011)

Hi,
A quick question..We very recently brought home an 8 wk old GSD male. Our 4 1/2 yr old GSD female, has a raw marrow soup bone (bought fresh from the supermarket) 3 or 4 times a week. The bone is dense enough not to splinter, so, would it be appropriate for the puppy to gnaw on the bone, once Raven has polished (figuratively) the scraps of meat and the marrow out of the bone. It would keep him busy, and give poor Raven a time out !! I trust that it would not damage those little hypodermic needles that his mouth is full of..
Thanks and have a good weekend.


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## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

I can't remember why but I was told never to give soup bones to dogs.

A large raw femur full of marrow bones are ok, however you would be better to source a meaty bone, one that has the meat on it so that your dog can eat this as a meal or part of their meal and enjoy the pulling and ripping off the meat as well as getting into the bone.

With an 8 week old puppy, I would give a chicken wing, or a large femur bone where he can chew and chew and basically get nothing, maybe a bit of marrow - this will satisfy his chewing desire but so will the chicken wing.


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## RichardMorris (Jul 24, 2011)

Harry and Lola,
Thanks for the reply. I should have been more specific..These are raw femurs (full of marrow), most with some meat on them, cut to various sizes. Very dense bone, and Raven does not make much of a dent in them..(They package them as "soup bones" for some reason)..I ask the butcher directly for marrow bones. I agree with your view of regular soup bones, as some of them are not dense enough to prevent splintering, even in the raw state. I don't feed Raven raw any more, and these are basically for a mid-day treat, and to keep her teeth in good shape. The puppy has already snagged one of the larger "polished" femurs, and was happily gnawing away, until Raven came back, and "pointed out" that you don't take what doesn't belong to you. Good to know that I can give the puppy the "used" femurs to gnaw on, now that things are settling down, and she is allowing the puppy to share her food bowl....Treats are a different matter, and as long as both of them have the treat at the same time, there is no problem. Our cat can even take food out of Ravens' mouth with no problem.
Rgards


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

RichardMorris said:


> Hi,
> A quick question..We very recently brought home an 8 wk old GSD male. Our 4 1/2 yr old GSD female, has a raw marrow soup bone (bought fresh from the supermarket) 3 or 4 times a week. The bone is dense enough not to splinter, so, would it be appropriate for the puppy to gnaw on the bone, once Raven has polished (figuratively) the scraps of meat and the marrow out of the bone. It would keep him busy, and give poor Raven a time out !! I trust that it would not damage those little hypodermic needles that his mouth is full of..
> Thanks and have a good weekend.



I've never heard not too. I always give them to my puppies, but I do freeze them first. Frozen bones seem to sooth teething puppies.


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## Serbrider (Jan 30, 2014)

The main reason why a lot of people don't feed femur (weight bearing) bones is that dogs can break their teeth on them, due to how dense they are.

On occasion and under supervision and if you don't let them dry out, I don't see too much of an issue.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

I give them to my dogs and pup just fine. They do keep them entertained! I only let them chew on the bone for so long though, because they are very dense and I don't want any broken teeth. 

Once all the marrow is gone and the bone is a little smaller, I throw them out and get new bones.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i think that depends on the type of chewer your dog is.
my dog has 4 or 5 them laying around. he's had them for 
several months.



Serbrider said:


> The main reason why a lot of people don't feed femur (weight bearing) bones is that dogs can break their teeth on them, due to how dense they are.
> 
> On occasion and under supervision and if you don't let them dry out, I don't see too much of an issue.
> 
> ...


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

elk antlers, deer antlers, femur bones.


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## RichardMorris (Jul 24, 2011)

*Thanks for the input*

Thanks a lot everybody. The little guy (Serge) is under constant "surveillance" both by us and by the "mother hen" Raven. As "Doggie Dad" said, there are always a couple of "used" bones lying around, and Raven will still gnaw on them. The puppy found one already, and because they are so large, compared to the current size of his mouth, he doesn't so much gnaw, as scrape his teeth along the surface. Keeps him busy. GSD puppies don't come with an "OFF" switch unfortunately.
Regards
Richard


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

I give them and have had no issues (well the marrow will cause loose stool if a dog has never had one but that changes as they get adjusted). Poster above may be thinking of really small ones (t-bone steak bones come to mind) in which they could be swallowed. Obviously those are too small but regular marrow bones are cut in 3" or 6" at my butchers and they are fine.


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