# Raw bones ok?



## JJRJR (Mar 1, 2005)

I'm wondering if raw bones from the grocery store are ok for my 12 week old? We gave him a beef marrow bone and he loved it, but I took it from him when he got the fat and marrow off. I've heard pigs feet, chicken necks, chicken backs, etc. are fine for pups and are actually good for them.

Before I get anything I'd like to see what you all think?

Thanks,,

John


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## Daz20005 (Nov 3, 2010)

I would boil the bones for maybe 15/20 mins depending on the size, then leave them to cool before giving them to your GSD. I've heard that if they get a taste for raw meat they'll want nothing else andmay become more hostile around raw meat. Hope this helps!


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

B.A.R.F./Raw Feeding - German Shepherd Dog Forums

Start looking around in this forum. RAW bones are okay for your pup. Marrow bones may be hard on his teeth though. The marrow can cause diarrhea for some dogs, mine are fine with it.



Daz20005 said:


> I've heard that if they get a taste for raw meat they'll want nothing else andmay become more hostile around raw meat.


Not true.


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## Girth (Jan 27, 2011)

I give mine soup bones, beef neck bones, pig tails, pig's feet, chicken feet and whatever else I can find that might make a good treat for them. Most of that pricewise is reasonable and I have never had a problem.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

Daz20005 said:


> I would *boil the bones for maybe 15/20 mins*


Absolutely not. If you boil or cook your bones they will splinter, your dog will choke on splintered pieces.
I have dropped marrow bones in a pot of boiling water to "sterilize" them for a few seconds becuase I give them to the dogs in the house but that is it.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I agree, do not boil or feed cooked, or smoked bones. 
A marrow or fresh beef knuckle bone is nutritious but the marrow is rich and may cause runny poo. If you can get a knucklebone from your butcher, it has beneficial cartilage and will help the head muscles/ears will be stronger.
Be sure your pup is always supervised when you give chews, regardless of what it is. Rawhides can cause blockages and are not safe, IMO.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

I have always boiled bones and never had a splinter problem. These bones are HARD, not fragile. I remove half or most of the marrow after boiling because too much will give Abby the trots.
I will keep in mind what Carolyn said and maybe give the 'sterilization' a try.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

HARD bones can cause teeth to crack, I would rather give a softer/fresh bone, and not a dry one that will splinter.


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

Yes, RMBs (raw meaty bones) are excellent for dogs, as carnivores it's what they were designed to eat.
Bones should ideally be covered with meat and/or skin, as a precaution. Besides the ones you mentioned, turkey necks are great, too.
Weightbearing marrow bones from beef and other large animals are considered recreational bone, since they aren't really edible bone. Some dogs can have rec bones, some can't because they get too enthusiastic with chewing and end up chipping a tooth.

The thing on cooked bones, the idea is that cooking a bone drains it of moisture and makes it splinter. It's not necessarily going to kill your dog just because he eats it, we gave my dogs tons of cooked bones before we knew better, but it's more likely to.
And no raw meat will not make a dog bloodthirsty. Many of us on this forum feed raw meat as a the main diet, myself included.


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## Draugr (Jul 8, 2011)

I believe the issue of cooked bones is related when cooking whole meat, like when you give the dog the leftovers from the steaks you grilled. It's because the fat crystallizes on the bone and changes the composition of it making it more fragile. I don't know if boiling would do the same or not? I just feed them raw, though.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Do not boil your bones.

I don't bother with the weight bearing bones of large animals. 

At this age your best bet is raw chicken necks , chicken frames. 

The litter of pups I have now will get a whole scrawny stewing hen and it is gone lickety split. 

The older dogs get turkey necks , turkey legs, chicken frames, pork hock, pork neck , whole rabbit , whole sheep heads , soft lower part of rib cage and ground with bone chicken , lamb , beef, turkey, they get deer organ meat , gristly ligments and deer stomach with contents, condolyes of beef (knee caps) , pig snouts , smelts , organ meat , green tripe , pig cheeks , whole eggs .
Not a one is blood thirsty or savage . 
That kind of thinking goes back to the days of John Kellog and Mr Graham of graham cracker fame which was made to cool the jets, kill the ardour, anti vigour along with cold showers and chastity - the "grahamite philosophy" . Soo -- if your 'honey' keeps baking pies with thick graham cracker crusts should you start cutting down on dessert? lol .

Carmen
Carmspack Working German Shepherd Dogs


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## Gilly1331 (Apr 16, 2011)

DO NOT COOK/BOIL bones.... RAW bones are ok ONLY for dogs. There is a ton of info on this forum under barf section. Take some time to ready through!


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i gave my pup center (beef) cut femur bones
raw and cooked (baked). the marrow is inside the bone.



JJRJR said:


> I'm wondering if raw bones from the grocery store are ok for my 12 week old? We gave him a beef marrow bone and he loved it,
> 
> >>>>but I took it from him when he got the fat and marrow off. <<<<
> 
> ...


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## yuricamp (Mar 13, 2011)

carmspack said:


> At this age your best bet is raw chicken necks , chicken frames.
> 
> The litter of pups I have now will get a whole scrawny stewing hen and it is gone lickety split.
> 
> ...


I agree with Carmen's post. 

I've been fee dingy six-month old Raw since he was about 10/11 weeks old. Chicken parts are great to start with. I found turkey a bit too rich to feed before he was house broken, because it gave him the runs. Now that I can read him better, we try all sorts of things. I would also tell you to through some veggies in there as well while he is young. Slip one or two pieces of baby carrots and some frozen peas or even collard greens. My pup loves 'em.


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## Draugr (Jul 8, 2011)

yuricamp said:


> I agree with Carmen's post.
> 
> I've been fee dingy six-month old Raw since he was about 10/11 weeks old. Chicken parts are great to start with. I found turkey a bit too rich to feed before he was house broken, because it gave him the runs. Now that I can read him better, we try all sorts of things. I would also tell you to through some veggies in there as well while he is young. Slip one or two pieces of baby carrots and some frozen peas or even collard greens. My pup loves 'em.


Along these lines I've found that it's usually necessary to add a little bit of pumpkin to my dog's diet, something to add a bit of fiber. He's fine without it, and can eliminate okay, but he eliminates better with something more fibrous added to his diet.

Wild dogs will naturally chew on vegetation, as a little bit of their diet - it's not something that is _necessary_ for them, but maybe they are regulating their own fiber intake by doing so? That is my thought, anyway.


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## CeeJayKay (Apr 16, 2020)

Do you cook the pumpkin or other veges you give? Jackson is now 8 1/2 months and been on raw since 7 weeks old. But he will nibble on grass at least once a week and I have often wondered about this.


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