# Beef bones



## childsplay (Jan 28, 2012)

A very nice guy at our local mom and pop butcher gave me some big beef bones when he heard I have dogs.

Do I need to do anything to them before I give them to Cajun (older adult) and Uther (4 month old pup)?

Should they be boiled first? They do have some fat and meat left on them.

Thanks!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

No to boiling, raw is best and give them under supervision only. If you can get the knucklebones with cartilage those are the best, because they are softer than the marrow bones. The denser bones can possibly crack a tooth, so if your older dog is a strong chewer, keep an eye on him.
Marrow is rich ,ingesting the marrow all in one chew session~ you may see some runny poo.

One other thing to watch is Cajun resource guarding his from Uther. Some dogs get a bit snarky when they have a high value chew that they aren't use to. Maybe give them when they ae crated. I also would fridge or freeze the bones after a chew session to keep them from drying out, sometimes the bones will splinter after they dry.
Pups love frozen bones when teething, it soothes the gums.


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

For many many years I boiled and then froze before I gave to the dogs, learned here on this forum I shouldn't be boiling them first. They love even better this way. Even your old guy will love a frozen treat in the warm weather.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

I just had a dog break a canine on a raw beef marrow bone. We're looking at a 1k crown/capping on that tooth. I won't be giving those to my dogs anymore. 

Get knuckle bones. They are easier on teeth, are rounded so they clean teeth better, have cartilage/nutrients and are healthier (no marrow).


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## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

We give Joey marrow bones, but also worry about him being such a strong chewer.

When getting the knuckle bones, do you have to ask the butcher for anything specific?


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## childsplay (Jan 28, 2012)

I think one of the bones he gave me is a knuckle bone. It is roughly sphere shaped and about the size of a softball. I can see what looks like cartilage. I'll try that one first.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

Ask them for beef or bison knuckle bones. Have them cut it to your specifications so it isn't too big or too small for your dog. I feed my dogs pieces about this size or maybe even cut it in half. Something the size of a closed fist is a good size for my dogs.


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

qbchottu said:


> Ask them for beef or bison knuckle bones. Have them cut it to your specifications so it isn't too big or too small for your dog. I feed my dogs pieces about this size or maybe even cut it in half. Something the size of a closed fist is a good size for my dogs.


Wow those are lot bigger than the marrow bones I feed.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

My GSDs tend to be aggressive chewers so the larger sizes force them to eat around the rounded edges so their teeth scrape against the bone which helps to clean them. Problem with marrow bones is that licking out the marrow has no function in getting the teeth clean. Plus marrow can be very rich and fatty. 

For my mix, I give her about half what I give the Shepherds. She's the one who broke her canine on the marrow bone. 

I let them chew for a couple of hours. If anything is left, I put it in a ziplock bag and put it back in the freezer till the next chew session. If they finish all of it in one sitting, it will be too much bone content so their stools will be hard and they can get constipated. That's why I either take them away after they've had a bit or I fast them that day or I up the muscle meat for their next meal to compensate for the high bone content.


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

qbchottu said:


> I let them chew for a couple of hours. If anything is left, I put it in a ziplock bag and put it back in the freezer till the next chew session. If they finish all of it in one sitting, it will be too much bone content so their stools will be hard and they can get constipated. That's why I either take them away after they've had a bit or I fast them that day or I up the muscle meat for their next meal to compensate for the high bone content.


OMG they eat the bone? I thought that was bad? Mine just chew and when they get nasty and worn out I pitch them. 

Here are the ones that I just picked up to pitch when I gave them the new ones. They are probably two/three days old.


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## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

We let Joey chew on a fresh marrow bone for a couple of hours, then put it in a ziploc bag and freeze it for the next time. After that, it gets thrown out.

He probably ends up getting half the marrow out of the bone over two times.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

shepherdmom said:


> OMG they eat the bone? I thought that was bad? Mine just chew and when they get nasty and worn out I pitch them.


Knuckle bones contain soft bone and are easy to chew and digest. They also have flesh meat and cartilage that are easy to eat/digest. Anything extra (bone) comes out in the stools and some dogs will vomit pieces they cannot digest (it's up to you if you let them eat it again and redigest or throw it away). Raw bones don't splinter so there is little danger of that. Dogs can't gulp a large piece so they slowly scrape and gnaw away at the bone till they finish it. It's the best way to clean a dog's teeth imo. Give Your Dog a Bone (A conversation with The Canine Coach on keeping your dog?s teeth clean.) | Sojos

Dogs cannot eat marrow/femur bones because they are weight bearing bones that are entirely too hard to bite or digest. I would much rather give a knuckle bone than a marrow bone. Now that I'm dealing with the consequences of giving a dog a marrow bone, I will warn anyone else in the future as well to stay away from marrow bones. Unless your dog just licks out the marrow, I think they are not worth the risk. 

*note to chronic arguers* Don't use this one opinion to derail the thread. Remember, these are just my opinions. You can take or leave it


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## Dakotasmom23 (Jan 11, 2012)

Our grocery store has knucklebones in the frozen meat section in a large bag so I buy a bag a few times a month for my dogs. My older dog's teeth look fantastic after doing this for a few months now, its amazing the tartar is gone. Question...are soup bones the same thing as knucklebones?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

The soup bones in my local grocery stores are usually split knucklebones without the cartilage. But fewer and fewer grocer's carry them or even have a meat cutter on site. Most of the workers in the grocery stores have no idea what a knucklebone even is.
They get all their meat shipped pre-packaged from huge processors.


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## childsplay (Jan 28, 2012)

I let Uther chew the "soup bone" (not really sure what bone it was) for about 45 minutes and he loved it. Then, I took it away and put it in the freezer. I didn't notice any change in his stool so I don't think it was a marrow bone.

Thanks everyone for the info.


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