Surely you have heard a thousand stories about how dog bones are bad, because they can splinter and damage your dog’s digestive system or even clog it, as they are not properly digested. Actually all of those stories are just that, totally unscientific and totally erroneous urban legends.
Bones are not only not harmful to a dog but are highly healthy, nutritious and help prevent oral diseases as common as tartar. If you spend the next two minutes of your life reading this article, you will learn everything about healthy bones for your dog.
Index of contents
- 1 Can a dog eat bones?
- 2 Why is it said that it is dangerous to give bones to a dog?
- 3 Which bones are the most recommended to feed a dog?
- 4 How and when do I give my dog bones?
- 5 What problems can bone consumption cause?
- 6 What are recreational bones?
Can a dog eat bones?
Of course a dog can eat bones, its jaw, its teeth and absolutely your entire digestive system is adapted and prepared to eat meat and bones. Let’s not forget that dogs are carnivores.
Obviously, if our dog has any digestive disease that limits its diet, we must consult previously with our nutritionist veterinaryn. Any healthy dog can eat bones completely naturally.
The only rule we must follow is that of never cook bones, never. Cooked bones are very dangerous for a dog because they have lost some of their moisture and become harder and more complex to digest for a dog.
All the bones that we feed our dog must be completely raw. If we are concerned about bacteria or parasites, we can pre-freeze them for three days. But before giving them to our dog, we will allow them to thaw and remain at room temperature.
Dogs can eat whole or crushed bones, in case we are afraid of giving them whole. Although there really is no reason to worry.
Why is it said that it is dangerous to give bones to a dog?
There are several factors that influence all those urban legends that tell lies about dog bones, one of them is the nutritional ignorance of people who have a dog. Although the main factor is the dog food industry, which obviously rejects the use of natural dog food.
You don’t really have to think about it too much, the companies that sell dog food what they want is to sell more and more, to obtain great benefits. This is achieved by confusing and / or deceiving consumers, indicating that the feed is a complete food and is it natural? for a dog, while being scared about the dangers of giving fresh food to a dog…. What madness !!
The big advertising campaigns of industrial dog food companies (I think), not only confuse people, but create false myths and legends about what is actually a healthy and natural diet for a dog, meat and bones .
There are even veterinaryns who do not recommend giving bones or meat to a dog. Some of them due to ignorance, since they are not nutritionists. Others for economic interests, since selling dog food they earn a commission. And others because they simply have their heads washed, something that is not surprising when we see how dog food companies are the ones that directly influence universities. Although it seems incredible, it is so.
Which bones are the most recommended to feed a dog?
The first thing to keep in mind is that bones can be dangerous, although not how you think. A dog can eat bones all its life and have no problems or eat bones for a week and have a problem with them. In the same way that you or I can eat any food without any problem or one day unexpectedly choking on something.
With this we want to expose that there is nothing one hundred percent safe, not even the dog food. But that does not mean that the bones are not very healthy and healthy for our dog. The easiest bones to eat for a dog are:
- Chicken bones
- Rabbit bones
Chicken bones are very easy for a dog to digest, just like rabbit bones. We can give our dog chicken carcasses, chicken wings, necks, carcasses or rabbit’s feet, etc…. Always without cooking. If the wings, stops or casings bring a little
meat, even better. Tastier, healthier and recommended for our dog.
Other bones such as pork ribs can also serve, although tending to use chicken bones and knowing that they are easy to digest for them … why complicate?
How and when do I give my dog bones?
You must take into account the size and weight factor of your dog, a mini size dog needs much less quantity than a large size dog. We will try to give a mini-size dog smaller and more tender bones, such as the tip of the chicken wings to start, little by little we can give him the complete wing.
In medium and large dogs there are no problems in giving the complete chicken wing, carcasses, etc … Remember, never cooked. Medium and large dogs can chew and digest any part of the chicken or rabbit without problem.
It is advisable not to mix bones or fresh meat with commercial feed, so if you feed your dog with dog food, do not mix it when using bones. You can feed it with feed in the morning and with bones and meat in the afternoon for example, or simply use a totally natural dog food.
A natural diet based on fresh food includes meaty bones three or four times a week. So it is advisable not to exceed these values, that is, to give our dog three or four days a week as maximum bones.
Bones do not complete a dog’s diet, they must be supplemented with other fresh products or, failing that, commercial feed.
What problems can bone consumption cause?
None, in reality they are all benefits since it is part of our dog’s natural diet. Using the recommended and always raw bones, the only problems a dog may have are:
- Constipation, excessive consumption of bones can cause constipation. It is solved by adding more vegetables to the diet and reducing bone consumption.
- Calcium excess can be appreciated by the color of a dog’s feces and it is corrected by reducing the amount of bones in the diet.
What are recreational bones?
They are large and hard bones that are used to entertain the dog, which bites them to break and eat them, but due to their size and hardness it
is unlikely. The femur or the calf’s knee are some of the most common recreational bones, also the bone of the pork ham is used for these purposes, although this type of bone is easier to break.