My dog loves the occasional bone (I buy cooked beef ones from the pet store) but I know not everyone thinks it's the right thing to do and I'm always a bit paranoid about her swallowing a sharp piece. What are your opinions on bones for dogs?

No I personally don't, we stopped years ago when we had a bit of a fright with a young terrier who managed to get a bit stuck in his mouth across the top of his mouth, had to get the vet to cut it in half and get it out with pliers, really made his gums sore for several days. Vet said she had seen more accidents with bones and sticks than anything else so we stopped the bones and the stick throwing.

I believe some dogs manage them well but some don't so I chose not to take the chance.
Chihuahuas don't do well with bones either as they cause constipation really easily in them. So it would be unfair to give to one and not the other.

I feed my dogs raw, and yes they get mostly raw bones (not the heavy weight bearing beef ones )but some drum sticks, chicken wings, rips and such. Raw bones are softer and they easily eat and digest them.
But my youngest (2 yrs) also love chewing on the ones you mention, I have to keep an eye, when he manages to break then, or they start to splinter, then I take them away.

Yes I do,Beef Marrow ones
My butcher does not charge me for them
Touch wood in the nearly 10 years no trouble with them

I used to give her great big knuckle bones which she never managed to make any impact on. As for sticks she once caught a stick awkwardly and the end pierced her throat. It needed an op to remove splinters but it could have been worse. Nowadays we have a long, twisty, plastic thing, which unfortunately, due to its vibrant pink appearance - attracts rude comments...

I believe we have the same toy Mrs G - we attracted a few comments over the last few months too

Hi. No I wouldn't chance bones with my Labradoodle and Springerdoodle.

I give them large bone shaped hide chews and supervise them at all times to make sure they don't ingest small pieces.

That's a choice I have always made. I may be being overcautious but I won't risk it.

I think it's good that you are seeking information about this.

The lead singer of Squeeze did, but on a song about another animal....

I don't, mostly because it usually give them the squits.

I've found it best, if walking past a building site, to tuck it under my coat!

Yes, we give our dog a bone. But we don`t find the bones getting stuck in the mouth or if it`s raw or soft the problem.

We have a jack russell cross chihuhua, we find everytime we get her a bone she becomes dominant and the teeth come out, you can`t stand a foot away from her without her growling protecting the thing. If we did see a bone we can`t take it away just with the click of the fingers, we have to use a litter picker thing and even then she attacks that. You would think she`s eaten it but what she normally goes and does is buried it in the garden - Probaly for safekeeping.

There are certain foods that start all the growling with ours so we have stopped giving the big knuckle things, we give apples (some growling if he takes it into the garden) or a carrot which he loves muching on like a rabbit.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites...-are-safe.aspx

Yes.

My dogs are raw fed. So they have bones often. I never feed them cooked bones of any variety. Always raw.

And never beef but that's because it makes one of my dogs ill and it's simpler to give them the same meal. Even though the other dog is absolutely fine with beef.

Some really interesting responses (I knew there would be) - thanks everyone!

No. Bones cause fights with my 3, and they can escalate quickly.

No, they are dangerous. My dog has antler bars under supervision.

yes one a week from the butcher. never had or known anyone else who's dog has had problems with them.

Not read the thread then ? because some of us have.

No, my dog is not allowed bones mainly because their dangerous if cooked which I'd never risk, which means they'd have to be given raw. And the thought, appearance and smell of anything like that turns my stomach over. She gets a raw carrot to chew on instead which she will happily eat.


Is it a Kong Safestix by any chance? I've seen some iffy looking dog toys around, but that one takes the biscuit. I wonder what possessed them to design it like that, you'd think somebody would have pointed it out to them. Personally, I could never carry that down to the park in public, even saying "it's for the dog" sounds bad

Apparently vets are seeing lots of dogs with particular tooth damage from Antler Bars. The side of the teeth breaks off which leaves them in a lot of pain. I threw ours away. I was always doubtful about it as they are so hard. Only 1 of our dogs liked it.

I don't feed bones, cooked are dangerous and I find raw revolting.

Used to give our Greyhound a raw bone from the Butcher on occasion, but the bugger would eat the lot (talking large knuckle bones here!) everything. Odd time it gave him the runs. Last straw was when he nipped in, quick as a flash and devoured a whole Chicken leg as we were scraping the dinner leftovers into a pedal bin. This resulted in him having to have a major operation, as the chicken leg bones obstructed his bowel. No more bones now.
Prefer to buy those tubs of proper animal Rawhide chews (£3.99) tbh, good for the teeth, without being over hard.

Its funny, everyone has their own idea.
I feed my dogs raw and they are doing great on it.

Now I would never give my dogs raw hide any more, heard about too many dogs chocking on them.
Give them a nice dry tripe stick instead.

Our vets stopped stocking those Antler Bars after owners were saying their dog's teeth were being damaged by them. I never tried one on my dog as their so expensive, for what essentialy is a stick, and my dog has been taught not to be interested in sticks so I doubt she'd have given it a second glance

I did used to give those rawhide chews until she got one stuck in her mouth one day, luckily I was there, I dread to think what would have happened otherwise, but it put me off using them again.

My dogs always used to enjoy rawhide chews but, alas, I've had to stop supplying them.

Trouble is, now, that Ollie is particularly greedy and he treats them as regular "snacks" rather than as something to be gnawed on and, as a result, he ends up biting off big lumps of them and trying to swallow it.

And, of course, that's ruined it for all my dogs because if either of the other two have a hide chew, and they leave it alone, Ollie will grab it and try to wolf it down.