Hi
I got a large marrow bone from the butchers yesterday, He cut it in half as it was really big.
When I got home I gave half each to my two Staffies, It was the pups first proper bone. They were outside most of the day really enjoying them.
The next morning I came down to a really messy cage. Toesy (the pup) had thrown up and pooed all over.
I'm presuming it was the bone, as he hadn't had anything else out of the ordinary. Has this happened to anyone else. Also on the odd occasion that some thing has upset his tummy, and he has messed through the night, it is the runs, this time if anything his poo was dry and crumbly, and have been since. Ruby's are dry and crumbly too and they have gone very light in colour. It seems strange that gnawing on a bone for a few hours could make all them changes

I've also been planning on introducing tripe to Toesy's diet, Does that tend to cause the runs, maybe if I introduce it slowly he will be ok. Do I add it to his food, or feed it separately. Is the tripe an extra, or do I lower his normal food portions. Also would I give him a bit every day, or just once or twice a week.
Thanks for your help.
Michelle.

Hi dont worry it is normal after eating bones, and yes you can feed tripe every day it would be best given with biscuit meal but some people give it with there dry food, i feed it once aday with meal then in evening they have there dry food your dogs will love it.

Those of you who give marrow bones - how long do you keep one bone? i.e do you discard a bone after one day's chewing?
Also, if tripe is given with complete dry food, does it unbalance the diet?
Thanks,
Cathy.

Hi Michelle,
we give tripe to Gus and he WOOFS it down - he loves it . :)
We add it to his complete food and reduce the amount of complete we give accordingly . We give it at one meal every other dy or so .
Just watch the amount of tripe you feed as it does tend to *bulk* them out for want of a better word .
Hope that helps :)
Lel

Hi, Thanks for your replys.
Lel,
When you first gave it to Gus did you add it to his meal a bit at a time, Did it gave him the runs till he got used to it
I feed Toesy Nature Diet would it be ok to add to this, or should I give one meal Tripe and biscuits and one or two meals Nature Diet.
How many meals is Gus on. Toesy is on 3 meals, he is coming on 6 months, when is it best to put him on 2 meals.
What do you feed Gus on.
Michelle.

Gus is still on 3 meals ( breakfast , dinner and tea) but they are smaller meals .
You can give tripe on its own for one of his meals if you prefer . I just cut it up ( well actually I bribe hubby to cut it as I think its vile) ;) .
No , he never had the runs with tripe although if I introduce other foods he does tend to get the runs so I always keep him on the same foods that I know he likes and is ok on his tummy . These are scrambled egg , mackeral , tuna , chicken and tripe .
His complete food is Hills Science Plan Puppy. It is a bit on the dear side but he looks well on it , has a nice shiny coat etc , so I am reluctant to change .
Gus has not had the pleasure of a bone as yet ( am I depriving him ??) but my last Staffy loved the big Roast bones and yes , he used to get the runs after one , even when an adult .
lel
Ps; the first time we introduced tripe , Gus sniffed and walked away from it .
We left it for a few weeks ( not in his dish I might add - I mean we never offered it again for a few weeks :D ) and that time he loved it . As soon as he sees it he races along , all excited to where his dish is placed !!

Iwould say to just feed tripe and meal once aday then feed his dry i do not put it in to dry food and nearly all dogs love it it will not upset there tummy, and you buy it in bags minced which is much easier to use.

Cathy
theoretically you shouldnt add anything to complete food as everything your dog needs is supplie d in the food .

When I started giving marrow bones a few months ago I firmly believed it would be disgusting to let it be outside more than the few hours they chewed it on the first day. I listened to the advice of several people however who let their dogs have them and leave them out there for a week or more, and lately I've been letting them have the marrowbones outside for about 4-5 days (when *I* can't stand the smell, and the thought of bacteria puts me really off LOL). The dogs like them much better the 2nd/3rd day - esp my one who wasn't an avid chewer. In the bad heat that we had recently she was right in there on the bone on day 3.

If you're giving tripe with complete cut back on the complete being fed or you will end up with a nice fat dog:) Depending on the amounts you should be fine. If you are going to give a fair bit of tripe have the dry food at a separate meal from the tripe. I personally don't see a huge problem with mixing, but the popular advice is to feed the meals several hours apart as there are different digestion rates adn it's just easier on the tum. So this is what I've done.

Wendy