I was always told that raw bones were good for dogs to chew on is this true?  A lady came to the park today after giving her GSD a bone from the butcher, she said that the dog had the runs because of the bone and she phoned the vet.  The vet was not pleased and said that any dog should not have bones either raw or cooked and said in the wild they would tear the meat of the bone and leave the bone alone after.  could someone please give me some advice as i do give my dogs bones and i have never had any problem but if the vet is right i will stop asap.  Please help.

Raw bones are fine for dogs. If they're not used to them they are more likely to suffer constipation than get the runs ...

I cant really help with your ??s but all i do know is my local butcher will not let people have raw bones for their dogs not sure as to why.

This may be because of a misunderstanding of an EU ruling - my local butcher was one of the first to be charged under this ruling, but the case didn't stand up in court....

PS - you could always tell him you wanted bones for stock if you can't get bones for your dog ;)

Vets only see the dogs who *may* have had a problem from eating a 'naughty' bone - they never see the dogs who munch on raw meaty bones day in day out, so a bit like Drs, who may have a distorted view of childbirth, vets seem to have a distored view of bones.......

I ,like many on here,feed bones regularly.....ribs,chicken wings and carcasses,pigs trotters,ox tail etc as food and large knuckle bones occasionally as 'recreational' treats and teeth cleaning aids.Bones are fine but should be dogs should be supervised when eating them
Archer

I think marrowbones do tend to make dogs a bit loose.  I know when I was younger my Afghans used to get the runs after a marrowbone and even Fagan, although he eats chicken wings etc with no ill effects a marrow bone can make him a bit loose.  No harm in giving them though :)