Hi - I've just been reading the post further down about bones but it was getting a bit heated so I decided to start a new post with my questions!

I was going to go to the local butcher and ask for some bones for my dog - am I right in thinking that they are likely to have some that would otherwise just be thrown away?

Is there a particular type of bone I should say I want if he asks?  From other post I think I'll stay away from chicken ones.

Also - I presume a bone isn't something that can "go off" so can my dog keep one to chew as long as he wants?  Not sure if they actually eat the bone or just chew it. 

Could I put the bone in the freezer like I do with the Kong or if I get a few do they need to be stored in the freezer?

Thanks for any advice :-)

There are two kinds of bone...
raw meaty bones ie ribs which the dog can eat all of and marrow bones which they just chew on and extract the marrow from.
Both can be frozen. and from my experience both end up buried in the garden somewhere to be dug up at a later date and chewed on again.
would just say that marrow can make the dogs loose in their motions. it does with mine if he has a particularly big bone :)

Can I just ask at what age you would give a pup a marrow bone? My breeder fed BARF but our vet advised me against rawmeat or bones. Help, I'm tearing my hair out! In the past our dogs have had marrow bones & never had a problem - It's my vet who has worried me!

My pup has been having them since about 9-10 weeks of age with no problems.

Alot of barf feeders on hear feed bones from 8 weeks old. I personally have been giving bones to my 9mth old since about 3 1/2 mths when he started teething :)

Vets dont reccomend alot of things as regards feeding, some would say its because they cant make any money out of it as they dont sell particular food brands or bones either.
Your breeder is obviously happy with giving bones and if you are and your dog loves them then why not :)

edited to add.... dont forget to supervise them with them thou :)

Thanks for the advice :-)

Well, so much for worrying about raw bones - pup just ran off with some dead rabbit or something in the woods & ate the whole lot. Now I'm worrying about what he ate & whether he's going to be ok - dogs!!

mine eat whole rabbits with no ill effects, its good for them :)

bint, Your vet has tried to put you off raw meat and bones in the hope you will purchace some very expensive dried food from him/her.
Mine both love whole rabbits even the westie. He takes a few days to finish it unlike the lab (10mins). Raw meat/bones are also the most natural and effective way of cleaning a dogs teeth.

>bint, Your vet has tried to put you off raw meat and bones in the hope<

you'll be back next year for an expensive dental ;)

I can understand vets not wanting their clients to feed rmb's,they keep their teeth clean and their bodies healthy!

Clean teeth=no dentals
Good health=no vet visits

I wish the above were not true,and that vets put their clients health and hapiness before everything else,but unfortunately healthy dogs arent good for business :(

That is imo very unfair to vets.

My vets do not sell any food at all yet they regard raw feeding as dangerous based both on their knowledge and experience.

The thing is vets will always have a skewed idea of reality, as they only see the caes that cause trouble. 

Sadly I know of a pup that died by choking on a piece of dry dog food. 

There are sure to be a few cases where bones cause a problem in some dogs (most likely cooked ones they have scavenged somewhere).

I wasn't doing BARF with my last litter but they got chicken wings as a treat every morning from about 5 weeks of age.

If vets only see cases that cause trouble, and they see more trouble from BARF style feeding is that a skewed idea of reality?

Not being a vet, and never having discussed the point with one, I don't know how many cases of whatever problems they might encounter. Marrowbones can cause breakage of molars (in my personal experience this will happen in 10% of dogs - so in 90% it won't happen) - kibble containing soya can cause bloat (again, about the same figures) which can be fatal. So you weigh up the risk ...

I was talking about raw feeding not marrow bones for gnawing where I'd have thought 10% broken molars was on the high side. I know one dog that became seriously ill because of BARF style feeding and another that died because of it, so I have discussed raw feeding with my own vets and other vets. One dog had it's pylorus shredded by bone splinters and bled out, the other had to have surgery for bone impaction. The vets I've spoken to say they have seen gut injuries, infections and problems due to imbalanced diets in raw fed dogs that they don't otherwise come across. I don't know what percentage of dogs get into trouble on BARF style diets but surely any is too many for a diet that has no evidence of benefits?

The Purdue study found that soaking food containing citric acid increased the risk of bloat but have not heard that kibble containing soya can cause bloat. Have you any more information about it?

>I don't know what percentage of dogs get into trouble on BARF style diets but surely any is too many for a diet that has no evidence of benefits?

How do you conclude that the Barf diet doesn't have any evidence of benefits? Have you done you're research and fed it to your dogs to get a totally unbiased view of the whole ethos behind it? Or have you just taken the word of your Vet and other likeminded people?  Or to be particularly pedantic, what is the evidence of benefits behind commercial foods, other than what the manufacturer wants you to believe

It's been said on here so many times :rolleyes:  the food that is appropriate for your dog is the food that it's happiest and thrives on. I don't feel it's anybodys place to criticise what other people feed their dogs. Each to their own.

I really do get impatient with sweeping statements being made with no sound knowledge and research to back it up.

"I really do get impatient with sweeping statements being made with no sound knowledge and research to back it up."

So do I. Point me at a single bit of research showing benefits of BARF feeding. Saying something often on a discussion forum does not make it true.

What is the point of directing you at research on Barf when you are so clearly against it? I'm not here to convert or to prove anything to anyone. I respect peoples reasons for feeding whatever food they personally are happy with. I will only give my experience and accumulated knowledge when I know that it will be received in an unbiased and impartial way.

No, you are correct, saying something often does not necessarily make it correct, but then a lot of us here are intelligent enough to know what suits our dogs regarding feeding and make informed choices.

I will only ever comment on anything, be it food, medical or behaviour if I have had experience of it and think it worth sharing. I won't criticise anything I'm not familiar with.

And point us to some scientific, peer reviewed research against it.

Of course, on that premise vets know that all bitches have whelping problems, because unless they're breeders themselves, those are the only ones they see. ;)

Thought quite often breeders got their vet to do a check on recently whelped bitches & pups who`ve had no probs just to make sure all was well?  ;) :)

Yes, but that's after the whelping, not at the time! The majority of vets have never been present at a normal whelping, so have no experience of it ...

Just as many would nver dream of exposing their bitches to the risk of infection that a vet who is around sick animals all day might pose, if they are confident their bitches are doing well.

Agree B/L :)

But J/G vets must be aware of all the healthy problem free whelps that occur, they do end up seeing pups from them eventually :)

I'm sure I've read about people on here saying their dogs never go to the vet. Lots aren't even given their puppy vaccs - for example, do all puppy farmers have their healthy puppies checked by the vet before sale? How many thousands just vanish?

Oh I was talking about reputable J/G.

Must say tho vets been to see my pups when couple days old but he did take his shoes off but more just cos he loves labs :D

just saw the other bit about pups not having vax well mine didn`t but for whole load of other reasons ;) :)

Thanks for all the replies - just given Alfie his first raw meaty bone from the butchers and he loved it!

Just a bit worried now about him getting splinters in his insides from the bone - is this something that is common or about as rare as a dog choking on its dry food as someone earlier on pointed out could happen?

Also - should these just be given now and again as treats as I'm feeding him dry food and Naturediet half and half as his normal food.  So maybe one a week?

One a week should be fine :)