We normally get raw marrow bones from the butchers for my golden retriever, and they are normally beef bones, but today I was given pork bones, she said that is all they had. I always thought they shouldnt have pork, and these have quite a lot of meat on them, the lady said that she gives them to her dogs and have always been fine. Will pork bones be ok?

My lot have never had a problem with pork bones. Many people give their dogs raw pigs' trotters.

The short answer is I don't know.  However there is no reason to suppose they will not be unless of course pork does not agree with your dog and you will only be able to find that out by trying......... :D

I regularly feed my dogs pork (including bones) with no ill effects if that helps.

ok, so I gave her the bone...and it is disappearing before our eyes! Is she meant to be actually EATING the bone?? Are pork bones softer than Beef ones? with the beef bones she just chews on them and pulls off any meat. With this one, she is actually crunching up the bone and eating it?? Im keeping a close eye on her and taking away any bits that look sharp and too big for her to swallow...erm...Im still worrying though...should she be eating it???

Yes - her eating the bone is fine :) Marrowbones are purely for recreation but the pork bones you have are okay to be eaten. Ours have them sometimes and they are fine with them.

ah, thank you for clearing that up for me!! phew!
She seems to have thoroughly enjoyed her first pork bone (jolly good job aswell, as we have a big carrier full of em!) although there is now blood all up her front legs (lovely!)

ok, so now Im on a roll with this raw meat milarky, just wondering if I was to feed her raw maybe one day a week instead of her burns, what would a good amount of meat be for a day? Im thinking chicken wings...Would I need to give veggies aswell if it is just one day?

She is a golden retriever, (that special type that has a dustbin for a stomach...)

Some dogs cant digest pork and end up with runs,this is the main reason pork is frowned upon for dogs! However mine get pork regularly and have never had a problem,they polish off pork ribs with no troubles,bone and all :)

Goldilocks most dogs of your's size could eat 4-5 chicken wings for a meal.If you want to actually serve a proper meal in her bowl you could add in pulverised veggies, a little bit of liver and/or heart and some muscle meat.The world really is your oyster when it comes to raw feeding :D

what would a good amount of meat be for a day?

Sometimes i give 60% rmb's and the rest of  muscle meat,offal and veg,the veg being the smallest %.But i do chop and change the percentages depending on what i've got in the fridge,if my dogs are putting on or losing weight and depending on what their poops are like at the time. The general rule of thumb is adult dogs should recieve around 3% of their bodyweight per day,this is from all the food groups,not just meat.

I used to get my dogs beef bones from my local pet shop ever week, she got some pork bones in and asked me is I would try them, so I did, I thought it would be a change for my dogs,  Both of them had the runs for about 24 hours after eating them,  but my other dog was fine.  They must not be able to digest pork bones so I just stick to the beef ones now. 

Do some reading about raw feeding first G/L, that way you`ll know what your doing. Heres some links to give you an idea & start you off. The first one also gives a forum to join :)

<a class='url' href='http://www.inkabijou.co.uk/links.htm'>http://www.inkabijou.co.uk/links.htm</a>
<a class='url' href='http://www.njboxers.com/'>http://www.njboxers.com/</a>
<a class='url' href='http://www.rawdogranch.com/rawdietbasics.htm'>http://www.rawdogranch.com/rawdietbasics.htm</a>
<a class='url' href='http://www.rawfed.com/myths/'>http://www.rawfed.com/myths/</a>

and another forum below

<a class='url' href='http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BritBarf/'>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BritBarf/</a>

Good luck :)

ps my lot get pork regularly & don`t have a problem with it :)

Thank you all for your help and advice, Thanks christine for the links, I will get stuck into them soon (when I dont have a son bugging me for the computer), and read up, one day I will make that leap and feed totally raw!!

Your welcome, good luck :)

Great links Christine - I'm seriously thinking of switching my setters over esp. my 21m old Gordon - I'm about 50% there but need to make the final leap.  Those links are great and seem to answer my many questions.

Rachel

Yeh go on Rachel do it girl, mine are all fed on raw food,chicken wings, breast of lamb, meat and veg mixed, all sorts of things, they love it, also Alison feeds raw, (Glen of Imaals) so she can help too.
See you next Monday I hope

Jenny

Yep - we will be there Jenny - bringing Max for a confidence boost (just to see he is happy being gone over).

Then Hamish definitely needs some practice his first show is beginning of Feb and he is being a real fidget at the mo!

I'm sure I will have many questions for Alison and yourself - will have a good read of all the fab websites I have been given.  I know Max will definitely prefer - the others will eat ANYTHING! so won't be a problem for them!  Mostly Max is anyway as he now hates Burns!  I just want to make sure I give the right amounts and variations of things.

Thanks - see you Monday!!

Rachel

Glad you found them helpful R/S :)

Good luck :)

Thanks - definitely going to do it - got some studying to do first.

Rachel

Ha Its Lori and me doing the handling next week, so I'll give Max some extra fuss beforehand, its junior and adult handling from 7.30pm til 8pm.
Jenny

Great - I'm not sure how he will be - don't know if you remember after his dog bite he was a wee bit nervous.  But he may be okay?

Thanks Jenny!

See you then!

My girls (when the nights get lighter) may join in the handling at some point!

Yep I remember I'll try and bribe him first before training then, hee hee. besides if I bring Tilly he'll be so in love he wont notice me stroking him. !!!

That's true - took his bandage off today but think may put it back on as he is very aware of his bald tail!

Do bring Tilly then!!!  He is into the ladies at the mo!  My poor Irish girl keeps getting offered some loving but she isn't having it!!  Luckily she's spayed though!

last time i went to the butcher for bones, the only ones he had were pork, and he said he wouldn't give them to me (i hadn't asked for them, simply 'bones for the dog') because they're not suitable for dogs-mentioned splintering...? not sure if its true or not, but i thought it was thoughtful of him to say this if it is.

My pup loves his pigs trotters as well as his chicken pieces turky pieces & any thing else he is offered :D

My dogs regularly have raw pork ribs (as well as all sorts of other bones) with no problems at all :)