What type of bones would be suitable for a great dane? I have one at six months and one at sixteen months. Also are you supposed to boil them or can I give them straight from the butcher?

DON'T COOK THEM!!
As for which ones...well thats down to you.I feed any kind of bone I can get hold off....from cow knuckle bones to chicken bones.You can also feed things like pigs trotters....
Archer

Thanks for that. Where do you get yours, pet suppliers or butcher? Pet suppliers treat most of them dont they? as the butcher will be fresh which is best in your opinion

I feed marrow and ribs to my dogs uncooked.  I either get them when I collect my tripe etc or have them delivered.  'Pet Suppliers' such as Pets at Home etc probably only have treated bones, but suppliers like mine only have raw ones. If you have a butcher near you just go along and ask him if he has a bone or two you will probably find that he will give you them but you should feed them raw and not cooked or boiled.

I get mine from the butcher...I get free chicken carcasses ,trootters for about 30p each,a carrier bag of bones(ribs,knuckles etc) for 12p.Try and find a local meat market and have a word with the butchers there...they have to pay to have there 'waste' disposed of and you can take some of it away for free!!
When asking for carcasses...ask for 'chicken stock carcasses'

archer...what about those roast ones you see in the shops?

Wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot barge pole I'm afraid....raw only for my lads...thats just my personal opinion but I prefer my lot to eat them as nature intended
Archer

do you think if i give my dog a raw marrow bone once a week for example , that should be counted towards his intake for that day? its just he is a dog who put weight on easily .  thanks

Hi sarstaff - I never count beef marrow/weight bearing bones toward my hounds food intake, they are for [supervised] recreational use in our house :D  Great pacifiers and great for working the teeth, lots of goodness in the marrow but not part of her diet :)
Sarah

As Rozzer says...knuckle bones are classed as recreational.Ribs,chicken,trotters atc because they are eaten and have a degree of meat on are clounted towards a dogs food intake
Archer

thanks for that guys.

sarstaff,

If the raw bone has meat on it and lots of marrow, yes, give you dog a bit less food that day.  Marrow is very high in kalories and if your dog does put on weight easily it is best to count it.  Depending on the bone, it can also have quite a bit of fat in the sinew and bits of meat. 

Stacey

hi
could somebody please tell me why you should not cook the marrow bones.  I recently got some at the butchers for my lab but was told by the trainer at classes to make sure that they were cooked and that all traces of blood were removed.
Now I am confused.
Thanks
Van

Cooking by roasting means that the bone is more likely to splinter into sharp shards.  However it is possible to cook a bone in liquid for a sufficiently long time that it actually becomes a lot softer.  I'm surprised a trainer should be advising on nutrition at all.......

There is no reason why blood should be removed.sounds like the old wives tail 'the taste of blood will make a dog vicious' to me...absolute rubbish!!!!!!
Archer

ALso remember never to give your dogs bones while unsupervised!

OUrs have had bones for the first time in a long time the other day and I had forgotton how many little bits they chewd off :( if they had swalloed that... :(  However they all enjoyed the bones! :D

I would be leary of trusting someone who advised to cook bones,absolutely never cook bones!! The minute amount of blood that bones contain is very nutritious,i dont understand why anyone would want to get rid of it.
A friend of mine buys just slaughtered meat from her friend purely because it is much bloodier and therefore more nutritious :)