Ok I am confused
I usually buy marrow bones for my 2 yr old lab and I cook them and then give her them as I thought they were supposed to be cooked.  But I have read that a lot of people give their dogs bones raw.  Do you give raw marrow bones and are they safe like this?  Also I always thought perhaps wrongly that if a dog is given a raw bone that they will get a taste for blood which is not good.
What is the general consensus about this?
Thanks

My boys have raw marrow bones to chew on.

I was led to believe that unless it is cooked in super high temperatures that the bone could splinter which in turn could get stuck or damage internally.

Taste for blood - not heard of that before.

But I do raw feed chicken wings/carcusses etc. too having finally switched to 100% raw feeding 1 month ago.

Hi Goat

Raw bones are MUCH safer than cooked bones - also far less trouble!  You might want to remove some of the marrow if there's a lot as it can make dogs a bit loose in excess. 

I think there was an old wives' tale about raw meat and bloodlust but in my opinion it is just that - an old wives' tale.  I now feed my 5 Ridgebacks and one Australian Shepherd a raw diet and they are no more bloodthirsty than they used to be!!

Best wishes

OMG that's an old wives tale I was told that all"Alsatians"kill if fed raw meat & that was back in the 1950's ! Some 48 years on I'm still alive & none of my GSDS ever killed anything despite being fed raw most of the time!

Cooking bone makes it brittle & that is when it is most dangerous. Feeding marrow bones can give some dogs the runs if the consume lots of marrow-scooping some out & stop this(& makes the dog work harder to get at the remaining marrow)

My BC has allsorts of raw bones & meat-still waiting for him to get "a taste for blood"

I would pay a butcher their weight in gold if I could find a butcher that had marrow bones!  

I'm sure any butcher could get hold of marrow bones for you if you asked them for some

Our butcher gives them away and is glad to be rid of them.

raw is much safer - once they are cooked they are can split/crack

My eldest GSD chomps through marrow bones at an unbelievable rate.  One Saturday left her with a huge one while we popped out, couldnt believe when we came back 3 hours later, not a morsel left.   I can no longer give her bones as whatever type it is she ends up biting it and and on many occasion has made her mouth bleed with really sharp bits.  Also add she bites through nylabones !

Mine have raw everything :D :D

Really really really she won't get a bloodlust? so i can give them to her raw - it would be a relief because I truly can't stand the smell of marrow bones cooking it is horrible.
I will try her with one this weekend.
thank you

Really really really :)

http://rawfed.com/myths/bloodthirsty.html

This link should help put your mind at rest that feeding dogs their natural diet makes them bloodthirsty...... ;)

Above all never ever feed your dogs cooked bones of any sort,cooking makes them prone to splintering,makes them undigestable which could cause blockages like cement in the bowel etc etc etc etc etc

Really really really :-) LOLOL Yes honestly One of my cavaliers likes a bit of raw food if my BC is having some & he's the softest dog around(unless you are a mouse but he does bring them in alive )

mine get the odd raw marrowbone-the marrow tends to make them a bit loose. Don't know why i haven't thought about scraping some of it out! I'm quite lucky-theres plenty of butchers round my way who are only too happy to bag bones up-most don't charge, although i've only found one butcher who has marrowbones and he sells them for £1 each.

I have always and still do give my dogs raw marrow bones - far more natural for them and never had any problems.

I give my dog raw marrowbones - he loves them.

14 years of feeding raw meat and bones and not one of my dogs has ever killed anything,not even a mouse. I somehow dont think they connect the meat and bones in their bowl to the cow or sheep standing in the field :p :D

< 14 years of feeding raw meat and bones and not one of my dogs has ever killed anything,not even a mouse. I somehow dont think they connect the meat and bones in their bowl to the cow or sheep standing in the field >  ;)

If my dogs had to catch their own they would be totally flummoxed :rolleyes:

I have to go against the majority opinion here and say I'm not sure, I think mine have developed a bit of bloodlust!

I've had lots of borzois that loved to chase bunnies, occasionally they caught them but would always give them up to Mummy and sometimes they were still alive. 3 or 4 years ago I started moving my current two zois over to raw feeding, I have a friend who shoots bunnies for the local gamekeeper so gave me as many carcasses as I want. Now these two are so much sharper than any of their previous relatives. They catch and eat anything they find in the field. Walking with them even muzzled on leads is not a relaxing affair as they are constantly on the look out for small furries. I stopped giving them rabbit and deer carcasses for a while and they definitely got a bit softer and more laid back. Now I feed raw tripe, marrow bones, liver, ox tail etc but no more whole bodies.

I'm certainly not attributing their whole temperaments to feeding, but there is a noticeable difference in their attitudes when given whole carcasses to eat. That said I think the difference is in the way food is presented. A lb of raw tripe bears no resemblance to a sheep so I reckon it's safer!