just a quick question is it safe to give my weimaraner a bone have been told its dangerous is this true

have a butchers not far away he said come in any time for some bones for aura

I give Holly beef bones and lamb bones without any problems. Just watch her when she's eating them - don't leave her alone with one and go out to start with, and don't give her cooked chicken bones.

Holly especially loves lamb bones, she had the bone out of the joint on Sunday and she stripped it bare within 30mins - not bad for a little Cocker :)

Fiona
x x x

If you leave a lot of meat on the bone don't forget to adjust the ammount of complete food she has so she doesn't start to get fat.

There have been threads about bones before. I get knuckle bones from the butcher and this allows them to get the meat and the marrow and give their teeth a good clean. But I usually take them away before they can start to splinter the bones.

Bones do cause a riot in our house though. TH invariable ends up with all three in her basket

I give my SWD's knuckle bones as well but I always make sure that I'm there as their teeth as so strong.

hi,

we give our puppy raw chicken wings, chopped up a bit.
she adores her bones!!!!!!

megbel

I would quite like to give my 2 weimaraners bones from the butchers. It sounds like they would enjoy them as well as giving their teeth a good clean, even though I clean them regularly and they have numerous nylabones. Trouble is I'm very wary. Is there anything I should look out for in particular? Do I just ask my butcher for a couple of Knuckle bones then keep an eye on my dogs whilst they chew them. When do you tend to remove the bone from the dog? Obviously the dogs wouldn't have the bones if I wasn't there. Do the dogs bite bits of the bone off and if so would you allow them to eat it or take it off them.

Sorry for all the questions but as you can probably tell I was brought up never to give a dog a bone for the risk of choking, however hearing how many people here give bones is making me wonder if my dogs are missing out on something.

Thanks. :-)

I buy the large leg bones that the butcher cuts in half. Usually one end has a big knuckle on, and this can be be broken up eventually by a medium to large dog!

Mine are pretty good, and are not the sort to swallow things without a good chew. I watch for any pieces and remove them. Eventually you are just left with the shank which will last ages! the other end tends to be much harder to gnaw down.

What I do with mine is give them the raw bones for a couple of hours, as they have their maximum benefit raw. After this I dispose of any loose bits, put the bones in a baking pan, and roast for 45 minutes on maximum heat! This then gives me bones that they can chew on for weeks, without them becoming smelly!

In fact I get bones every other week or so, and actually collect the old chewed ones that are still large, and save them for my friend who has a houseful of dogs, some of whom would squabble over a fresh bone, but they happily share these 'dead' bones!

My dogs being sensible Carnivourous omnivores see no earthly sense in chewing bits of bone shaped rubber or nylon! bones on the other hand are reslished. Listening to the gnawing in quadruple sterio is an aquired taste. :D

Claire

I tend to let mine have them until the meat and the marrow have gone. I then take them away. Only trouble is that Carrrie Hoover can eat hers really fast and TH makes hers last. If I see splinters I take them away.

HTH

9th

Thanks Guys. Me thinks I'll be brave and give it a try although I won't be letting the dogs out of my sight whilst they chew :D

I do have one other problem to overcome though. I'm not a big meat eater and rarely if I can help it go into a butchers so this is gonna be real fun. I'm usually seen standing outside whilst my other half gets what we want..........lol

Claire.

It may seem obvious, but I let mine eat them outside. Otherwise they tend to drag them all over the carpets and they can smell a bit (the bones, not the dogs :rolleyes: )

Bones at our butchers are a 10p donation to charity and you specify the size. I think the big ones come off a bull or something judging by the size!

9th

I shut mine outside or in the kitchen until all the goo is gonje. the smell is almost noon existent after the roasting I give them!

I used to pay 25p for a whole bone cut in half (two pieces). this butcher has now retired and I have to pay 20p for a half at another butcher!

Depending on the breed and nothing to do with diet. Bones I think are essential to dogs..they love chewing them. It is good for their neck muscles. the calcium etc is good for them.

Recreational Bones is the new name for them.

Pam :-))

I give Molly my BC bones left over from Sunday Roasts. It's her treat. She only has Lamb bone that wont splinter and a beef bone, you should never give dogs chicken bones as they can splinter. Molly will have her bone outside and at the end of her treat you will find a tiny little bit left and she will go off and hide it from the cats!

Julieann

I'm afraid I've been taught differently - ie any cooked bone has the potential to splinter (and that includes the 'roast' bones from the pet shop)....

OK I'm willing to look stupid:D I have been reading a lot of stuff on here about bones! Now I confess that I give Dollar HUGE roasted ones from the pet shop but the splinters do worry me so he doesn't get them often, I only have to pick these out of a box. Also he eats them outside and will not leave it until he absolutley has to or there is nothing left worth bothering with:D

I reckon he would really love a fresh one, but what do I actually say when I go into the butchers (and no I don't mean can I have a bone please:D). It has got to be large (he has a big mouth which is strong) so what 'specifics' do I need to give, so I get all the juicy bits too, without looking a complete burk:D

Anita & a very grateful Dollar!

Anita that is not a daft question. I will wait for the reply also so that I too don't feel daft when I drag myself into the butchers for the first time :D

I have found a butcher where I buy all my dogs' meat from. He gives me a large sack of marrow bones whenever I ask - he doesn't charge me for them. I throwaway the unsuitable ones, keeping the LARGE marrow bones in the freezer. When they're gone I just ask for more. I am sure that if you ring around you are sure to find a butcher willing to do the same - that's what we did. After all, it saves them the trouble of dumping them.

Anita ..I was in the same postion as you several weeks ago ..standing outside the local butchers and wondering what the 'eck I ask for :D

Anyway ..I went in and asked if they had any LARGE meaty marrow bones ....and then pointed to Thug who was with hubby outside. The woman laughed and went to ask the butcher ...came back with 4 LARGE beef bones and weighed them ...I got charged 80p

:D

No looking back since then

Thank you fellow Bacardi person:D I am very good at ordering those;)

Don't think I'll get 4 in one go though he'll never come in from the garden:D One LARGE, meaty, beef, marrow bone coming up on Saturday:D

Anita and the DD (Drooly Dollar!)

I freeze them .....give him one straight from the frezer as it lasts him longer like that :D

I ain't daft!

:D

Here in Bristol we just ask for a marrow bone, and you get given the big leg bones. I have also heard them called postmand leg bones, and knuckle bones by some people. given the choice i prefer the end without the nuckle as it is less easily gnawed into pieces.

I have been taking theis non nuckle end of the bone to the pup that is in quarantine. For months he had only nylabones and chew toys, but he teethed very late, so I finally took real bones in and his teething went really quickly, and he has been perfectly OK left wioth them. I go in several times a week and remove the bone once I think it has gotten too chewed to be safe! Obviously the staff check on him through their normal working routine.

I imagine that the shop bought roast bones are done in a kiln. I have found they shatter quite easily, like pottery! when I roast them in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour I never find they are brittle, and of course roasting your own is much cheaper!

As raw marrow and bones are more nutricious, I compromise and let them have them raw to start with, and roast them at the end of the day!

Hi.I've got an sbt,whom I've never given bones to as I was worried he might chip his teeth,iwould like to give him the odd marrowbone as I'm sure he would really enjoy it and it would spruce his teeth up a bit.Any advice anyone!!!!!

HI

I give marrowbones to my Dobe, Jake but I get them to cut them so that the shank and the knuckle (or whatever it is !!) end are separate.

I have now had a few occasions where Jake is sick overnight :( (huge bits of gristle) when he's had the knuckle ends so I now ONLY give him the shank part so he strips off the meat and then licks out the inside and one shank lasts him a while as he always prefers to have his week old marrowbone shank as opposed to any other roasted shank or smoked bones (which are the HOUSE bones - I cannot stand the marrowbone mess in the house !!!!!!!) :D

HTH
Beth

P.S I still watch him for the mostpart when he has any bone just in case

Everytime I go to the vet with my 10 year old Elkie bitch I am complimented on her teeth, and she has always had marrow bones on a regular basis, as have her descendants.

A friend of mine has a dobe bitch of 12 whose teeth are really worn down through chewing bones, but her breath is sweet, and teeth clean!

I give all my tribe raw bones especially lamb bones as they do wonders for their coat.
I go to a butcher who charges 20p for knuckles but whenever I go I always come away with 3or4 bags of mixed raw bones free of charge so I am more than happy to pay 20p for knuckles.
I have had soooooo many comments on how clean my dogs teeth are , even my 12year old has got perfect white teeth{well a few missing! :) }
I don't leave mine alone with small bones in case they choke.
I think the benefits far outway the very small risks

Hi i give buffy either bones from the butchers or the big cooked ones from pet shops she only has one or two a month though as once she has a bone the other old boy whoose teeth aren't quite as healthy isn't allowed outside. I've never had a problem with them haveing bones as long as they don't have chicken or pork bones in particular as pork seems to splinter very easily. The one good thing about bones is it not only keeps their teeth lovely and white but makes the poos very easy to find if the grass is getting a bit long ie: brilliant white ones. I must admit all my dogs i've ever had have eaten bones down to virtually nothing and never had a problem apart from once my GSD got hold of a freshly cooked chicken and eat the lot bones and all she was very poorly and we took her to the vets and she had actually scratched her gut and all the pipework that gets to it and after, she recovered but needless to say we have been very careful with chicken from that day on, even more so now as Buffy is like a permantly switched on hoover.

Well after further thought and discussion I have decided not to give my dogs bones. I have been informed that weimaraners are known to easily bite bits off the bones unless the bones are boiled for ages then baked so I have decided it's just not worth taking the risk. I'll stick to nylabones and teeth cleaning and I'm sure they enjoy their many other treats anyway. :-)

Thanks for all your advice and tips, at least I don't have to go into a butchers now :D

I too worry about bones. Last week my dog went for his vaccination and check-up and the vet wasn't impressed with his teeth, but said he didn't agree with giving dogs bones and that many dogs were broguht in for treatment because of problems with them!

Brenda

I have my vet always complimenting my 10 year olds lovely clean teeth, thanks to bones all her life!

Good for you brainless! I guess this is one of those things that is all down to personal choice and even vets will have differing views. I agree with Claire that I chose not to give my dog bones and will opt for brushing his teeth instead.

Brenda

Quite so :D

I have always fed smoked bones, years ago they had marrow left in and my guys loved them. I fed them for say, about 16 years every other week and never had a problem, except with one when my BSD bitch lost a tooth - it just snapped off!!!

This is an occasional problem apparently but i am still very glad they had smoked bones.....super white gnashers, better than mine <g>.

NOw however, the smoked bones don't seem to have the marrowbone inside (could this have been due to the BSE crisis? Does anyone know?) but i have still given them to my BSD youngster.

I understand all cooked bones are liable to splinter ..... the smoked bones seem to crumble rather than splinter, so no sharp edges. Occasionally a large sharper bit is gnawed off, and I then just take it away and let the dog carry on, so I do watch carefully. But they seem to be theh only thing that keeps teeth really clean.

LIndsay

Hi everyone.
I gave Barney (lhasa apso ) a lamb bone from the Sunday joint a few weeks back as a treat because of his recent operations and he ate a small bit (not that much) of the bone as well as the meat without my realising it. He was so ill all night and the next day being constantly sick and crying. I was so upset as it was my fault. I shall wait now until my BARF books arrive (they are certainly taking their time from Amazon) and do it properly in future. No more cooked bones. Does anyone think that cooked bones as not so good for smaller dogs as bigger ones as perhaps that is where I went wrong? Or just my stupidity in giving him a cooked bone for that 5 minutes too long? I still feel guilty and should have waited for the expert books to arrive about raw bones like I have been advised previously :o
Ta Gina.

Hi Gina you have found out for yourself that cooked bones are where the danger to dogs lie. cooked bones get hard and brittle and can snap and splinter. Raw bones are soft , raw chicken wings are especially soft , and contrary to some who believe they should be minced they are given whole.Berry can be fussy and just when you think it is sussed she decidrs she wont be having it anymore but all the way through she has loved her chicken wings and oxtail . I imagine the cooked bone Barney ate was hard to digest , so that is probably why he was sick. just scrape the meat off leftover joints in future as the cooked meat is fine .lol Mari

Hiya mate, I know I was flipping stupid and after all your advice too :o. I only meant him to have it for a few minutes but left him too long. Raw meat from now on once these books arrive. Not sure about a staple diet for him until they do arrive but just seen that the post office tried to deliver one while I was away last week so shall collect it tomorrow. By they way he has lost 9lbs in weight now so the diet so far must be working although the canal trip last week must have helped as he hated it and wouldnt eat much (well the odd fillet steak of an evening off the boat LOL).
Gina xxx

My dogs used to have the BARF diet but due to problems getting hold of bones etc for it we gave up. They are now fed nutro.
After reading this thread I went to the butchers and asked for marrow bones for 8 dogs. He cut the leg bones in half for me and charged me £2.00 for them. The dogs loved them, Breeze had a bad stomach the first night but is fine since and Quest aged 18 weeks sat next to his and didn't really know what to do with it!!!
Have now put in an order for the bones regularly.

Just one question the dogs have got the bones out in the garden or in the runs but how long can they safely be left down for? They are no where near finished but look disgusting. They have so far had them for 4 days.

I meant to mention this in this thread earlier but couldn't recall the name of the site before now. There are a series of lectures by the author of "Raw Meat Bones" through July. Details are on http://www.rawmeatybones.co.uk. Probably a bit late for anyone who may be interested but you never know.
LynnT

Hi Nicola,

that is the reason I roast them after the first day! I didn't worry so much abvout the health risk from off bones to the dogs, as to that for us humans! When I have roasted the well chewed bones, they then are fine indefinately (well as long as they are still a safe size). Roasting in a gas cooker at gas mark 9 for 45 minutes does the trick, and doesn';t appear to make them brittle enough to shatter or splinter, which the commercial roast bones do!

Thanks will get new ones and roast them up after that first day.
I worry about leaving the raw bones around because of the young dogs becoming ill.

Gave my BCs a lamb bone (raw) last night - dog no.1 puked his dinner all over the sofa later - probably because he swallowed a lump uncrunched. No harm done (other than mess), but I'm in two minds about bones now. Dogs in the wild would eat them, but how long do wild dogs live? I think I'll stick to the Jumbones from now on!

Well owing to a few crisis ridden week-ends Dollar is still waiting for his, thank heavens he can't read:D However, this week-end he's in for a surprise:)
Anita