All cooked/smoked/dry bones in any way are dangerous, IMO. I used to trust the smoked bones you buy at pet stores... I mean, they're made for pets right?! But $500 in Vet bills and watching your dog's butt explode with blood is not worth the risk. I also used to buy the "sterilized", cooked marrow bones stuffed with peanut butter at the pet store, until Fozzie got one stuck on his lower jaw and almost had to go to the Vet to get it removed. So then, the only type of "cooked" bone I would buy is cow hooves, as my dogs love them and I didn't think they were hard enough to do any damage. Fozzie cracked his molar on one the other day (which is still bleeding
) so I'll never be feeding those again and I'll have to pay $1000 for my mistake.
I'm really not accident prone with my dogs, they're VERY healthy, and I'm VERY obsessive about supervising them. But time and time again, when ever I feed any kind of pet store bone my dogs suffer for it and I have learned my lesson forever. I find it disgusting that pet stores continue to sell these bones, despite the huge risk involved.
My dogs eat raw meaty bones daily as their main diet, and have for years. I've never had an incident with raw bones, and they do the best teeth cleaning & provide the best jaw work out. I'm careful to never feed thick weight-bearing bones (even chicken or turkey quarters), and I do not feed the bones of large ungulates like cows as they are not readily digestible and are hard enough to damage teeth. I feed raw chicken/turkey/duck/goose carcasses, necks, & wings; pork ribs, necks, feet, & shoulder; whole fish; lamb shank, necks, & ribs; whole rabbits and whole game hens with absolute confidence and peace of mind. The only pet store chews that I will feed my dogs are Zukes, Greenies, Bully sticks, Lamb/pig ears, Cow esophagus, Cow tails, and Pig snouts.
I have never & will never feed rawhides. The little compressed rawhide sticks that a dog can eat in 3 seconds are fine. But, real rawhide can cause insane blockages, bloat and death. I was telling my friend not to give her Pit Bull puppy rawhide... she gave him the biggest rawhide bone you can find! And he ate it ALL in one sitting. He had to get surgery, and $1000 later, he's fine & she will never feed rawhide again. D: Poor pup.