Dog bones

[AnimalLoverCatRescuer]

My Sheltie is chubby so we cut back on treats, he gets carrots instead. I was thinking about getting him some bone marrow bones or knuckle bones to help keep his teeth clean. Are they fattening at all? Should he have one available at all times to chew on?

 

[BarkingM*d]

Yes, especially if they have been cut down the middle to expose the marrow.

 

[for_dogs_sake]

Any bones are fine. Although with heavy, weight bearing bones (such as beef) let your boy clean the bones of meat and allow the marrow to be available. You should take the bones away when all is done as these types of bone can break your pooch's teeth.
Pig trotters or ribs are good too. The trotters will be great to give him a good workout!!

 

[AnimalLoverCatRescuer]

what exactly is a pig trotter?

BarkingM*d: did you mean yes that they are fattening?

 

[BarkingM*d]

The marrow bit of the bone is basically fat and blood, so they can be quite fattening if you have them cut length ways:

Chicken wings or frames make a good treat for smaller dogs.

 

[wilford]

My Sheltie is chubby so we cut back on treats, he gets carrots instead. I was thinking about getting him some bone marrow bones or knuckle bones to help keep his teeth clean. Are they fattening at all? Should he have one available at all times to chew on?

I would suggest that you'd continue feeding your dog such bone marrow bones to keep your dog's teeth stronger..I can say that it would do a big help in terms of exercising its jaws..

 

[Suzie123]

Use caution with marrow bones

 

[Cheetah]

It is of course always wise to supervise your dog when it chews on anything, to prevent something like the above from happening... >o.o;<

If you're worried about fattening, you can let the bone thaw, and just scoop the marrow out. This is also a good thing to do for dogs who've never had a marrow bone before.

 

[Bobsk8]

I have also heard that a dog can crack their teeth on marrow bones....

 

[elegy]

yes, dogs can crack teeth on marrow bones. it usually takes the form of a slab fracture. but there are risks to everything

 

[moxiegrl]

yes, dogs can crack teeth on marrow bones. it usually takes the form of a slab fracture. but there are risks to everything

Exactly....ANYTHING you let your dog do, you can find SOME kind of risk to it. Bottom line, supervise your dog. Simple huh?

 

[Cheetah]

My dog cracked her tooth on a hard, cooked, processed pet store bone. It cost me over $500 to extract the tooth surgically.

Haven't had that problem with the raw ones.

 

[FoxyWench]

my CHIS get marrow bones to keep their teeth clean but im also very carefull about sizing, they must be large enough that they cant get their bottom jaw stuck (which is good because they can get to the marrow easier lol) and i like to leave a little meat on them.
I refuse to feed any of the cooked bones at the petstores, they all have a propensity to shatter! and my dogs simply dont like them the way the love the marrow bones.
I would introduce marrow bones slowly thoug, for some dogs the marrow is too rich so remove most of the marrow to start with and work up from there.
my guys get a small marrow bone once a week!