Bones
We have two new Scotties we are "re-homing." I hesitate to say rescue because they were in a loving home, but for a variety of circumstances, they needed a new place to live. They are very good dogs, ...
Forum Discussion
Probably going to tick off a bunch of ya here but I gotta add my 2cents.
I have been feeding my dogs nothing but raw diet for more than 20 years.
The main staple of the diet I use is course ground chicken and turkey, bones and all. We supplement with what ever we can find at reasonable prices, maybe ground chuck, pork shoulder, mutton, what ever is "on sale". Over the years it has proved to be less expensive than using high end "kibble".
Typical diet is ground turkey, chopped chicken with bones, ground vegetables, with the occasional egg or canned tuna/salmon/mackeral.
Other meats are substituted for the chicken when available and organ meat is used several times a week; IE, chicken livers, beef liver, etc.
Now as to bones our experience has been; Cooked bones of any kind are deadly to your dog! Do not use them no matter how fancy the store or the packaging they are wrapped in. Cooked bones are brittle and they will splinter and they do not digest rapidly enough, if at all, to prevent damage to your dogs system.
Do not give your dog weight bearing bones from larger animals; beef, sheep, hog, as they are denser/harder and can lead to tooth flaking and breakage as some have mentioned already. Instead use rib bones, shoulder blades, back and neck bones etc. Hey dogs love to chew and there is nothing better for them then a natural raw bone.
Raw bones are totally digestible in a dogs system. I have seen Xrays of one of our dogs that show the bone fragments in the stomach and half way down the track they start to disappear as they are absorbed.
Anyway just a few points I wanted to make in hopes of helping some to understand their dogs systems a little better.
Tinbender
I have been feeding my dogs nothing but raw diet for more than 20 years.
The main staple of the diet I use is course ground chicken and turkey, bones and all. We supplement with what ever we can find at reasonable prices, maybe ground chuck, pork shoulder, mutton, what ever is "on sale". Over the years it has proved to be less expensive than using high end "kibble".
Typical diet is ground turkey, chopped chicken with bones, ground vegetables, with the occasional egg or canned tuna/salmon/mackeral.
Other meats are substituted for the chicken when available and organ meat is used several times a week; IE, chicken livers, beef liver, etc.
Now as to bones our experience has been; Cooked bones of any kind are deadly to your dog! Do not use them no matter how fancy the store or the packaging they are wrapped in. Cooked bones are brittle and they will splinter and they do not digest rapidly enough, if at all, to prevent damage to your dogs system.
Do not give your dog weight bearing bones from larger animals; beef, sheep, hog, as they are denser/harder and can lead to tooth flaking and breakage as some have mentioned already. Instead use rib bones, shoulder blades, back and neck bones etc. Hey dogs love to chew and there is nothing better for them then a natural raw bone.
Raw bones are totally digestible in a dogs system. I have seen Xrays of one of our dogs that show the bone fragments in the stomach and half way down the track they start to disappear as they are absorbed.
Anyway just a few points I wanted to make in hopes of helping some to understand their dogs systems a little better.
Tinbender
