Bones

Code2High wrote:
What size nylabones were they?

Susan, Lucy had a large Nylabone and I was quite surprised that she had chewed off one end.
It was large, about 8" long and white, I had to throw it out.
That's why we went to the antlers and I have no complaints about them...yet.

Sher

When our Border Collie/Lab was 4 she cracked the large molar on a bone......$400 surgery.
She's 14 now and hasn't had a bone since.

She gets an occasional piggy ear.

As a daily chew she gets a large carrot.......satisfies her chew/crunch need and is good for her.
Plus she gets her teeth brushed nightly.

Vets look at her teeth and just smile. Sometimes I get the feeling they want to pat me on the head.

Code2High wrote:
What size nylabones were they?

The ones I was buying turned out to be for the next size larger, although they destroyed those. Next time I bought ones for their weight. I nearly panicked when Duchess would raise it up and in her mouth in went. . . I was afraid she would try to swallow it, so went back to the next size larger, which was for a 30 lb dog I think. . . they are 22 lbs. either ones they would gnaw to a point in a matter of hours.

Dale

Pawz4me wrote:
I think all bones and chews have risks, and it's a matter of picking which one(s) you're willing to take the risk on.

My dogs get antlers and femur bones. They have several Nylabones, but they're not much interested in those.

As far as Nylabones -- They have lots of variety. Are you buying the ones that are made for power chewers? They are the ones listed on this page.

At least 3 of them were on that page.

Dale

Nylabones are meant to be chewed down, and the nylon fibers are meant to pass through the GI tract undigested. As they are chewed off, they clean the teeth. Usually it takes a little while to get the points off. If a dog is going super fast, then that may be not the right chew for them, but the fact that they chew the bone down over time is not a problem. For a smaller dog, you could keep it longer but for a bigger one, once the ends are gone it is probably time for the trash.

I would not get anything smaller in nylabones than the "souper size" for a scottie. My dogs in that size range all chew souper sized nylas and they do just fine and enjoy them thoroughly. I've never used a smaller one except that I did try a mini one for Tink... which Ziggy got hold of and bit in half. Experiment OVER. The chis don't show much interest in the big ones, but they have really tiny mouths. They will chew small soup or marrow bones, though. I just have to be sure stuff is safe around the bigger knuckleheads.

I would consider trying them on the souper sized nylabones, or look at the antlers, or both. Mine also like raw marrow bones, which I cut most of the marrow out of (otherwise they can be a little ...rich...for the GI tract) and then they clean out the rest of the way outside before being allowed to bring them in. They like knuckle soup bones as well, but they end up chewing up and ingesting those, and they have to start and sometimes finish outside, depending.

Agreed that all chews have up and down sides. I think it's not so much risk tolerance though, as chewing style that really controls. I can't have anything like a rope bone around because Pen eats them. Fast. Like... five minutes. So... none of those any more. Ziggy would eat a kong, I'm pretty sure, as she's destroyed toys that texture. You have to find the right chewing thing for that dog or those dogs, and it has to be safe for all the dogs exposed to it, or given separately, which is a hassle.

And if you don't give them something to chew, you get to find out what they choose. Mine tend to wood and other random vegetable matter. Sigh....

We buy antlers for our dogs, which they love. Since your dogs are voracious chewers, don't buy the split anters, b/c they won't last long enough; buy the whole ones. They're expensive, but they last longer than Nylabones and are more natural. If you want to stay on the Nylabone path, I'd buy the next size up.

I quit giving my dogs marrow bones years ago when my lab, Chipper (RIP!), broke a canine tooth on one. He was quite the chewer, too. We switched over to Nylabones, buying him a new one every week or two.

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

Thank you all for your comments. Lots to think about. I do give the girls carrots and they like them. And I have thought about antlers. And Tinbender, I appreciate your insight. I know a lot of people feed raw.

Thanks again!

Dale