Cooked bones are dangerous. They can splinter and cause major problems in the stomach and intestines. Bear would be better off with a portion of a raw bone. And yes, it gets messy. I always gave mine the bone outside and let them bring it in after it was fairly cleaned off. Really big bones can give the dog diarrhea unless you limit them. Too much of a good thing.

Old bones are still 'tasty' months later.