What did your dog(s) eat today?

[laredos_mom06]

Hi. I was just wondering if it was okay to feed kibble with a few raw bones as treats or snacks? We feed both Laredo and Dakota Eagle Pack, and I'd like to switch to raw some day, but until then I think I'd like to give them raw snacks. If I can do that, what kind of raw bones? Laredo is a 16week old Great Dane with a very sensitive stomach and Dakota is a 2-1/2 year old Rottweiler mix, she doesn't have a sensitive stomach at all.

Sorry if someone has already asked this, I didn't go through all of the posts. Thanks!

[lv4dogs]

Hi. I was just wondering if it was okay to feed kibble with a few raw bones as treats or snacks? We feed both Laredo and Dakota Eagle Pack, and I'd like to switch to raw some day, but until then I think I'd like to give them raw snacks. If I can do that, what kind of raw bones? Laredo is a 16week old Great Dane with a very sensitive stomach and Dakota is a 2-1/2 year old Rottweiler mix, she doesn't have a sensitive stomach at all.

Sorry if someone has already asked this, I didn't go through all of the posts. Thanks!

Chicken & turkey are best suited for sensative digestive systems but the bones on them are fairly small (yet big enough to help make the teeth clean) and they are usually found with a lot of meat on them, therefore making them better for mealtime than for snacks.

Recreational bones (marrow bones, knuckle bones etc...) are best for snacks. But they are from beef & larger animals similar to cows and those types of meats are *sometimes* a little rougher on the digestive systems. Also remember that recreation bones are much harder than other bones, therefore not a great choice for dogs who are teething & the like. So watch them carefully when they chew on recreational bones, they are more apt to break/chip a tooth w/ recreatinonal bones.
Now some dogs do great on beef & the like right away, while others need to slowly adjust to such meats by eating the chicken &/or turkey first.

But other than that I see no problem with giving them a recreational bone every 2-4 days as a mid day treat.

[bckrazy]

As a snack, like as in a meal, chicken & turkey leg quarters would be suitable for your big doggies. If you want to give them bones to clean teeth and get out chewing, I reccomend beef & lamb ribs or beef femur.

[Kfamr]

A guy at my mom's new job gave a bag full of beef bones.. So today they're getting a beef bone each and a bit of chicken.

[finn's mom]

Finn got a chunk of beef brisket, yummy!

[.sarah]

Yesterday they had a small amount of fish for breakfast, as I was too sick to get out of bed and my mom wanted to cut it up in chunks and feed it as a treat They had a big turkey leg for dinner.

[.sarah]

A guy at my mom's new job gave a bag full of beef bones.. So today they're getting a beef bone each and a bit of chicken.

I cannot stress enough to be careful with beef bones. I gave them marrow, femur, and knuckle bones as treats and freely fed beef ribs because so many people on message boards were giving them with no ill effects. But I should have listened to the experienced feeders on the rawfeeding list who told me not too - Buck has already chipped an adult tooth and Luka also has a chipped tooth (and yes I know they are chipped from beef bones). It is also very common of dogs who do not chip teeth (normally these are dogs do not actually bite on these bones but rather knaw) to have their teeth wear down after years of recieving these bones.

In my opinion it is really not worth it to give them beef bones unless if it is slathered in meat, in which case you should remove the bone as soon as the meat is eaten. There are plenty more edible bones that will keep them busy, though it is never really a good idea to feed bones without meat on them. Your dog should get enough of a workout from it's meal to not need extra chewing in the day. Or, if s/he does, have some kongs around. My dogs hardly use their kongs and nylabones anymore except just to carry around, but I do notice an increase in chewing if I feed them boneless (this isn't often).

I steer clear of beef ribs now as well as any other beef bone with little to no meat. Same goes for bones of other large, heavy animals - buffalo, steer, moose, etc.

If you choose to continue to feed them, I would take away the bone if your dog is vigorously eating at it. They are likely to break or chip a tooth this way.


And Kay, I was not singling you out, just quoting your post

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

For breakfast, Bailey had a turkey leg and a chicken leg quarter. For a snack he will be getting a meaty turkey wing (I got an 11 pound box for $4.98). For dinner he will get another turkey leg and chicken leg quarter.

I went to a local asian supermarket and they carry pigs ears, whole pig legs, pig snout, pig hocks, partridge, duck, rabbit, fish heads, turtle (YUCK!), shark meat, pig ovaries, all organs from beef, pig, chicken and duck, whole racks of beef ribs, whole beef tenderloin, and much, much more - all at excellent prices!

In case those from BC are wondering, the store is called T & T Supermarket.

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

Just to go along with the chipped tooth thing from beef bones, Tango chipped her tooth pretty badly a few weeks ago after chewing on one (full of meat) for about 10-15 mins. She's a really hard chewer though, and none of our other current or past dogs ever had this happen to them though I'm not sure why. But anyway, here's a pic of her tooth now ( it's quite a bit shorter than her other one)...it doesn't seem to cause her any pain and if it does, she isn't showing it. It did turn a yellowy colour [it was very white before] though and she might have to get it pulled:

[binka_nugget]

I went to a local asian supermarket and they carry pigs ears, whole pig legs, pig snout, pig hocks, partridge, duck, rabbit, fish heads, turtle (YUCK!), shark meat, pig ovaries, all organs from beef, pig, chicken and duck, whole racks of beef ribs, whole beef tenderloin, and much, much more - all at excellent prices!

In case those from BC are wondering, the store is called T & T Supermarket.

Jeez! I didn't even think about T & T! Do their rabbits still resemble rabbits? I don't think I could bring myself to feed it if it did.