Beef Knuckle bone
Submitted by 2bds2010 on August 17, 2010 - 1:48pmIs it considered a "recreational" bone?? Worried about breakage and swallowing.....Is this good for a first time raw bone chewer?? I found them cheap @ the grocery store. I love the idea of all "raw" but can't do it quite yet....What other bones would be good recreational bones for chewing/knawing??
I am still learning what
bones to give Kofi. I only give her beef bones that have lots of meat on them, and watch her closely. I have given her beef knuckle bones and it takes her quite awhile to finish. I'm still very cautious about the bones, but she gets chicken backs and chicken breasts bone in frequently. I break them some with a cleaver first.
chicken bones
I have always been very leary of giving any soft bones, chicken bones. I've had friends dogs that had to have surgery due to the chicken bones splintering and piercing the stomach wall. Some dog digest them with no problems and then there are the ones that don't. I don't want to be the one that has the dog that don't! Ask your vet if he thinks chicken bones are okay. Ground up chicken bones is one thing and would be ok, but just to give them a chicken bone I wouldnt take the risk.
All bones should be carefully
monitored. Raw bones do not splinter. A raw feed holistic vet would be the one to ask.
Really, though, we should only do what we feel comfortable with.
only if its been cooked
chicken bones are fine as long as they have not been cooked....you should never leave a dog like a bulldog alone with bones....bully sticks ect....i am sure your friends dog ate cooked chicken bones...
as for asking a vet about nurtition who has only had one semester and is paid by the kibble people i wouldnt bother,,,i would sepend a couple of hrs on the computer first....
Bones
Im talking all raw here. No cooked bones EVER....I guess I just want to start off slow....I plan on buying a grinder soon. Both my bullies scarf there food. They just go straight for the swallow of the kibble. Done in 5 seconds flat with a cup of dry food. I figured I would grind up some chicken backs/necks/frames and make my own patties to start. I'm going to give the knuckle bone a shot once it cools down outside. Maybe this evening.....They should have fun.....
I have thought about grinding
I started Kofi on raw about 8 weeks ago. I have a nice food processor so I initially ground some chicken pieces with bone in with boneless chicken breasts. But now that I'm getting more comfortable, I give her broken backs and breasts, and she really loves them. The bones are so good for teeth cleaning. I do watch her carefully when she's eating. She is a gulper too. I do not give chicken necks or wings except when they are partially frozen so she is forced to chew. I've read that sometimes they can get lodged or caught in the throat of large dogs.
I may not get a grinder since she seems to be doing so well with the whole pieces, but it is certainly an option to be considered.
Hope our guys have fun with the knuckle bones! Kofi won't eat bones outside, so I have to put a blanket down on the carpet.
Have fun and let us know how the raw feed goes.
Bones
The dogs loved the knuckle bone except after Roxy was done she ate a ton of grass. What is that all about???. I was surprised how easily they gave it up to me. I let them knaw at it for about an hour. Kind of keeping my eye out for a big throw up coming soon from her.
Also, Carol...Do you give any supplements??? Do you do straight meat or mix it with veggies?? I would love to know a typical days meal.....
A wonderful book that I
keep handy is Raw Dog Food Make it Easy For You and Your Dog by Corina Beth McDonald.
It's an easy read and very informative. I more or less follow her feeding regimen except that I mix the "veggie glop" with the meat.
I do not worry if every meal is balanced every day, so I switch around.
A sample of my mix might be mixing up well in food processor or vitamix whatever veggies I have handy. Pulverize fruits and veggies to break down the cell walls so the nutrients can be absorbed. Then I throw in maybe a few chicken wings, backs and some chicken breasts. Some apple cider vinegar about a forth cut unprocessed to a about two pounds of mixture. Always a garlic clove or two.
I usually feed processed in the morning, with a chicken back or meaty bone in pm.
I also boil briefly raw chicken livers to keep on hand and give them usually for snacks. Also chicken gizzards. Organ meat ground when I feed beef which is about every other week.
I highly recommend the book, since I'm leaving out so much.
At present I do give Kofi a NuVet Plus every other day or so until I get all the kinks worked out with her raw feed.
I don't know why the grass eating, but I do know that Kofi drinks more water after having a RMB. Good idea to take it up after awhile at first. Kofi would never let me have hers though.
Hope this helps.
Thanks Carol
I just ordered it from amazon....Can't wait.....
Do you have
a picture of some of these bones we can give them? I'm learning too, and I learn so much better if I can see the bone. I was at the store today and ALMOST bought one of them knuckle bones because I remember Carol talking about them. I freaked out and didn't buy it because I didn't know 110%.
<3
Skasqueeeeeeakaaay!!
Katie & Chumlee
that book is great
M's been eating raw since about the first week of August. She eats premade now because I'm a wimp and have to get comfy with this before I just throw a raw chicken in her bowl. LOL
I bought the computer version of that book and I've been reading it. It is actually kind of amusing. Seems pretty darn easy once you get the hang of it.
I, too, am going to begin making my own patties and glop once I've figured out where I can acquire all of this stuff. I will grind bones to put in it, but I worry about the teeth cleaning aspect.
Would love to give whole raw bones but I'm terrified. I gave her a large beef one for about half an hour and then I have to take it away. Judy says I can give her a lamb rib. So...
I would, though, like to say that she continues to improve; the diet seems to be very good for them.
And she LOVES eating it.
oh! and about bones
I know that everyone is going to roll their eyes at me for being a wimp about bones but!
I noticed the other day that inside the freezer case where the frozen raw food is sold there were shrink-wrapped frozen raw bones. With instructions on them.
This is probably a high-end scam to get people to pay high prices for the same thing you could get in the supermarket for a buck or two, but hey...
May be worth looking into for the debut of the raw bone? The first raw bone I gave M. I sat on the floor and watched her eat it the whole time. I'm going to look for lamb ribs this weekend; again, supervised at all times because I'm no expert at this.