advice about raw bones please

[firstponyMinto]

sorry if this has been asked before, but is it safe to freeze raw bones that you get from the butcher? I got a biggish rib/rack this morning for the first time for my staffy & I don't think she should have it all at once ;-) so wondered how best to store them. Also wondered how often I could feed her a bone? as she's not on a raw diet but dry food (harringtons) with a bit of chappie on top!
thanks for any advice

 

[camilla4]

Hi there - yes, it is perfectly okay to freeze the bones - I usually get a job lot from the butcher and freeze them. They can even be given to the dog whilst still frozen - nice in the summer!

You can really give bones as often as you like, as long as you adjust other feed intake accordingly. Mine is on raw now and has a large marrow bone once a week as an extra treat but she had at least one a week whilst she was still on a dry food diet. The meaty bones will obviously comprise a higher portion of their daily intake than, say, a relatively lower meat content marrow bone.

 

[KarynK]

... is it safe to freeze raw bones that you get from the butcher? ... Also wondered how often I could feed her a bone? as she's not on a raw diet but dry food ...
thanks for any advice

As above it's perfectly safe to freeze bones, all I would say is never feed raw bones anywhere near the time you feed the dry food. They are very different feeds and will travel through the gut at different speeds so keep them well apart.

Raw Bones and bone marrow are very nutritious providing virtually everything a dog needs all in a natural form so the more bones you feed the less dry food the dog will need. Add a bit if liquidised veg, offal and chicken and you would not need the dry any more!!

 

[firstponyMinto]

thanks for the advice, she had/will have the bones a.m & dry feed p.m so fed well apart, I'd love to feed her all raw eventually

 

[KarynK]

Bones are a really good place to start as they have good all round nutrition essential for a dog, in fact they supply all a dogs mineral requirements and its roughage and are really important in a diet for clearing out anal glands and cleaning teeth. I would try and avoid really hard long bones, cattle ones can be very hard, the knuckles are not so bad as they have a lot of cartilage, modern dogs can have weak teeth and these hard bones can wear them. Just be sure to cut back on the dry food or she will put on weight.