What bones are safe?

[TurtleToo]

What bones are safe for dogs to eat raw? Everywhere I read seems to say something different so I wanted a definitive answer before I ask the butcher for some! They are collies, two smallish girls and one large male.

Also I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that raw meat shouldn't be fed with a dry food, something to do with different digestion rates? Is this true? If so, how long do I need to leave between giving them a bone and feeding them a meal? Also is tripe safe enough to feed along with a dry food?

And before I get jumped on for not feeding raw all the time it just wouldn't be practical, but me and the dogs are happy enough with what we're feeding (a pet shop's own premium brand, first ingredients are all meat, etc, it's a good food) with a tray of Nature's Diet once or twice each week and tripe if they're getting a little skinny or if they have a long show or training session ahead (they're agility and obedience dogs). I'd just like to be able to give them a bone to shut them up for a while, supervised of course

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Most bones that aren't weight bearing. Chicken wings or necks are generally the easy way to start, eventually you can give whole carcasses.

I don't give cow leg bones or anything I can't a knife in cos they might be too dense and break teeth. Pig trotters are good, my springers cope fine with them.

The usual rule is no kibble with raw for reasons you mentioned. Tripe is raw (green, not the white stuff in shops) so I wouldn't feed with dried.

 

[blackcob]

Wot she said except that I feed weight bearing bones recreationally as well as softer bones for food, both of mine are capable of grinding them up to dust, no teeth issues to date.

 

[Dizzydancer]

Depends what u want i think. I give mine and always have given weightbearing bones as a recreational chew bone not to actually swallow

 

[hogged cob]

I am sure beef ribs are ok.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Mine love pork ribs, any kind of chicken, lamb breast.

 

[davisn]

If you are looking to add some recreational bones I'd go for ribs or leg bones from any animal. I give cow leg bones to ours for a chew not food. OH cuts them into portion size pieces on a band saw so that the dogs can get at the marrow. I have a lab & a border terrier & have had no teeth issues at all, but mine have been fed raw from an early age.

If you are looking to replace some meals with raw, then you need to get meaty bones which are softer & more easy to crunch up & digest (younger/smaller animals or bones that do less 'work' in the animal). We keep our own animals (although not enough yet to supply all our dog food). Our pigs go off to slaughter at about 6 months, our sheep at about 18 months & our cattle at 3 years. We have slow maturing breeds, the commercial breeds will be younger than this. However, taken along with the relative size of the animal it gives an idea of the density of the bone.

It is recommended that you leave 12 hours between feeding kibble & raw meals, but I wouldn't include a recreational bone with little meat on it as being a raw meal.