Bones can be a healthy addition to your dog’s diet, providing entertainment, teeth cleaning, and a valuable source of calcium and phosphorus. But which ones are safe?
Here are a few simple tips:
1. Never feed ANY cooked bone. Cooked bones can splinter and fragment causing damage to the digestive tract.
2. Long bones such as marrow bones and some knuckle bones are hard enough to crack some dog’s teeth. These are ok, but only allow your dog to chew on them for a few minutes at a time in order to minimize tooth damage.
3. Soft bones such as chicken or turkey necks, chicken backs, legs, breasts, and wings, patellas (knee caps) and others that are cartilage are the best to feed, but must be fed RAW. Raw chicken bones?? Yes! My only caution is to introduce these raw treats gradually to allow your dog’s digestive tract to adapt. The benefits of this type of bone are many:
The raw meat that is attached to the bones provides a healthy source of protein.
The bones are an excellent source of calcium and phosphorous
The cartilage provides the building blocks for sturdy joints
There is no better toothbrush in the world – I have even seen this type of treat remove tartar from teeth – amazing!
Real bones can be a real treat for your dog. Don’t let your pet miss out on this valuable addition to its diet!