First let me say that I have started the transtion to an all natural diet with Honest kitchen and some raw this past week all though not completed converted over yet my 13 month old bitch is doing very well.
I have a question about raw bones, I have been doing searchs on the forums on this subject and all's i happen to see is giving your GSD's chicken/turkey, necks, backs, ribs, etc. But I don't see anything about drumsticks etc.. With this is mind is there any part of a chicken that I should not give my GSD?

2) My other question is since I am switching over to Honest kitchen she is going to need to naw on some bones, I was speaking with a teacher of mine that has two GSD's and she was giving them meat marrow bones from the butcher and his 4 yr old male broke a tooth on one <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> and had to get it removed? Should the amount of time my bitch is allowed to naw be a concern? Thanks for any suggestions

JC

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....I have a question about raw bones, I have been doing searchs on the forums on this subject and all's i happen to see is giving your GSD's chicken/turkey, necks, backs, ribs, etc. But I don't see anything about drumsticks etc.. With this is mind is there any part of a chicken that I should not give my GSD?.....2) My other question is since I am switching over to Honest kitchen she is going to need to naw on some bones, I was speaking with a teacher of mine that has two GSD's and she was giving them meat marrow bones from the butcher and his 4 yr old male broke a tooth on one <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> and had to get it removed? Should the amount of time my bitch is allowed to naw be a concern? ....JC

You will get lots of differing opinions about recreational bones. I think the dividing line is often between people who have paid for a crown on a dog's fractured tooth and people who have not. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Of course, cooked bones are out of the question. However, weight-bearing raw bones *can* cause a dental problem. And dentistry for dogs is very expensive because of the general anesthesia needed in a situation where a human would not need it.

Another thing is the manner with which your individual dog deals with chew-gnaw items. Some will bite down as hard as possible in an effort to crack it, and some will gnaw away at the surface for a long time, continuing to do so when all the meat and marrow are gone, and renewing their interest if you smear a little peanut butter inside once in a while.

So.............I don't think there is one answer for everyone. Even on the raw-feeding web sites, you'll see opinions about big hard bones that absolutely contradict one another.

I think most dogs love and do fine with big hard recreational bones......we all have to decide!

http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/showf...rue#Post4164212

http://www.rawdogranch.com/recbones.htm

http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

http://www.totallyrawdogfood.com/faq.html

I feed all softer bones (backs, necks, etc.) whole, and I feed the weight-bearing bones ground up. This is just me........having seen my daughter pay for the crown at Tufts when my granddog fractured a back tooth at an early age on a marrow bone.

BTW, if you feed marrow bones, you might want to start with only a little of the marrow left in. It's very rich and might be better given gradually.

Congrats and Good Luck on converting. You won't regret it! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I give my dogs the whole chicken, no problems. They also get recreational bones as a treat and (fingers crossed) no incidents yet. They gnaw a bit and really enjoy licking out the marrow. The oldest is 3 1/2 and has not needed a dental yet.

Have given turkey drumsticks, but the smaller ones for my female. Beef rib bones were used with supervision for pups to gnaw,but won't use them with adult dogs.

IMO, tooth health also depends on the quality of minerals ingested during development. Stories about dogs breaking teeth, well, what foods were they fed when young? This is seperate from dogs that bite hard, but what kind of condition are their teeth in. Wear and tear w/ age is natural.

Congratualtions on the switch...I started rfd with my new pup, was too much of a chicken <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> to try with my old dog, boy am I glad I made the leap!

The links cited above by Connie will give you loads of good info. This is only my .02 and not necessarily backed up with anything in particular I've read. The experiences I've had are with just two GSDs that have been on raw food for a total of about 6 yrs. I'm inclined to stay with chicken backs/necks/wings, turkey necks and such with the smaller non-weight bearing bones. To me, it seems to be the least risky way of providing the bone portion of the raw diet. My current dog may get a large knuckle or soup bone or such on a rare basis to chew on for a while, but I'll take it away if it gets down too small. I'm not aware on any difference in nutritional value of different types of bones, so I see no reason to risk expensive dental work or other problems related to trying to consume the larger bones.

Since mine gobbles up smaller bones on a daily basis, I would be concerned that she might work harder to chew/swallow a larger bone that another non-raw fed dog might stay away from. So I don't really give her anything to just gnaw on as I think the normal feeding is enough along with the occasional non-consumable chew toy/rope, etc. She has nice white teeth and there's been no emergency vets trips yet. I hope to keep it that way.

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.... tooth health also depends on the quality of minerals ingested during development. Stories about dogs breaking teeth, well, what foods were they fed when young? This is seperate from dogs that bite hard, but what kind of condition are their teeth in. Wear and tear w/ age is natural.

Absolutely. And if we have an adopted dog, we often have zero history. So I err on the side of caution.

My viewpoint on this is exactly what Mike Armstrong's is, but I certainly understand people who have had a dog from puppyhood and know his chewing habits and know that he has been fed raw forever........I do understand them feeling completely safe with giving hard recreational bones.

Mine also get loads of chewing on the softer bones with every meal.

P.S. Raw food does an amazing job of keeping a dog's teeth in good shape. Even my adopted dogs, whose teeth were plaque-y when they came, now have gorgeous white grills.

Thanks for the replys guys & gals, I am learning as I go here with her. I fed her some chicken wings and she loves them, we are working on the natural side along with stopping the food bowl gaurd/growling she is doing at the same time. Tommorrow I am going to go to the store and try to find a few meat bones for her to naw on to clean her teeth and gums a bit. With all the info stated above I think I am set <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Thanks a bunch..