Has anyone ever heard of a case where RMBs lacerated a dog's esophagus? Someone I know has told me that she has heard of such cases from her time working in animal health. She swears raw chicken bones are often the culprit. The dog will suffer a laceration and it will quickly become infected, occasionally causing death. While I don't doubt that this is a possibility, I feel like it is probably highly uncommon. Just to be fair, she is pro raw feeding, but feels like bones are unnecessary.

Obviously I made my case for the benefits of bones and don't plan on removing bones from my dogs' diet ever. When they get older I'll probably invest in a grinder. However, I'm just curious if anyone has ever heard of such a thing.

Yes, that can happen.

I've read that shards from the treated ("smoked," "baked," etc.) recreational bones are probably the most common offenders, with other recreational bones and of course cooked bones following close behind. But yes, it can happen with raw bones too.

Pits from stone fruits, too, and rawhide, bully sticks, and Greenies.

I never leave the dog alone with the few chewies I do give, and I toss the last few inches (any size the dog can try to swallow). I am also very close by for every meal.

There is no foolproof diet. Even if I set aside all the deaths around the product recalls in recent years (and that's a BIG "setting aside), though, my dogs' better overall health slants my POV very heavily toward the risks inherent in the raw diet rather than the ones inherent in kibble.

"Just to be fair, she is pro raw feeding, but feels like bones are unnecessary."

I really really hope that she understands that omitting bones means that she must address the calcium need with careful supplementation. And such supplementation does not mean tossing in a typical calcium tab or cap for humans because the need in dogs is very different, and it's based on the food quantity consumed (and therefore also on the dog's size).

Most dogs do 100% great on all raw poultry bones, legs included.

My personal (and illogical) preference is to have the butcher coarse-grind the weight-bearing bones and to leave the rest of the bird as is (as well as leaving as-is the backs that I buy a lot of), but almost everyone feeds the whole thing, with never a problem.

PS

I have asked my vet about lacerations/obstructions from raw bones in her experience. She has never had a case. Other items mentioned above, yes.

"Rare" doesn't mean "never," but I am with you, John, that if I had to stop giving any intact bones, I would be grinding them. I would be unlikely to leave them out and supplement with calcium unless I had to do a home-cooked diet for a health-condition reason.

 Quote: John Saad

Someone I know has told me that she has heard of such cases from her time working in animal health.

How many serious cases has she SEEN? I've HEARD of the Loch Ness Monster.

It can happen. I think Turbo has probably scratched his throat before, but nothing more serious than that. In fact, the last time I can actually remember was on a bone-in ground raw patty. Doesn't mean ground raw is anymore dangerous than the next food.

Not any safer either. Just another food with a potential set of rare problems.

 Quote: connie sutherland

Yes, that can happen.

I've read that shards from the treated ("smoked," "baked," etc.) recreational bones are probably the most common offenders, with other recreational bones and of course cooked bones following close behind. But yes, it can happen with raw bones too.

I won't give up feeding raw bones, but I have considered grinding my RMBs after my dog swallowed a very minimally chewed chicken back and had it - from what I could tell - temporarily painfully lodge in his throat, most likely causing a bit of scraping on the way down. He crunched about 2 times, swallowed, then backed up and started to whine and look quite frightened. I was just about to reach my hand in when he got it down on his own. I felt around his neck/throat to see if he had any pain response (he didn't), and I knew he must be alright when he turned back to finish his meal and continued eating without issue. I know my dog is a gulper and try to give him larger chunks to encourage him to chew more, but this freaked me the heck out. Compounding my concern was an episode of bre-bloat just a few weeks later - an endoscopy revealed a very red and irritated esophagus and I can't help but wonder if the previous choking generated a wound/sensitive spot that set him up for this event (purely my non-medically trained suspicion).

As Connie said, there's risk in everything, and the benefits of raw far outweigh NOT feeding raw, IMO, but I may change my preparation if something similar ever happens to my current dog again.

~Natalya

For every way you can prepare food, there is a horror story to go with it.

It would be very easy to come up with rebuttals to any food or any preparation of food.

As long as food has to go down their throats, there is a risk of choking or other related injury.

 Quote: Michael_Wise

For every way you can prepare food, there is a horror story to go with it.

It would be very easy to come up with rebuttals to any food or any preparation of food.

As long as food has to go down their throats, there is a risk of choking or other related injury.

Sure, but those that have experienced problems with something specific may get some piece of mind (even if it's false security in the grand scheme of things) from going with a different but technically equally as 'at risk from freak accidents' preparation method. The ingredients and nutrition are the important part. On top of that, the way you put it in the bowl often comes down to comfort level.

~Natalya

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

(even if it's false security in the grand scheme of things)

Agreed. Is it a placebo if it works?

Its just such a fine line when talking about raw feeding. I don't want anyone being able to come away from this post thinking that whole food is somehow more dangerous than ground because it isn't.

 Quote: Michael_Wise

I don't want anyone being able to come away from this post thinking that whole food is somehow more dangerous than ground because it isn't.

I definitely agree! I also think it's important that our shared experiences can generate conversation about nuances - if a brand new raw feeder had experienced what I experienced with Oscar in the above post, without knowing there are ways to nuance the raw diet, they may get scared away and swear off fresh raw food forever. Again, comfort levels aren't always rational, but if they don't do any harm, I don't see the danger in offering options.

~Natalya

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

 Quote: Michael_Wise

I don't want anyone being able to come away from this post thinking that whole food is somehow more dangerous than ground because it isn't.

I definitely agree! I also think it's important that our shared experiences can generate conversation about nuances - if a brand new raw feeder had experienced what I experienced with Oscar in the above post, without knowing there are ways to nuance the raw diet, they may get scared away and swear off fresh raw food forever. Again, comfort levels aren't always rational, but if they don't do any harm, I don't see the danger in offering options.

~Natalya

Absolutely agree with both!

In all my years around dogs - my own, my clubs', and dogs I've worked with - I've never run into a serious bone mishap around raw feeding. And that includes the many folks I've worked with to switch from kibble to fresh.

And I know all about POVs skewed by one-in-a-thousand events.

And I agree that offering alternatives to the usual methods if they can help a nervous noob to take the plunge -- well, that's a good thing.