Quote: jan williamson

Would love to try them, but all I can get are smoked, and I definitely don't want those.

The smoked ones can splinter, right? That's all I have access to as well...

Will have to look for those "riblets" though...

~Natalya

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

The smoked ones can splinter, right? That's all I have access to as well...~Natalya

Yes, because they have been cooked.

Before anyone runs out and buys pounds of pork ‘riblets,’ let’s make sure we’re all on the same page so no one has a ton of meat/bones that their dog won’t/can’t eat.

The pork riblets I’m talking about are mainly meat with some gristle-bones in them. They actually come in strips and you can bend them in half if you want. They are not the ribs you eat when you go out for barbequed ribs, nor are they the Chinese pork ribs you get, nor are they the ‘country-style’ ribs you can cook all day long. All of these ribs are very hard bones, which my dogs have trouble with.

The ‘riblets’ I use are actual strips of meat with knuckle-joint (as a reference) bones in them.

I just didn’t want any confusion for those of you going out to look for riblets, having them called riblets, and then finding out they are really hard rib bones and being disappointed.

Thanks Jan

I myself am a rib lover, so I take any chance I can get to go lookin' for new cuts of pork!!

Seriously though, thanks for the clarificiation.
And actually, I live with an ex-vegan, now vegetarian, so the only meat in our house is for the dog. If I want ribs I have to bug my friends to have a BBQ!!

~Natalya

 Quote: natalya zahn

Thanks Jan .... thanks for the clarificiation.

Yes, that is an important explanation; I agree.

Riblets and rib tips have become interchangeable terms, but really they are different cuts, although both are "leftovers" from cutting or trimming ribs.

Rib tips are the very end of a rack of ribs; when a rack is trimmed to make St. Louis-style ribs there's a thin strip of rib tips left behind.

Riblets are cut from back or spare ribs make them straight. Riblets can be boneless, but most likely have the small pieces of bone Jan describes.

I would look over the package first time to see what you're getting, because they can vary a lot from the soft connective-type bones (kinda like chicken backs) to shards of heavy rib bone.

 Quote: Jennifer Coulter

Mostly for teeth cleaning,

I like pork necks for that reason. A while back I was having some trouble with my dogs teeth. I just asked the butcher to hold back a couple and don't cut 'em up. Same with ox tail. Man, those things really knock off stains and calculus. Plus its enjoyable to watch him have to lay down to eat. He's a gulper, too.

I agree that both are harder than chicken bones and the pieces as a whole are too boney. I let Turbo eat on them 'til I figure he has had enough and then swap him for a chunk 'o meat.

Jan and Connie, I'm going to look for pork riblets like you described. Thanks for the heads up on the difference, I didn't know. The grocery stores here just have hardly any variety. The store I frequent stopped carrying turkey necks, no reason given, just don't carry it anymore. Turkey necks were replaced with TONS of pigs feet.

I'm actually going to print out both your descriptions on riblets so the butcher will understand what I want. Think I'll have to go to a regular butcher instead of a grocery store.

Buying a raw bone at a specialty pet food store costs an arm and a leg. They should be ashamed to charge $6 for a knuckle bone, and $3 or more for one turkey neck.

Michael, I've tried oxtail with my pup. He takes the meat off and swallows the darn bone whole, and one was found whole in the aftermath and although not sharp, it was larger than I was comfortable with seeing. He just gulps stuff down, makes me nuts.

I forget that most everyone here has a dog that could eat mine. Ox tail is probably better sized for smaller dogs especially if you have a gulper.

 Quote: Sandy Moore

Jan and Connie, I'm going to look for pork riblets like you described. Thanks for the heads up on the difference, I didn't know. ...

I actually don't feed pork ... I just knew the definition.

Let us know how it goes.

And about the failure to stock necks (or whatever) --- I found that making a friend of a butcher (and making it obvious that I was a good and frequent customer) means that when something is missing or I want something else, I have a very good chance of getting it. In fact, this is the butcher department that will grind the legs of the bird for me and leave the rest as is -- for no extra charge -- as long as I call before I come in.

Thanks to everyone for the tips! I searched and searched for info on this topic under this forum and found nothing but diarrhea topics. Thank you for readdressing it and pointing me to more info.
I found his stool yesterday and one piece was light colored, dry & crumbly, the other 2 were almost black and mostly made up of hair & grass. Only a small piece in it that could have been the painful culprit, it was a yellowish triangle, about an inch long. He has been itching and shedding like crazy, that's why it was hairy.
The pork necks that I got have quite a bit of meat on them, more meat than bone and were only .39/lb. They are in sizes about like a chicken thigh, and some about as long as a chicken leg, but some do have rough ends. I have discontinued feeding them though. The chicken leg quarters that he eats sound just as crunchy to me though, that's why I didn't realize that the pork bones could be hazardous. It sounds like he's eating rocks.
Yesterday afternoon I fed him an egg, yogurt, tsp of olive oil and some chicken liver and gizzards. Then late last night I gave him a leg quarter. He started eating grass while I was holding a salad that I didn't finish, so I gave it to him. It was romaine, red & green leaf lettuce, with a trace of blue cheese dressing on it, he ate most of it... I guess that was ok. This morning he threw up a small pile of grass, but he has been acting perfectly normal all day. He's done this in the past with his kibble, so it didn't alarm me. I will continue to monitor him and his stools.
One more thing... I called a local grocer and spoke with the butcher about chicken necks & wings. He said they were seasonal, but he could order them for me. I would have to get them each in a 40 lb package and they would cost about $20 each. Is .50/lb considered expensive?
Thanks again! ;O)
Tracy and Oscar...6 mo old GSD