Duncan Young wrote 06/19/2009 04:17 PM Recreational Bones and Teeth Wear #243917 - 06/19/2009 04:17 PM
Duncan Young Webboard User Reg: 02-04-2009 Posts: 10 Loc: Offline	I took my working line GSD to the Vet today for a check up and vaccination. The Vet told me that she doesn't recommend real animal bones for dogs because of pieces of bone getting stuck in the dogs digestive track ect. She also commented that my puppy's teeth are already worn.(Yet also commented that his teeth are in great shape overall.) I can see this myself. I have been giving him veal bones but had to stop because he was eating them. I also gave him some elk, bison and llama bones. I just bought a cow knuckle bone because it is so large and durable. My puppy loves chewing on bones. So do I discontinue the bones until his adult teeth are in and well established? Will animal bones cause wear on adult teeth? Suggestions? Thanks, Duncan (Canada)
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Michael_Wise wrote 06/19/2009 04:20 PM Re: Recreational Bones and Teeth Wear [Re: Duncan Young ] #243918 - 06/19/2009 04:20 PM
Michael_Wise Webboard User Reg: 07-10-2006 Posts: 4454 Loc: Arkansas Offline	Quote: Duncan Young So do I discontinue the bones until his adult teeth are in and well established? Will animal bones cause wear on adult teeth? Suggestions?) This would be enough evidence for me to quit them altogether. The same will happen to adult teeth. Probably worse because they will be accompanied by adult jaw muscles.:wink:
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Angela Burrell wrote 06/19/2009 04:21 PM Re: Recreational Bones and Teeth Wear [Re: Duncan Young ] #243919 - 06/19/2009 04:21 PM
Angela Burrell Webboard User Reg: 05-10-2006 Posts: 2273 Loc: Ontario, Canada Offline	If your puppy is an aggressive enough chewer that he has worn his puppy teeth, i would NOT risk giving him recreational bones as an adult. Reason: broken/chipped teeth. Aside from being painful to the dog, a broken tooth is very costly to fix. My dogs don't get them because of the risk of damage. I also stay away from the smoked "marrow" bones you can get in pet stores.
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Michael_Wise wrote 06/19/2009 04:25 PM Re: Recreational Bones and Teeth Wear [Re: Duncan Young ] #243922 - 06/19/2009 04:25 PM
Michael_Wise Webboard User Reg: 07-10-2006 Posts: 4454 Loc: Arkansas Offline	Quote: duncan young The Vet told me that she doesn't recommend real animal bones for dogs because of pieces of bone getting stuck in the dogs digestive track ect. As far as "real animal bones", edible bone is a major part of a raw diet for dogs. All the bones you mentioned aren't edible. If you are interested in a raw diet, I'd be glad to get more specific if you'd like.:smile:
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Connie Sutherland wrote 06/19/2009 04:27 PM Re: Recreational Bones and Teeth Wear [Re: Angela Burrell ] #243923 - 06/19/2009 04:27 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	Quote: angela burrell If your puppy is an aggressive enough chewer that he has worn his puppy teeth, i would NOT risk giving him recreational bones as an adult. Reason: broken/chipped teeth. Aside from being painful to the dog, a broken tooth is very costly to fix. My dogs don't get them because of the risk of damage. I also stay away from the smoked "marrow" bones you can get in pet stores. I never give recreational bones either.* I have seen bills from Tufts for a broken tooth on my granddog from a recreational bone when he was a young adult dog (young enough that it seemed right to go the root-canal-crown route). It was thousands of dollars all in all, and it was luck that it was even discovered fairly quickly. Sometimes infection and pain go on for years from fractured teeth and are discovered way down the line, after a lot of damage has been wrought .... not worth it, for me. There are alternatives, though, like http://leerburg.com/1182.htm and many other chewies. * http://leerburg.com/feedingarawdiet.htm#RMB
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Barbara Schuler wrote 06/19/2009 06:04 PM Re: Recreational Bones and Teeth Wear [Re: Connie Sutherland ] #243936 - 06/19/2009 06:04 PM
Barbara Schuler Webboard User Reg: 01-15-2009 Posts: 5090 Loc: Lanexa Virginia Offline	Quote: Angela Burrell i would NOT risk giving him recreational bones as an adult. I spoke with a butcher/slaughterer in my area today who can give me deer carcass from time to time. I understand (from reading on Leerburg today) that the leg bones are to be avoided for most dogs, but are the ribs, skull, neck bones okay, or would you say steer away from these for possible wear and tear on teeth?
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Natalya Zahn wrote 06/19/2009 07:06 PM Re: Recreational Bones and Teeth Wear [Re: Barbara Schuler ] #243940 - 06/19/2009 07:06 PM
Natalya Zahn Webboard User Reg: 12-22-2006 Posts: 1824 Loc: Cambridge, MA Offline	Quote: barbara schuler  Quote: angela burrell i would NOT risk giving him recreational bones as an adult. I spoke with a butcher/slaughterer in my area today who can give me deer carcass from time to time. I understand (from reading on Leerburg today) that the leg bones are to be avoided for most dogs, but are the ribs, skull, neck bones okay, or would you say steer away from these for possible wear and tear on teeth? I gotta say, I'm with Angella and Connie on this one - I too have paid the steep price of a root canal for my dog, and I don't EVER want to do it again. For this reason I no longer give Oscar any bones from mammals larger than a rabbit - recreational or otherwise. Edible bones in his raw diet consist of mainly poultry bones, with some rabbit, and I'd be willing to try other smallish animals if I could easily get them. All other bones I stay away from. That's just me though. Weight bearing leg bones from large animals like cows, pigs and even deer are by far the densest and most dangerous, but even cancellous bone (the "spongy" stuff found on the ends of leg bones, in parts of the skull, and in vertebrae) is still surrounded by cortical bone - the rock solid stuff - so the dog has to crack through that to get to the squishier inside... any way you cut it, big bones are hard on teeth and you just have to decide what level of risk you're comfortable with. ~Natalya
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Michael_Wise wrote 06/19/2009 10:46 PM Re: Recreational Bones and Teeth Wear [Re: Barbara Schuler ] #243952 - 06/19/2009 10:46 PM
Michael_Wise Webboard User Reg: 07-10-2006 Posts: 4454 Loc: Arkansas Offline	Quote: Barbara Schuler  Quote: Angela Burrell i would NOT risk giving him recreational bones as an adult. I spoke with a butcher/slaughterer in my area today who can give me deer carcass from time to time. I understand (from reading on Leerburg today) that the leg bones are to be avoided for most dogs, but are the ribs, skull, neck bones okay, or would you say steer away from these for possible wear and tear on teeth? Turbo does good with the parts mentioned. Ribs, skull, and neck. But you said neck bones. If it is just the bones, no meat, then I'd leave them there. Bone is easy to get elsewhere. But if all the neck meat is still attached, then snatch 'em up quick.:wink: My 15 lb. dog will eat the whole thing minus the very center of the vertebra. All the spinous processes coming off the vertebra are consumed, though. My dog, personally, had no issue with the skull. Deer ribs are very thin and flimsy unlike the heavy pork ribs you see in the store. A chicken leg is harder than a 2 year old deer's ribs. If they still have all the meat attached, grab them, too.
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Duncan Young wrote 06/21/2009 06:34 PM Re: Recreational Bones and Teeth Wear [Re: Michael_Wise ] #244081 - 06/21/2009 06:34 PM
Duncan Young Webboard User Reg: 02-04-2009 Posts: 10 Loc: Offline	Thanks everyone. The consensus is very strong. Duncan Young Canada
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Connie Sutherland wrote 06/21/2009 06:49 PM Re: Recreational Bones and Teeth Wear [Re: Duncan Young ] #244083 - 06/21/2009 06:49 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	Quote: duncan young Thanks everyone. The consensus is very strong. Duncan Young Canada Yup. Again, though, to be totally clear, your vet said "animal bones." Everyone responding to you here is making a clear differentiation between recreational bones and the edible raw meaty bones that are the basis of the raw diet. It's the recreational bones that we are all talking about as far as dental problems go. http://leerburg.com/feedingarawdiet.htm#RMB
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