Hello all,

Asia is thriving on week two of our raw switch, and we have moved on from our successful exploration of the chicken (and it's previously undervalued parts!) and have introduced some turkey necks. I was able to get some great marrow bones from my local butcher, which I was way more excited about than I should have been. My question is this: how should I introduce these as recreational bones? Obviously, we don't want diarrhea. The butcher said that he gives his lab frozen marrow bones so they last longer. Should I start with a few minutes of chewing and stick them back in the freezer to avoid drying out? I have always done the real bone stuffed with peanut butter with my other dogs, but those were the pet store dried out version. Ahh, progress.

**Raw is awesome and I had heard about how obtaining meat turns into a hobby. So true! My family members are so sick of hearing about my latest score. Another reason this forum is fantastic.

Hi, Alison,

I know that other folks will respond, but I also want to point out that you'll do yourself a bit of a disservice if you don't also check out the many existing threads on this topic.

The search term recreational will probably work great. Expand the date range if you use the date-driven search engine on the upper right of the screen there, beside Active Topics.

Also see http://leerburg.com/feedingarawdiet.htm#RMB and just below at http://leerburg.com/feedingarawdiet.htm#recreational for a succinct explanation of RMBs and recreational bones.

The threads you'll find will explain what types of gnawers-versus-others are safer with recreational bones. (A thousands-of-dollars Tufts bill for a fractured tooth in my family, along with many other similar stories, made me decide it was just not worth the risk; others who have gnawing types and who watch carefully find it works out OK.)

If you do decide to give marrow bones, I would recommend scooping out a lot of marrow and setting it aside in the freezer first so the dog doesn't over-indulge to the point of diarrhea before he's used to it.

"Raw is awesome and I had heard about how obtaining meat turns into a hobby. So true! My family members are so sick of hearing about my latest score."

I know, huh? I score the oddest things by always having it somewhere in my mind.

Even though everyone knows about these two things now, I still remember fondly my own first discovery of $1 cans of salmon, mackerel, and sardines, and even no-sodium-added versions, on the endcaps in such weird places as discount drugstores. And then another board member here, Steve Strom, told me about $1 sales on what they call Rock Cornish game hens at Safeway every now and then. (What a find those are for anyone looking to scale down RMBs for a small dog!) For any size dog, what an easily-stored and quickly-thawed treasure in the freezer!

Thanks Connie- I expanded the date range that I was looking at and did find more of what I wanted to know. I have been back and forth with my books and on this forum that half the time I can hardly remember what topics I've searched. I truly appreciate the knowledge that everyone has contributed.

After reading more about possible dental issues I've decided it's just best not to go there with the marrow bones. We'll stick with Kongs and treat balls.