The only thing I can give my 9 month old german shepherd pup to chew on is some sort of bone. If I give hime anything else he will just inhale it. He would be finished a rawhide in approximatley 2.5 seconds, LOL.

I know I will probally hear some heat for asking this question but why is it frowned upon to give a cooked bone to your dog. Is it because there is more chance of the bone cracking and causing the dog to choke or is the raw bone is easier to digest. I know every single pet store that I go into sells those smoked bones so it seems to me that have to be safe to have a market for them.

I have one last question. Last night I decided to get my pup one of those raw beef bones with the bone marrow inside from the super market. My pup loved it. It keep him busy for hours trying to get all of the bone marrow out. My concern is at about 5 a.m. this morning I woke up to my pup throwing up. He throw up a couple of days ago and the last time before that was about a couple of months ago. I was just wondering if you think him throwing up this morning was from the raw bone i gave him or if there was likely some other cause.

George - Your pup was probably throwing up because of the marrow in the raw bone. Marrow is very rich and can/will upset a dog's stomach if it gets too much. The best thing to do is buy a raw bone and then scoop out as much marrow as you can with a spoon (and throw it away). There will still be plenty left in the bone to tease the dog.

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why is it frowned upon to give a cooked bone to your dog. Is it because there is more chance of the bone cracking and causing the dog to choke or is the raw bone is easier to digest. I know every single pet store that I go into sells those smoked bones so it seems to me that have to be safe to have a market for them.

most of the things sold in pet shops are dangerous for dogs, imo: rawhide chews, pig's ears, squeaky toys, stuffed toys, etc. etc. etc. you'd think that pet shop owners all hate dogs and would like nothing better than to kill them all off.

you answered your own question. cooked bones splinter. even if the dog doesn't choke, he could end up with a punctured intestine.

raw bones are digestible.

HOWEVER--weight-bearing bones like the big beef soup bones you can get at the butcher's are so hard that they can crack your dog's teeth. the best bones to give your dog are necks, ribs, and spines. these bones are softer and grind up and can be eaten and digested.

alternately, my dog really enjoys his heavy-duty toughest-made nylabone (it's a special giant one that is harder than the standard ones). if your dog is willing to entertain himself with a nylabone, that is your best bet for a recreational bone. do watch to see if he's managing to break off pieces, though.