Giving your dog a bone is a timeless and natural activity, deeply ingrained in canine behavior. From playful chewing to essential dietary components, raw bones offer a multitude of benefits for your furry companion. This guide delves into the importance of raw bones, differentiating between edible and recreational types, and outlining crucial safety precautions to ensure your dog enjoys this natural treat responsibly.
Raw bones are vital for dogs, contributing to healthy digestion, superior dental hygiene, mental stimulation, and stronger jaws. They also serve as a valuable source of essential nutrients like calcium. A well-rounded raw diet for dogs should incorporate approximately 10-15% edible bone content, supplemented with recreational bones offered 1-2 times weekly.
Black dog in grass licking raw bone with tongue out.
Black dog in grass chewing on raw bone.
Understanding Raw Bones for Dogs
Raw bones can be broadly categorized into two main types, each serving a unique purpose in a dog’s diet and enrichment:
Edible Bones
These are raw, uncooked portions of meat, bone, tissue, and cartilage that form a crucial part of a carnivorous dog’s nutritional intake. Sourced from animals such as chicken, quail, duck, rabbit, turkey, or pork, edible bones, often referred to as raw meaty bones (RMBs), are instrumental in meeting a dog’s dietary requirements for essential minerals like calcium and phosphorus.
Recreational Bones
In contrast, recreational bones are raw, uncooked bones intended solely for chewing, not for consumption. Typically larger and filled with marrow, these bones are often coated with a small amount of meat and tissue. Dogs, whether on a raw or kibble diet, can benefit from these bones as a supplementary chew. Recreational bones usually originate from larger animals like bison, cow, elk, moose, deer, or buffalo, with common cuts including the knuckle, femur, shank, rib, tibia, or hip.
The Multifaceted Benefits of Raw Bones
Bones play a significant role in a dog’s overall well-being, contributing to both their nutritional intake and providing essential mental stimulation.
Advantages of Edible Bones
- Digestive Health: The bone content, comprising various tissues and fibers, aids in binding food within the digestive tract, promoting better digestion and firmer stools.
- Nutrient Provision: Consuming raw meaty bones allows dogs to absorb vital minerals such as calcium and phosphorus. These are fundamental for maintaining strong teeth and bones, as well as supporting the proper function of organs and tissues throughout the body.
List of 6 benefits of bones next to dog behind a chicken neck.
General Benefits of All Raw Bones
- Natural Canine Outlet: Chewing is an innate desire for carnivores. Gnawing on bones provides crucial mental stimulation, satisfying their instinctual need to rip and tear, akin to solving a puzzle. This engagement releases endorphins, diverting them from destructive chewing on household items when bored.
- Oral and Muscular Exercise: The act of chewing on bones effectively exercises a dog’s mouth, jaw, neck, and shoulder muscles, contributing to their strength and development.
- Natural Dental Cleaning: Bones are nature’s toothbrush, offering the most effective method for keeping a dog’s teeth clean and preventing the onset of gum disease. The gnawing action helps to dislodge and remove plaque and tartar buildup.
- Teething Relief for Puppies: Puppies often experience discomfort as their adult teeth emerge. Providing a suitable bone for chewing can alleviate teething pain and reduce anxiety during this phase.
- A Safer Alternative to Rawhide: Many pet owners are aware of the potential risks associated with rawhide chews, which are difficult to digest and can pose choking or blockage hazards due to their manufacturing process. Recreational and raw meaty bones offer a natural and safer alternative for canine entertainment and dental health.
Edible Bones: A Deeper Dive
When incorporated into a balanced diet, edible raw bones supply essential nutrients and minerals, notably phosphorus and calcium, alongside protein, iron, collagen, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and amino acids. These bones are typically softer, more hollow, and covered in substantial meaty tissue and cartilage. Poultry bones are often favored due to their smaller size and softer composition. However, it’s critical to remember that not all bones are suitable for raw consumption; weight-bearing bones, for instance, are larger and pose a greater splintering risk, making them unsuitable as RMBs.
Yellow puppy with raw bone in mouth behind bowl of raw food.
Yellow puppy looking at raw bone with tongue out behind bowl of raw food.
Transitioning to Edible Bones
For dogs transitioning from kibble to a raw diet, it’s advisable to wait 7-10 days before introducing RMBs. While beneficial for many dogs, RMBs may not be suitable for all, particularly those with weakened enamel, dental issues, aggressive chewing habits, or a lack of chewing inclination.
When starting, introduce smaller portions, such as a duck foot, and gradually increase the size of the RMB to match your dog’s size. Thaw the bone in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving. Present the RMB in your dog’s bowl in an appropriate chewing area. To manage potential messes, you can place the bowl on a towel or serve outdoors on an easily cleanable surface.
Raw chicken necks, turkey necks, and whole sardines on top of a wooden board.
Calculating Edible Bone Percentage
Incorporating the correct bone content into a raw diet can seem daunting, but understanding the balance of phosphorus and calcium (ideally a 1:1 ratio) is key. A general guideline suggests that bones should constitute about 10-15% of your dog’s total raw diet. For example, a turkey neck contains approximately 45% bone, while a chicken foot is around 60% bone.
To calculate the appropriate amount:
- Select a raw meaty bone: For instance, whole chicken necks.
- Determine your dog’s daily food intake: A common recommendation is to feed 2.5% of the dog’s body weight daily. For a 50-pound dog, this equates to about 1.25 pounds of food.
- Calculate bone portion: If feeding skinless chicken necks (approximately 60% bone), feeding 0.3 pounds of these necks (which represents 24% of the total daily diet) would provide around 14.4% bone content (60% bone * 0.24).
Monitor your pet’s stool: chalky or white stools may indicate excessive bone content, while loose or watery stools might suggest insufficient bone intake.
Alternatives to Whole Raw Meaty Bones
- Green Tripe: Similar to RMBs, green tripe offers a balanced calcium and phosphorus ratio essential for a complete diet.
- Supplements: Food-grade bone meal (preferably unheated) or freeze-dried bone products can be used. Always ensure correct calcium and phosphorus balance.
- Ground Meat and Bone Mixes: Commercially available raw mixes often contain ground bone, providing the benefits without the need for chewing whole RMBs.
Appropriate Edible Bones by Pet Size
Selecting the correct edible bone based on your dog’s size is crucial:
- Necks: Chicken necks are suitable for all dog and cat sizes. Duck necks are better for medium dogs, and turkey necks for larger breeds.
- Whole Animals: Whole sardines and quail are appropriate for all sizes.
- Wings: Chicken wings (wingette, wing tip, drumette) are suitable for all sizes. Duck wings are for medium dogs and up, while turkey wings are best for large dogs.
- Feet: Chicken and duck feet are excellent for all pets due to their high tissue and ligament content. Pork feet are suitable for large dogs in moderation due to their fat content.
- Frames: Chicken and duck frames can be given to pets of all sizes.
- Tails: Larger tails from pigs, turkeys, goats, lambs, or oxen are best for medium to large dogs.
- Ribs: Lamb or pork ribs are generally recommended for large dogs.
Graphic showing what raw meaty bones are appropriate for dogs based on size (large, medium, and small).
Recreational Bones: Chewing Enrichment
Recreational bones are not intended for consumption but for chewing, owing to their larger size and hardness. Selecting the appropriate size is paramount to prevent injury or the dog attempting to swallow the bone whole. Larger marrow and knuckle bones suit medium to large dogs, while smaller rib bones are better for smaller breeds. It’s important to note that recreational bones do not replace the nutritional value of bone meal or RMBs, as they lack sufficient phosphorus and calcium.
Types of Recreational Bones
These bones typically come from large, weight-bearing bones of animals like cows, buffalo, bison, elk, deer, or moose, sourced from the femur, tibia, shank, or hip areas.
Feeding Recreational Bones
Offer recreational bones frozen or slightly thawed. For marrow bones, limit chewing sessions to about 20 minutes, 1-2 times per week, as the high fat content can cause digestive upset if consumed too frequently.
Tips for Feeding Recreational Bones:
- Location: Feed bones in an area that is easy to clean, such as outdoors or on a towel.
- “Drop It” Command: Ensure your dog reliably responds to the “drop it” command for safety.
- Post-Meal Feeding: Offering bones after a full meal can reduce aggressive chewing.
- Exercise Alternative: Recreational bones can provide excellent mental stimulation and keep dogs occupied, especially when physical exercise is limited.
- Safe Handling: Always practice safe food handling, including washing hands and sanitizing surfaces after handling raw bones, and store them properly in the refrigerator or freezer.
Essential Safety Precautions
While feeding bones is generally safe, understanding potential risks is crucial. Assess your dog’s chewing habits, temperament, and overall health to determine suitability. Start with smaller pieces and gradually introduce larger bones as your dog becomes accustomed to them. Though rare, choking, splintering, and blockages can occur, emphasizing the need for close supervision.
Crucially, never feed cooked, smoked, roasted, boiled, or heat-processed bones. Heating causes bones to become brittle and prone to splintering, posing a significant danger to your dog’s teeth and digestive system.
Where to Purchase Raw Bones
The best sources for raw bones include reputable online pet retailers, local farmer’s markets, raw food co-ops, or trusted butchers. If purchasing from a butcher, ensure they understand how to prepare bones for canine consumption, as standard machine-cut bones may have sharp edges. Avoid raw bones and meat from standard grocery stores, as they are stored at temperatures that can promote bacterial growth and are intended for thorough cooking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can dogs eat bones?
Yes, most dogs can safely consume whole raw meaty bones and recreational bones as part of a balanced diet. However, they may not be suitable for dogs with aggressive chewing habits or existing dental problems.
Are raw bones safe for dogs?
Raw bones are safe for dogs when an appropriate size is chosen, supervision is maintained during chewing, and the bones are sourced from a trusted supplier.
