2.8: Raw Meaty Bones

🐾 We all know we are a nation of dog lovers. Sadly though, we often do not pay enough attention to our dogs teeth & gums.

Gums disease in dogs in the UK is rife, mostly due to the poor diets fed that are laden with carbs and sugars, and products that claim to clean teeth, but definitely do not! Bad breath can be a sign of gum disease but it can also be a sign of an issue in the gut.

🐾 Plaque builds up on teeth, and when left in place, it hardens into tartar which is much harder to remove.

For more dental care tips please see the associated Blog 8.7: Dental Hygiene, Raw Meaty Bones can help to clean your dogs teeth naturally (although granted they are not a replacement for cleaning your dogs teeth with a toothbrush and dog safe toothpaste.)

🐾 Chewing a raw meaty bone releases Dopamine which has a calming effect, encourages natural behaviour, provides calcium, roughage, marrow, zinc, selenium & magnesium as well as fats & vitamins, plus glucosamine & chondroitin.

🐾 Raw pet food tends to contain bone, however of course there are some boneless offerings. The standard for raw pet food is 80% meat 10% bone, 5% liver & 5% other organ.

Once transitioned to a raw diet (see our transition guide for how to best do this), the next steps are to start venturing out into different food you can feed. Use our Bone Calculator to help you to see how much actual bone is being fed to your dog in the bones you offer.

At this point you will know about watching your dogs stools to see if they need more or less bone in their diet. You will also know that you can feed boneless to help loosen stools when they have had too much bone. This means, should you wish to, you can give your dog mother natures toothbrush - a raw meaty bone!

⚠️ What to avoid:

Some raw feeders may believe differently, however as a group we recommend avoiding:

• Marrow bones

• Weightbearing bones

• Beef bones

• Cooked bones must be avoided always!

This is because the above bones carry a risk of damaging teeth as they are so hard, or even splintering. We will therefore never recommend these bones as they are a risk to health.

⁉️ What to feed:

This is where things will vary depending on your dogs breed, age and size. Ensuring you feed bones that are appropriate for your dog is paramount to safety. A Chihuahua chewing through a whole rack of venison ribs would simply be far too much.

🐾 Small breeds & young pup

• Chicken necks, wings, feet

• Duck feet

🐾 Medium breeds:

• Duck necks & feet

• Chicken carcasses & thighs

• Turkey wings

🐾 Large breeds:

• Lamb ribs & neck

• Venison ribs

• Goat ribs

• Chicken carcasses

• Duck carcasses

• Turkey wings

🐾 Giant breeds:

• Venison necks

• Turkey necks

• Goat & lamb ribs

• Chicken carcasses

• Duck carcasses

⚠️ When first giving your dog a bone, be prepared with boneless food if required.

🐾 If it is safe to do so, hold the bone to encourage your dog to chew

🐾 If your dog is not prone to shivering from cold food, you can feed the bone frozen

⚠️ Always monitor your dog when feeding them a raw meaty bone

⚠️ Ensure there is always fresh clean drinking water available

🐾If you need to cut a bone such as a neck or ribs to a more appropriate size, you can make a clean cut through the bone using a mallet and a sharp knife, but please do so very carefully, ensuring there are no sharp edges and the size is safe.

🐾 As you progress through your raw feeding journey you may try different bones to those listed above, but please use the above as a reference for size guide.

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