# What the heck is this- and can my dog chew on it?



## Mokapi (Apr 7, 2011)

Today I took Chip for a training session at the park and my friend and her two dogs came with us. We were there for probably 2 1/2 hours total, but near the end Chip was rubbing his face in the grass (it's pretty tall) in an area farther away from the outskirts of the park and ended up nosing his way across what I believe is a single deer vertebrae. A few minutes later, his girlfriend Skimo found a much larger piece, and after looking at it I'm convinced the piece she found is actually a deer coccyx. Here are links to two pictures of the assumed vertebrae:

Pic 1
Pic 2

I was going to let Chip have the vertebrae, but I got worried because I don't know what sort of diseases and bacteria it could be harboring, etc. It didn't look like there was anything but dirt on the outside of it, but the inside has some peeling brown stuff (I'm so technical!). Is there some way I can disinfect it to make it harmless to Chip? Should I give it to him at all?


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Ew, reminds me of the time Uno found decaying opposum head, he wanted to play with the nasty thing, so I had a hard time trying to take it away. If I were you, I would throw it away, dogs can generally handle bacteria, but like you said, theres no way of knowing what its been exposed to.


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## Savage Destiny (Mar 16, 2011)

I would not feed that. Bacteria aside, it looks dry and old, and dry bones are sooo dangerous.


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## Mokapi (Apr 7, 2011)

Makes sense to me!  I've tossed it now. Thanks guys!


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