# question about raw beef knuckle bones



## cbull (Feb 14, 2011)

What do you think of raw knuckles vs cooked? I read that raw is softer than cooked therefore they won't crack a tooth. Is this true?


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

you can drive a nail with a femur bone (raw) so
how soft is it? the best advice i heard on giving
femur bones is if your dog is an aggressive chewer
don't use them. my dog has had raw and cooked
femur bones starting at 9 weeks old and so far
everything has gone well. my dog will be 4 yrs. old in
June. i don't give him the knuckles because i think
they're to soft cooked or raw.


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## SilverBeat (Jan 16, 2011)

I would be too worried giving any weight-bearing bones from cattle and other large animals. I wouldn't feed knuckle or other marrow bones, raw or cooked.

http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/general-dog-discussion/4157-why-ill-never-give-dog-marrow-bone.html


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## Lisa_j (Apr 7, 2011)

Raw bones like a femur/knuckle WILL break a tooth at some point but worse than that is a cooked bone may spinter and cause internal damage or even death. NEVER boil any bone and give to a dog. I have experienced the damage of a raw weight bearing bone, $500.00 later and a mastiff with a sore mouth. Just not worth it IMO.


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

They're banned from our house for life for good reason


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## nortknee (May 5, 2011)

jdatwood said:


> They're banned from our house for life for good reason


ALL marrow bones?
What do you use for rec bones then...ribs? Antlers?


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

nortknee said:


> ALL marrow bones?


ANY beef bones except ribs... Beef ribs are the only beef bones we'll feed....

The only "rec" bones we really have are antlers and then the random larger bones from animals like sheep, llama, etc.


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## cbull (Feb 14, 2011)

What can I use to keep her teeth clean? Would a nylabone work? Antler?


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

cbull said:


> What can I use to keep her teeth clean? Would a nylabone work? Antler?


Antlers, pork ribs, any large meaty bone like sheep necks....

I don't believe in giving nylabones. It doesn't make sense to me to give my dogs "edible" plastic to clean their teeth, especially when we're discovering the dangers of plastics in our diets


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## Lisa_j (Apr 7, 2011)

A beef tongue is a great way to clean teeth!!! Trachea and the mess that attachs the lungs and sweetmeat is another great way to floss and exercise teeth!! Bones can be great but tough meat is awesome too!!


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## SilverBeat (Jan 16, 2011)

cbull said:


> What can I use to keep her teeth clean? Would a nylabone work? Antler?


How long have you been feeding raw? Any bone they have to CRUNCH does a pretty good job of cleaning their teeth. Neck bones work well. I also would not give a nylabone. I give antlers and bully sticks for chews.


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## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

jdatwood said:


> ANY beef bones except ribs...
> 
> The only "rec" bones we really have are antlers and then the random larger bones from animals like sheep, llama, etc.


 I'm curious, what is bad about beef ribs?


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

TuckersMom said:


> I'm curious, what is bad about beef ribs?


Nothing.. they're they only beef bones we'll ever feed.


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

I'm not sure I've ever questioned this so good time do that based on this thread:

We feed bones to help keep teeth cleaned. Is there any other reason? Because if not, and what WhiteLeo says is true, then do we really have to feed bones? 

I ask because while the girl hoodlum has never had a single issue with anything I've given her, the boy hoodlum has. Whether it was a bit too much organ or too much bone, he doesn't seem to regulate as well as the girl. Ever since the "pork shoulder roast picnic thingie bone" incident, I stress about feeding him bones. I have really been sticking to chicken bones and on occasion, pork ribs and even then someone tells me it has to be a certain type of rib.

So, before I think I have a solution to the bone anxiety, is that the sole reason we are feeding bone, teeth cleaning?


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## SilverBeat (Jan 16, 2011)

SerenityFL said:


> I'm not sure I've ever questioned this so good time do that based on this thread:
> 
> We feed bones to help keep teeth cleaned. Is there any other reason? Because if not, and what WhiteLeo says is true, then do we really have to feed bones?
> 
> ...


It is also for calcium and to keep their stools well-formed. But teeth cleaning is the big kahuna. I could be wrong but I see no problem feeding only soft bones like chicken/duck/turkey necks if that's what the boy can handle, that's what he can handle. If he needs hardly any bone, feed hardly any bone. As long as he is getting _some_ bone to keep his teeth and poop in check and as a source of calcium.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

cbull said:


> What do you think of raw knuckles vs cooked? I read that raw is softer than cooked therefore they won't crack a tooth. Is this true?


i think knuckles should be cooked and fed to the family as soup or the base of stew. they should never be fed to a dog, raw or cooked.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

SerenityFL said:


> I'm not sure I've ever questioned this so good time do that based on this thread:
> 
> We feed bones to help keep teeth cleaned. Is there any other reason? Because if not, and what WhiteLeo says is true, then do we really have to feed bones?
> 
> ...


someone told you it has to be a certain type of rib? what type of rib were you told to feed?

cleaning teeth is uber important, if for no other reason than to prevent infections that can go into the blood or the heart or other organs....weakens the immune system....

plus, bone has all kinds of minerals...

but your dog's size will determine what edible bone you feed...and if you're stressing about bone for the boy hoodlum, then feed him softer bones, such as chicken and pork ribs and lamb ribs and goat ribs, and he's fine....

'course, if you're stressin', he's stressin'. : )

feeding raw shouldn't be stressful....but it is good for them to gnaw and crunch and bone helps with that, along with trachea and tongue and tough pieces of meat....


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## cbull (Feb 14, 2011)

I'm not a raw feeder. I have my pup on Acana. I'm just interested in something to satisfy her urge to chew and keep her teeth clean as well. Now I'm confused. I read that bones are bad (splinter, cracked teeth, etc) and to use a Nylabone. Now I read that ribs are ok. Ribs don't splinter?


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

SerenityFL said:


> I'm not sure I've ever questioned this so good time do that based on this thread:
> 
> We feed bones to help keep teeth cleaned. Is there any other reason? Because if not, and what WhiteLeo says is true, then do we really have to feed bones?
> 
> ...


We feed bone for calcium.


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

cbull said:


> I'm not a raw feeder. I have my pup on Acana. I'm just interested in something to satisfy her urge to chew and keep her teeth clean as well. Now I'm confused. I read that bones are bad (splinter, cracked teeth, etc) and to use a Nylabone. Now I read that ribs are ok. Ribs don't splinter?


RAW ribs are great. Cooked ribs are BAD and WILL splinter. Antlers are wonderful. Nylabones are fine, although they _can_ shatter teeth, especially fragile puppy teeth, although my concern would be the notion of feeding plastic to our dogs. My dog has a nylabone passed down from our first poodle many years ago. She chews on it occasionally, but she mostly chews on her antler. This is all for fun, as her teeth are plenty clean from eating a raw diet. I'd be lying if I said the idea of giving my dog a hunk of plastic (nylabone) to chew on doesn't worry me in the back of my head.


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## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

jdatwood said:


> Nothing.. they're they only beef bones we'll ever feed.


Okay, I got confused because you had typed, "ANY beef bones except ribs...." at first. I see you went back and added an additional sentence. I'm new to raw so full of questions LOL.
Thanks! :smile:


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## bernadettelevis (Feb 2, 2011)

cbull said:


> I'm not a raw feeder. I have my pup on Acana. I'm just interested in something to satisfy her urge to chew and keep her teeth clean as well. Now I'm confused. I read that bones are bad (splinter, cracked teeth, etc) and to use a Nylabone. Now I read that ribs are ok. Ribs don't splinter?


Raw bones are not bad for dogs! Only cooked bones splinter! And about cracking teeth, that's why we don't feed our dogs weightbearing bones from large animals, as those bones are too dense!
Everything thing else is pretty safe to give as long as you stay away from cooked bones and marrow bones .


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

in my opinion, whether your dog is raw fed or kibble fed, knuckle bones, femur bones, soup bones, weight bearing bones are dangerous because they can break a dog's tooth...

if you, as a kibble feeder, want to give your dog a bone for recreation and for teeth cleaning, antlers and bully sticks are fine....keep in mind, though, if you give your kibble fed dog a beef rib, the dog will love it, but his digestive tract may react by causing the runs....

if you can strip most of the fat and meat off the rib bone, then it's great, because most dogs can't actually eat a beef rib.....


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