Bones from a board certified Surgeon - YorkieTalk.com Forums

dwerten · 05-19-2010, 05:22 AM

Knick-Knack Paddy-Whack DON'T Give Your Dog a Bone!

The Joneses had just finished a big weekend family dinner. Mr. Jones was wondering what to do with the ham bone, when in trots his Neopolitan Mastiff Sniffles.

Ms. Jones tried to discourage her husband from giving the bone to their impressive, 120 pound, 3 year old dog.

Mr. Jones: "Come on honey, everyone knows that it's safe for dogs to eat bones! What do you think wolves and foxes do in the wild? Eat out of a can?"

Ms. Jones: "I'm telling you, it's not safe."

Mr. Jones: "Come on sweetie, my buddy John swears that his dogs have beautiful white teeth because they chew on bones."

Ms. Jones: "I'm telling you, it's not safe."

Mr. Jones: "Come on Lovie, it's a great source of calcium."

Ms. Jones: "I'm telling you, it's not safe."

Mr. Jones: "Come on baby, it's just a ham bone. It's smooth, it has no sharp edges."

Ms. Jones: "I'm telling you, it's not safe."

Mr. Jones: "Come on Cutie, Sniffles is a pretty smart dog, she's just gonna chew on it, she won't swallow it."

If you know anything about men, you know what happened...

Mr. Jones gave the bone to Sniffles, who of course eventually swallowed it. And it got stuck in her esophagus, the tube between the mouth and the stomach...

We can actually perform surgery on the esophagus by doing open chest surgery. We decided not to do that however.

I will spare you the details of the (failed) attempts at removing the bone with endoscopy, the (risky and bold but successful attempts at pushing the bone into the stomach, the (successful) surgery to remove the bone from the stomach, the multiple daily feedings through a stomach tube... and the thousands of dollars the owners spent.

Oh, and I will spare you the details of the heated conversations between Mr. and Ms. Jones...

Some people claim, usually in a verbally violent if not abusive way, that it's safe to give bones to cats and dogs. So why would most vets disagree? Because we see the complications, we deal with the blockages, we perform the surgeries. We do our best to protect our patients and educate their owners. And on top of that, we try to help you save money!

So please understand that it's difficult for us to encourage pet owners to do something we know is POTENTIALLY dangerous at best, and deadly at worst.

Deadly, yes. Think I'm exaggerating? Well, I am not. There are at least 2 ways a cat or a dog can die because of a bone.

1. It could cause a hole in the esophagus and an infection in the chest. Or it causes a hole in the intestine and an infection in the belly (peritonitis).

2. Mr. and Ms. Jones may not be able to afford the surgery fees, and might decide to have their dog euthanized.

So again, please understand why most vets won't recommend giving bones to pets.

Incidentally the FDA seems to agree. They just released some information about bones. It's pretty amazing that this institution would bother with such a lowly topic, so please take it as a sincere attempt to put your tax dollars at work in order to protect our dogs and cats.

Here are 10 possible complications related to chewing on bones.

1. Broken teeth. This may call for expensive veterinary dentistry.

2. Mouth or tongue injuries. These can be very bloody and messy and may require a trip to see your vet.

3. The bone gets looped around your pet's lower jaw. This can be frightening or painful for your pet and potentially costly to you, as it usually means a trip to see your vet.

4. The bone gets stuck in the esophagus, the tube that food travels through to reach the stomach. Your pet may gag, trying to bring the bone back up, and will need to see your vet.

5. The bone gets stuck in the windpipe. This may happen if your pet accidentally inhales a small enough piece of bone. This is an emergency because your pet will have trouble breathing. Take your pet to your vet immediately!

6. The bone gets stuck in the stomach. It went down just fine, but the bone may be too big to pass out of the stomach and into the intestines. Depending on the bone's size, your pet may need surgery or endoscopy, a procedure in which your vet uses a long tube with a built-in camera and grabbing tools to try to remove the stuck bone from the stomach.

7. The bone gets stuck in the intestines and causes a blockage. It is time for surgery.

8. Constipation due to bone fragments. Your pet may have a hard time passing the bone fragments because they're very sharp and they scrape the inside of the large intestine or rectum as they move along. This causes severe pain and may require a visit to your vet.

9. Severe bleeding from the rectum. This is very messy and can be dangerous. It's time for a trip to see your vet.

10. Peritonitis. This nasty, difficult-to-treat bacterial infection of the abdomen is caused when bone fragments poke holes in your pet's stomach or intestines. Your pet needs an emergency visit to your vet because peritonitis can kill your pet.

So what's my take? Here are a few thoughts:

* I have personally seen the following complications:

1. Broken teeth

4. Bone could get stuck in your pet's esophagus

6. Bone can get stuck in the stomach

7. Bone can get stuck in the intestines and cause a major blockage

8. Constipation due to bone shards

10. Peritonitis

So that's 6 out of 10. I'm sure your family vet may have seen even more than me since I typically see the surgical candidates and the emergency cases.

* Some people, like Mr. Jones, think that because bones are natural, they are safe. Well, arsenic is natural. And so are poisonous mushrooms. And so are grapes. But they're all toxic to pets.

* A good point was made by a colleague, Dr. Scott Weese, a Pathobiology Professor at the University of Guelph vet school. He says in his excellent blog at http://app.expressemailmarketing.com/get.link?linkid=2084876&subscriberid=94899447&camp aignid=555580&linkurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wormsandger msblog.com%2f>: "Bones could be a source of infectious agents like Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli, both for the pet and people, depending on the source of the bones and how they are processed and handled."

Indeed. And especially if your pet gets the bone out of the trash (yours or someone else's).

* Some readers will argue that they've given bones to their pets for years, without ever having a single problem.

What can I say? That's wonderful news.

My neighbor never wears a seat belt. He has never had an accident.

And my other neighbor smokes 6 packs of cigarettes a day. He has never had a problem.

You know where I'm going.

* There are plenty of safe toys, that are large and sturdy enough that it is doubtful your pet will be able to destroy them and swallow them or pieces of them. Even better, it's always a good idea to be around when your pet plays with such a toy, and to put it away when they are done.

Many thanks to our colleagues at http://app.expressemailmarketing.com/get.link?linkid=2084877&subscriberid=94899447&camp aignid=555580&linkurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.myvnn.com%2 f> for the tip on the FDA's communiqué.

Until next time,

Phil Zeltzman, DVM

Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons

Phil Zeltzman's Home page

dwerten · 05-19-2010, 05:36 AM

No Bones About It: Bones are Unsafe for Your Dog

bdb5853 · 05-19-2010, 12:02 PM

COOKED bones are NOT fine for your dog. RAW bones ARE fine for your dog. There is a huge difference. The articles you posted do not make this distinction clearly.

If you are going to feed bones, make sure they are the appropriate size (no chicken necks for example that can be sucked into to the trachea and block the windpipe). And always feed them raw. Never ever cooked.

05-19-2010, 05:22 AM	#1
dwerten BANNED! Join Date: May 2007 Location: USA Posts: 11,073	Bones from a board certified Surgeon Knick-Knack Paddy-Whack DON'T Give Your Dog a Bone! The Joneses had just finished a big weekend family dinner. Mr. Jones was wondering what to do with the ham bone, when in trots his Neopolitan Mastiff Sniffles. Ms. Jones tried to discourage her husband from giving the bone to their impressive, 120 pound, 3 year old dog. Mr. Jones: "Come on honey, everyone knows that it's safe for dogs to eat bones! What do you think wolves and foxes do in the wild? Eat out of a can?" Ms. Jones: "I'm telling you, it's not safe." Mr. Jones: "Come on sweetie, my buddy John swears that his dogs have beautiful white teeth because they chew on bones." Ms. Jones: "I'm telling you, it's not safe." Mr. Jones: "Come on Lovie, it's a great source of calcium." Ms. Jones: "I'm telling you, it's not safe." Mr. Jones: "Come on baby, it's just a ham bone. It's smooth, it has no sharp edges." Ms. Jones: "I'm telling you, it's not safe." Mr. Jones: "Come on Cutie, Sniffles is a pretty smart dog, she's just gonna chew on it, she won't swallow it." If you know anything about men, you know what happened... Mr. Jones gave the bone to Sniffles, who of course eventually swallowed it. And it got stuck in her esophagus, the tube between the mouth and the stomach... We can actually perform surgery on the esophagus by doing open chest surgery. We decided not to do that however. I will spare you the details of the (failed) attempts at removing the bone with endoscopy, the (risky and bold but successful attempts at pushing the bone into the stomach, the (successful) surgery to remove the bone from the stomach, the multiple daily feedings through a stomach tube... and the thousands of dollars the owners spent. Oh, and I will spare you the details of the heated conversations between Mr. and Ms. Jones... Some people claim, usually in a verbally violent if not abusive way, that it's safe to give bones to cats and dogs. So why would most vets disagree? Because we see the complications, we deal with the blockages, we perform the surgeries. We do our best to protect our patients and educate their owners. And on top of that, we try to help you save money! So please understand that it's difficult for us to encourage pet owners to do something we know is POTENTIALLY dangerous at best, and deadly at worst. Deadly, yes. Think I'm exaggerating? Well, I am not. There are at least 2 ways a cat or a dog can die because of a bone. 1. It could cause a hole in the esophagus and an infection in the chest. Or it causes a hole in the intestine and an infection in the belly (peritonitis). 2. Mr. and Ms. Jones may not be able to afford the surgery fees, and might decide to have their dog euthanized. So again, please understand why most vets won't recommend giving bones to pets. Incidentally the FDA seems to agree. They just released some information about bones. It's pretty amazing that this institution would bother with such a lowly topic, so please take it as a sincere attempt to put your tax dollars at work in order to protect our dogs and cats. Here are 10 possible complications related to chewing on bones. 1. Broken teeth. This may call for expensive veterinary dentistry. 2. Mouth or tongue injuries. These can be very bloody and messy and may require a trip to see your vet. 3. The bone gets looped around your pet's lower jaw. This can be frightening or painful for your pet and potentially costly to you, as it usually means a trip to see your vet. 4. The bone gets stuck in the esophagus, the tube that food travels through to reach the stomach. Your pet may gag, trying to bring the bone back up, and will need to see your vet. 5. The bone gets stuck in the windpipe. This may happen if your pet accidentally inhales a small enough piece of bone. This is an emergency because your pet will have trouble breathing. Take your pet to your vet immediately! 6. The bone gets stuck in the stomach. It went down just fine, but the bone may be too big to pass out of the stomach and into the intestines. Depending on the bone's size, your pet may need surgery or endoscopy, a procedure in which your vet uses a long tube with a built-in camera and grabbing tools to try to remove the stuck bone from the stomach. 7. The bone gets stuck in the intestines and causes a blockage. It is time for surgery. 8. Constipation due to bone fragments. Your pet may have a hard time passing the bone fragments because they're very sharp and they scrape the inside of the large intestine or rectum as they move along. This causes severe pain and may require a visit to your vet. 9. Severe bleeding from the rectum. This is very messy and can be dangerous. It's time for a trip to see your vet. 10. Peritonitis. This nasty, difficult-to-treat bacterial infection of the abdomen is caused when bone fragments poke holes in your pet's stomach or intestines. Your pet needs an emergency visit to your vet because peritonitis can kill your pet. So what's my take? Here are a few thoughts: * I have personally seen the following complications: 1. Broken teeth 4. Bone could get stuck in your pet's esophagus 6. Bone can get stuck in the stomach 7. Bone can get stuck in the intestines and cause a major blockage 8. Constipation due to bone shards 10. Peritonitis So that's 6 out of 10. I'm sure your family vet may have seen even more than me since I typically see the surgical candidates and the emergency cases. * Some people, like Mr. Jones, think that because bones are natural, they are safe. Well, arsenic is natural. And so are poisonous mushrooms. And so are grapes. But they're all toxic to pets. * A good point was made by a colleague, Dr. Scott Weese, a Pathobiology Professor at the University of Guelph vet school. He says in his excellent blog at http://app.expressemailmarketing.com/get.link?linkid=2084876&subscriberid=94899447&camp aignid=555580&linkurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wormsandger msblog.com%2f>: "Bones could be a source of infectious agents like Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli, both for the pet and people, depending on the source of the bones and how they are processed and handled." Indeed. And especially if your pet gets the bone out of the trash (yours or someone else's). * Some readers will argue that they've given bones to their pets for years, without ever having a single problem. What can I say? That's wonderful news. My neighbor never wears a seat belt. He has never had an accident. And my other neighbor smokes 6 packs of cigarettes a day. He has never had a problem. You know where I'm going. * There are plenty of safe toys, that are large and sturdy enough that it is doubtful your pet will be able to destroy them and swallow them or pieces of them. Even better, it's always a good idea to be around when your pet plays with such a toy, and to put it away when they are done. Many thanks to our colleagues at http://app.expressemailmarketing.com/get.link?linkid=2084877&subscriberid=94899447&camp aignid=555580&linkurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.myvnn.com%2 f> for the tip on the FDA's communiqué. Until next time, Phil Zeltzman, DVM Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons Phil Zeltzman's Home page

05-19-2010, 05:36 AM	#2
dwerten BANNED! Join Date: May 2007 Location: USA Posts: 11,073	Fda info No Bones About It: Bones are Unsafe for Your Dog

05-19-2010, 12:02 PM	#3
bdb5853 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: USA Posts: 115	COOKED bones are NOT fine for your dog. RAW bones ARE fine for your dog. There is a huge difference. The articles you posted do not make this distinction clearly. If you are going to feed bones, make sure they are the appropriate size (no chicken necks for example that can be sucked into to the trachea and block the windpipe). And always feed them raw. Never ever cooked.