[abbie's mom]

Originally Posted by Franceen

Thanks for this reply - I didn't know about not giving them weight bearing bones. Thanks for letting me know about this. I have found an online organic farm shop that do a bag of bones for dogs/stock and I was thinking of getting these and chopping them into smaller pieces. But, I won't know which bone is a weight bearing bone from the selection in the bag, I'm afraid.

Right. The density of weight-bearing bones is the concern. So, no matter how small the pieces, they'll still be teeth-wreckers.

I will have to think of another way of getting the bones she needs. Would a lamb chop with the bone in (eg cutlet) be safe or an oxtail chopped into smaller pieces? ( She loves it when we have roast leg of lamb as she gets the bone with some meat on it. Keeps her busy for hours. Now that it has to be raw, I shouldn't give it to her, should I? Perhaps the odd time we have it, doesn't matter?) If you could give me any ideas for bones that I could easily get, I would be grateful. I was also thinking of a piece of beef brisket on the bone? I buy all my meat online from organic farm shops as there isn't an organic butcher in my town. This makes it more difficult as they have a set selection of cuts.

ANY cooked bone is hazardous. The fact that she hasn't had a problem so far, does not guarantee that she won't have serious complications at some point. And, IF that happens, of course we know what will happen: "That dang RAW diet!" Your pup's system is designed to digest RAW bones - but cooked bones splinter. RAW Chicken bones are a good start. They are soft, and smaller breeds seem to handle them well. Honestly, mine don't do well on lamb, but you could try a lamb chop. Also, rabbit bones are small enough for her. Quail is another option.

I agree that the vet will blame the diet, I will try and steer her away from this and ask her to check other possibilities. I know I have a battle on my hands with other people and the vet not agreeing with my raw food diet. Just have to weather the storm of protest until they see that my dog is doing well on it.

How was the vet visit?