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maggiefromnj · 01-05-2014, 08:35 PM

I responded to a very old post which turned out to be in the health and diet thread. I don't know how many people are active on that thread, so I'd like to open a discussion here hoping for some advice. I am going to post here what I wrote on that thread. http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...afety-all.html

I wrote: I liked the idea of bison bones when I read they have less fat than marrow bones....until I saw the pictures of some raw bison bones. YUK!

I don't want to give Maggie messy bloody yuk. I don't want to give her raw chicken bones either (can dogs get salmonella or e-coli?--although the e-coli bacteria "shouldn't" be in bones unless the butcher cross-contaminates)

She doesn't chew in one place. She got a bone this week from a friend. I guess its what you'd call a marrow/leg bone. Someone gave my neighbor some bones she got at our grocery store (which I doubt carries bison!) I'd say they were leg bones.. She had them cut into about 1.5 inches long and the center where the marrow was is about 1.5 inch diameter or so. The bone itself, surrounding the marrow, is probably .25-.5 thick. My neighbor said she had boiled the bones for about 20 minutes then froze the ones she didn't give her dog (larger shih tzu).

Maggie carried it everywhere she went for 2 days without actuallyl chewing it. Up the stairs, on the bed, back down in the family room, to her front door lookout, everywhere. Finally after about 2 days she decided to start actually chewing it! She always takes her treats off somewhere to eat them, and if its not worth eating right then she will carry it around for a while. Anyway, considering she goes on my bed and sofa I don't want her bringing anything raw or bloody. I also worry about germs/bacteria for her to ingest and to contaminate home surfaces.

I don't want to continue giving her marrow bones if they will make her fat. Maybe I will do what someone suggested and remove a lot of the marrow.
Should I boil them? They are plenty big and hard and don't seem like they would splinter despite the boiling. The boiling makes me feel better about the germs. I didn't know what to do about refrigerating it once I gave it to her, but it's been several days now and she seems fine. Shes been chewing it tonight for a good session, there seems to still be some color on the inside so I guess there's still flavor. She chews bully sticks sometimes too.

Any insights and suggestions are appreciated!

01-05-2014, 08:35 PM	#1
maggiefromnj YT Addict Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: nj Posts: 497	Re-visit the question about bones to chew on I responded to a very old post which turned out to be in the health and diet thread. I don't know how many people are active on that thread, so I'd like to open a discussion here hoping for some advice. I am going to post here what I wrote on that thread. http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...afety-all.html I wrote: I liked the idea of bison bones when I read they have less fat than marrow bones....until I saw the pictures of some raw bison bones. YUK! I don't want to give Maggie messy bloody yuk. I don't want to give her raw chicken bones either (can dogs get salmonella or e-coli?--although the e-coli bacteria "shouldn't" be in bones unless the butcher cross-contaminates) She doesn't chew in one place. She got a bone this week from a friend. I guess its what you'd call a marrow/leg bone. Someone gave my neighbor some bones she got at our grocery store (which I doubt carries bison!) I'd say they were leg bones.. She had them cut into about 1.5 inches long and the center where the marrow was is about 1.5 inch diameter or so. The bone itself, surrounding the marrow, is probably .25-.5 thick. My neighbor said she had boiled the bones for about 20 minutes then froze the ones she didn't give her dog (larger shih tzu). Maggie carried it everywhere she went for 2 days without actuallyl chewing it. Up the stairs, on the bed, back down in the family room, to her front door lookout, everywhere. Finally after about 2 days she decided to start actually chewing it! She always takes her treats off somewhere to eat them, and if its not worth eating right then she will carry it around for a while. Anyway, considering she goes on my bed and sofa I don't want her bringing anything raw or bloody. I also worry about germs/bacteria for her to ingest and to contaminate home surfaces. I don't want to continue giving her marrow bones if they will make her fat. Maybe I will do what someone suggested and remove a lot of the marrow. Should I boil them? They are plenty big and hard and don't seem like they would splinter despite the boiling. The boiling makes me feel better about the germs. I didn't know what to do about refrigerating it once I gave it to her, but it's been several days now and she seems fine. Shes been chewing it tonight for a good session, there seems to still be some color on the inside so I guess there's still flavor. She chews bully sticks sometimes too. Any insights and suggestions are appreciated!