I was just wondering if you thinking giving your dogs soup bones is a good idea...

Posted By kimrose on 05/25/2007 3:02 PM
would a soup bone be like a chicken bone? I bet that would be yummy, but I don't think chicken bones are good for dogs... but I'm not sure. This is a good question though, I've always wondered what kind of bone I could give Mic when we're cooking something yummy

Erica, what's a knuckle bone?

Im not really sure what part they are but they are pretty big knobby bones. You can find them at most petstores some are even flavored. They are a little big for my two but they still love them and they seem to last forever.

I will go see if I can find an example online.

Soup bones would be a large bone, like a ham hock.  When I worked for the vet, that particular vet was VERY AGAINST any bone.  All bones can splinter and he did not like the idea of feeding any sort of bone.

"Soup bones" are usually the same thing as knuckle bones, with enough red meat still on them to flavor soup stock.  The worst thing about them is letting them lay around too long if the dog doesn't clean all the meat off of them in a hurry---they start to smell like rotten meat!  But they DON'T splinter.

Soup or knuckle bones from the grocery store are awesome, BUT DOGS MUST BE GIVEN RAW BONES ONLY!!  Any cooked bone can splinter. Not all raw bones are safe either, the large beef thigh bones are hard enough to break your dogs teeth. I think they're also called marrow bones. I believe the best bones for recreational chewing are the knuckle bones.  The huge end piece of the marrow bone that connects the thigh to the hip, or thigh to knee.  The knuckles I get in the meat department look to me like they've been cut, as they are about the size and shape of a pork chop. Occasionally I'll get lucky and find the whole knuckle, which is roughly the size of Oscar's head, if not larger. It's a pleasure to watch them work on them (and you should watch them) and know that they are scrubbing their teeth clean at the same time.       I limit my guys time with the bones to about two hours at a time, as they do actually eat the bones little by little.  I put them back in the freezer afterwards and I watch Lucky's poop for a few days to make sure it's worked thru his system. (his poop turnes white)

Raw chicken bones are fine too but I believe they are fed more for food as part of a raw diet than for fun time chewing.

 that's what I was wondering....having icky raw meat/raw bone laying around the house...and mine would hide it in the couch cushions!  I think I'll pass on that.

I buy the bones about every 10-14 days or so. When they first get them, Lucky eats about half of a nearly one pound bone,  I take them away and refreeze them. After their poop returns to normal, I let them have them again. After the second time, Lucky's bone is usually too small so I throw it away.

And as for MB's concerns, I definately make the bone thing an outdoor event, at least until they gnaw any meat off the bone.