Bones Cooked Or Raw?

[Guest grammarules]

My nephew is an avid hunter. He gave my hubby some bones for our Shelby. Should they be cooked first My concern is any disease a wild deer might have.

[Trihounds]

I have never fed wild game go my raw fed dogs but whatever you do, do NOT give yours cooked bones. The heat dries them out and makes them brittle, which is potentially a very serious thing after ingestion.

[JAJ2010]

NO COOKED EVER!!!!!!!!!!! If your super worried freeze them for 30 days. I've always just fed them to the girls with no issues. I usually don't have room in the freezer for an entire carcass of bones for 30 days.

[Newgreymom]

RAW!! Never give cooked bones. Freeze for awhile if you are worried.

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

Cooked or smoked bones are a disaster, and my lab was the sickest when I made that mistake once with smoked bones that were a gift. All new rugs in half my house! Yay! During the night she became really ill and went to the other side of the house where we couldn't hear her. Thank god my awesome vet told me to give her mashed potatoes and she ended up fine. I will never do it again though, never. I'd look into the freezing idea.

[Sighthounds4me]

I've never had trouble with smoked bones. I get the huge beef knockle bones at a local butcher for my guys, and had one incident of poo. Wasn't really diarrhea, but wasn't solid, and it was in the house. From a usually VERY reliable dog.

 

So, whenever I give bones now, I give them all probiotics, and we all do just fine!

[Guest grammarules]

Thanks everyone. Have any of you given venison to your dog? Vet says she needs more red meat and it is real lean.

[Sighthounds4me]

Thanks everyone. Have any of you given venison to your dog? Vet says she needs more red meat and it is real lean.

 

I would, but whenever DH and I get venison, WE eat it! No sharing!!

 

Really, though, there is no reason not to feed venison. It's good stuff, and I bet the dogs would love it!

[JAJ2010]

I've fed venison bones and meat. The bones are yummy but the meat can be a bit rich so don't feed a lot at a time. I try to feed 1/2-3/4lb at a time with lots of bone along with it to slow digestion down and try to prevent loose poops

[Nichole]

When my son and his Father butcher their deer I get the bones and the scrap meat. My dogs love it! I do freeze the meat and bones because there is so much! I do not feed all venison at a meal, but add some in with the kibble. The bones have meat on them so that would be a dinner by itself.

[Guest spaztastic_fam]

this was very helpful...I got some soup bones for the dogs but I have never given my pups them before and I was nervous...they have been in my freezer for awhile now...I feel much better about giving them their treats!

[Guest greytbookert]

I've fed wild venison before both the meat and bones with no issue. I did freeze it.

[NeylasMom]

this was very helpful...I got some soup bones for the dogs but I have never given my pups them before and I was nervous...they have been in my freezer for awhile now...I feel much better about giving them their treats!

If by soup bones you mean marrow bones, you may want to reconsider. The one type of bone you really shouldn't feed is a leg bone from any large animals (so leg bones from poultry, rabbit, etc. are okay, but not cows, deer, etc.). The issue is that they're too hard to be chewed up so there's a risk that your pup will crack or break a tooth. Many people have fed them without incident, I did for quite some time before I knew better, but I've since heard too many stories to feel safe giving them.

 

My pups love venison and are able to eat it without any issues. It is lean though so if you feed it as a regular part of the diet and are replacing a fattier cut of meat, you will want to add some fat.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Bones should be given raw, never cooked or smoked (which is cooked, but sometimes folks don't think of them that way when deciding what to feed). Also, you want to avoid any weight bearing bone of large ungulates (say, cattle and the like). I personally wouldn't give weight bearing bones of deer either, but then it might depend on the size of the deer. The white tails around here are massive (though much smaller than a moose or the deer in WV - boy do they grow 'em big down there!) but there are smaller deer varieties (the kind that Northeasterners call "Parkway dogs" because they're commonly found along the NJ Parkway (and, you guessed it, the size of a dog).

 

If you're worried about parasites, freeze the meat before feeding.

 

Venison can have a "gamey" taste even to dogs, so it may take some getting used to. It's a red meat, but is also very lean, so don't expect it to put on weight the way that an equal amount of poultry or beef would (and certainly not pork).

[Guest Olivia0208]

If you're going to freeze - defrost before feeding.