Afraid Of Bones

[tamborine]

A while back I won a selection of Jones Natural Chews chewies & bones in an auction. Most of the stuff - tracheas, voiceboxes, bully sticks, tendons, etc. - I thought was OK, but I'm left with a bunch of beef kneecaps & beef rib bones. The kneecaps don't look TOO bad, at least they seem to have a lot of meat/fat/whatever on them, but the ribs are just bare long skinny bones. And I'm afraid to give them (ribs OR caps) to my dogs.

 

A friend of mine has a boxer, and the other night she was telling me how her Maggie loves to chew bones. So my dilemma is, should I give these bones to Maggie (since she chews bones anyway), or should I just get rid of them? I'd be devastated if I gave them to Maggie and then she choked or perforated her intestines. So I guess I just answered my own question.

 

But what would you do?

 

PS - We were discussing dog gas as related to their diet when the bone comment came up. Turns out Maggie eats Beneful, and I suggested that could be contributing to her toxic gas. Afterwards, my friend went online, did some research, and came to the conclusion that she's going to upgrade Maggie's food a bit. But at the time, I didn't want to seem like the Prophet of Doom or a know-it-all saying Beneful's not good, cooked/smoked bones aren't good, etc. But ARE smoked beef bones that bad? I mean, they sell them, and lots of dogs chew them (just not mine!).

Edited March 24, 2011 by tamborine

[Guest Swifthounds]

I would toss them. Heated bones are cooked bones, weight bearing beef bones are tooth breakers without real benefit, and bare rib bones are a choking hazard (if you're going to give ribs you want a slab, raw, and meat covered).

Edited March 24, 2011 by Swifthounds

[OwnedBySummer]

The kneecaps are supposed to be really good for tartar removal. Summer has some and she loves them. She never works a bone to the point that I think she might damage anything, though, as she's not a dedicated chewer.

[Guest d0ggiem0mma]

I wouldn't be worried about the knee caps at all. They're a weird sponge kind of bone that doesn't really crack or splinter. The ribs you have to be more careful with. I gave them to my crew once and they crunch up & splinter a bit too easy for my taste.

 

I give cooked femur bones all the time and have never had an issue with my dogs cracking them. One of my foster dogs (a giant pit bull) can crack them in half length wise but even then they don't seem to splinter. (I still take them away if they crack!)