Frozen Or Fresh Bones?

[Brandiandwe]

Query: I've been giving my gang frozen turkey necks and chicken carcasses, but someone has just told me that they can splinter (like cooked ones I guess). Is this the case? Obviously if so I'll start thawing things out but the frozen ones have been good in summer and they seem to make the gang work much harder.

[krissy]

My problem with thawed is lack of chewing. The first turkey neck I ever gave Summit was thawed. He choked it down without chewing. It was awful. First I thought he might choke to death. Then once he finally managed to get it down I worried for the next day that the unchewed bones would cause an obstruction. Now I only feed them frozen. I hadn't heard anything about the bones splintering when frozen, so I can't comment on that.

Edited April 10, 2014 by krissy

[Brandiandwe]

Yes. That was a problem I had with Brandi. Not only her swallowing them, but then her regurgitating inside.

[Guest roweboy]

I'm new to all this but I've been giving my 80 lb gh some huge, frozen turkey necks, 1 per week. They must be about a pound each and I use them to replace one meal. I run them under cold water for a minute to get the extra ice off and he lies down with them in the yard for a good long chew. I'm glad he's not a gulper because that would make me panic! I keep an eye on him while he's at it. His teeth look amazing (he'll be 3 in a month). Sometimes he gets an upset tummy for a day after them, but nothing too serious, just wrecks the air quality.

[krissn333]

I just take them out of the freezer and hand them over. No issues and it encourages them to chew more. Ozzie certainly doesn't mind.

[HoundHeavenAZ]

Yep, we call the frozen necks popsicles here in the desert If they are the really large necks I will use the hedge loppers to halve them and then freeze them. I give them one to replace most of the evening meal about every other day. They still dance when they see me digging them out of the freezer

[sobesmom]

I've never had a problem with frozen bones.

[GreytNut]

Frozen here, straight out of the freezer. They last longer and oh boy, does he love his meatsicles.

[Guest chickenpotpie]

I tend to give them thawed to semi thawed as she's not a gulper, and she only get Tom Turkey necks (which are HYOOGE!) Chicken feet on the other hand I feed straight from the freezer because they're smaller and more of a treat than part of her meal(s). If your dog tends to gulp food down, then frozen may not be such a bad idea. I get my necks 30lbs at a time and they cut them for me (for those near Boston, MA

[RedHead]

Freezing shouldn't alter the structure of bone like cooking does. The only warning I have heard is about the large, weight bearing chew bones. I have heard of dogs accidently chewing down too hard on them due to the cold numbing the feeling in their mouth (since they tend to last quite a while). I don't think it matters for things like necks, thighs, etc. my guys like them frozen in the hot weather.