Beef Marrow Bones

[Greylover97]

I was at the grocery store looking for beef necks and shins to freeze and help clean the kids teeth. The store also had beef marrow bones, has anyone ever used them to help clean hound teeth?

[Hubcitypam]

People are going to tell you that they cause slab fractures but a lot of racing kennels knuckle bone their dogs.

 

When I had the rescue I'd buy a case of femurs at at a time and have the butcher cut then into four pieces each - two straights and two rounds. I only used marrow bones on my yorkies but oxtails worked better for them despite being pricey.

[greysmom]

You want to be careful of the sizing. I've seen photos where the dog gets their entire lower jaw stuck through the middle of the bone. If I was going to use them, I would ask the butcher to cut them in half down the middle, and probably horizontally depending on the length.

[RedHead]

I have fed them to all of my dogs with no problems, but I also know of dogs who have had slab fractures. This is more likely to happen if you have a very aggressive chewer or a dog with weakened/diseased teeth to begin with. My dogs mostly just hold it with their paws and use their front teeth to pull the skin/meat off. They chew on the ends a bit and then lick out the marrow.

 

The marrow in the middle is pretty rich. I usually scoop some of it out so that they don't eat all of it.

 

I have seen dogs who have actually gotten the bone stuck around their lower jaw (this can be prevented if the bone is left a little longer though).

[sobesmom]

I'll start off by saying - it depends on the dog, the situation, and the bone.

That said, my grocery store sells "Soup bones" which are beef leg bones a.k.a. marrow bones, for cheap. They're cut in 4"-6" lengths, and the inside hole isn't more than 1 1/2" diameter (too small for a dog's jaw to fit in). They must be the lower part of the leg.

Both my greys, and MANY of my fosters have enjoyed them. They provide chewing pleasure, help clean teeth, and are a nice distraction for alone training.

 

They are a weight-bearing bone - so they're HARD. If you have an aggressive chewer, it "could" break a tooth or splinter the bone, and it won't digest. I'd never give one to an aggressive chewer. If they can chew hard enough to break a piece of a marrow bone - don't give it.

 

The marrow - can cause stomach issues (pure fat) - so don't let them lick all the marrow out at once! Give for a bit - then take away. I threw mine in a ziplock bag in the freezer between lick/chew sessions. Perfectly fine to give back frozen.

 

Some dogs love to chew on them, some love to lick out the marrow. Just watch and adapt. I found that once the marrow was licked out, I could use them as "Kongs". Put some peanut butter in them and give them as a distraction/treat for licking and then chewing when I left for work.

 

My Sobe just loved to carry his around in his later years. He'd carry it, chew a bit, carry it then THUNK! Drop it. They're very loud when they drop them LOL. (Fun memory, thanks for reminding me).

 

Another fun memory - in the spring when the snow melted, we'd find 5 or 6 in the yard that had been lost over the winter. My dogs just got used to having them, carried them around, and lost them all over.

[GeorgeofNE]

Every Saturday and Sunday, going on 12 years now.

 

Never had any problem, although I don't ever leave a dog alone with a bone because they can get stuck on their lower jaw if the shape is just right. From time to time, a piece splinters off as well, and that needs to be tossed out before your dog attempts to eat it!

 

All my dogs have loved them and look forward to chewy bone day.