Quote:
Originally Posted by alysonandhedley
Arent the bones sharp then when they are raw? Obviously its not something you really see yourself as the only chicken I buy is either a whole chicken to roast (in which case I dont look or cut the bones) or chicken breasts for recipes etc. I know how if you cook a leg of lamb the bones get quite brittle when cooked, but look quite solid when raw. Does the dog grind the bones in his mouth or swallow them whole?
|
Yes raw chicken bones are sharp. BUT a dogs gut has different digestive juices which are able to break down bone. My sister fed raw meaty bone from a year old to her dog - just grunched up chicken bone quite happily so did my grey'd when i tried. There was never a problem but as a previous poster said it is possible to get intestinal perforation if a dog hasn't got used to bone. Bit like a human deciding to not wear shoes, it would take sometime for your feed to harden - whereas in Africa they have always used bare feet. Start raw off on a young dog and they'll be fine. One never feeds cooked bone as they are brittle and splinter.
The claim that raw meaty bone will help avoid periodental and related disease isn't quite true which is the claim in Tom Lonsdale's book.
The real requirement is to get your dog to gnaw on a bone [raw marrow bone about the size of their head is a reasonable guide]. That will keep their teeth healthy from the front to rear - that is natural instinct.
One of my dogs won't touch bone; giving a plate bone and getting him to tear off the meat didn't help his teeth [and can't have chicken as he seems to have an allergy to it]. The other loves bones and so isn't a problem - but she's on dry complete now as well.
I liked feeding mine meat and mixer but i've changed to dry complete due to the one not liking bone. All dogs vary on dental health like humans. A friends whippet has always been fed on dry complete and doesn't go near bone and her teeth are perfectly clean.
The larger the kibble the more action the jaw does which i think helps - smaller kibble can almost be gulped down. I chose skinners Ruff & Ready as they kindly delivered free a 3 kg to try - helps only living 5 miles from them but very generous all the same. It is virtually the same as their Muesli mix and has kibble of varying size which helps crunching.