“Should I Let My Dog Enjoy A Bone?” Find Everything You Need To Know!

Feeding bones to pets is somewhat a controversial subject for veterinarians and experts. The dental expert’s recommendation suggests that it is beneficial for a pet’s teeth and gums while the others say that it may pose gastrointestinal as well as choking issues. However, there is a good chance of it being a good thing if you take several precautions. Here are a few important queries solved regarding bone feeding to dogs:

Do bones really help canines?

Bones are one of the few ways of improving your pet’s oral health. Raw meaty bones are good for cleaning your dog’s teeth. Scraping caused by chewing on a bone massages the gums and helps in removing plaque. It is important that you feed a bone covered full of meat and not a dry, meatless bone. So, yes feeding bones do help in maintaining oral health of pets.

What extra care should you take while feeding a bone?

It is an unwritten rule that to make it a habit, or to teach it right, one must start the process right from the childhood. The same applies to feeding bones to dogs. Start feeding bones right when they are puppies as introducing bones later may not help your pup learn the correct way of chewing.

The whole bone in a single go is not advisable. It is unhygienic to put away a half eaten bone which leaves only one option and that is to cut it into half. You must never cut it lengthwise as it may flatten. Always cut it across.

Teach your pups on how it is only for chewing and not cutting through. It is important that you dispose the chewed bones and not let your pup have a second go at it. Always supervise your pooch while he is enjoying his bony treat. After all you wouldn’t want an accident because of his treat, right?

This is important! Never feed a cooked bone to your pet as it may splinter and is the major cause of choking hazards. Always go for raw!  Another important thing is that the bone should always be the size of your dog’s face so that there remains no chance of swallowing it the whole.

Should there be any preferences while choosing a bone for pup?

Well, yes there should be some preferences regarding the size and the parts according to the breed. For instance it is not safe to feed small bones such as chicken necks to large/medium/small dogs as they may easily swallow it. It is recommended to ask for “dinosaur bones” to the butcher for your large, medium and small breeds. Chicken wings or chicken necks may work fine with toy breeds. Keep the preferences in mind if you want your pooch to enjoy the bone meal.

Do you still think that feeding bones is a bad idea? Well, it may be a bad idea if you are a careless parent to your dog, but you are not. Isn’t it? Make necessary decisions and observe your pups gnawing on bones for their safety. Ask your vet about his opinion on this once, it might help.