Pet Lovers

[jaxs mom]

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@Citrine1 wrote:

@jaxs mom, Are you saying it's ok for dogs to eat chicken bones?  Other bones?  Not just chew on them, but actually ingest them?  I had always heard that you needed to worry about bones splintering and causing internal damage.  I feel more confused now than ever.  

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Yes raw bones are safe for them to ingest. Dogs naturally eat raw bones from smaller animals like rabbits and chickens and they need the calcium in the bones. It is not healthy to feed a dog a raw diet without raw bones or other calcium source. But don't feed weight bearing bones from large animals like cows except to be chewed on and in a big enough size that they can't ingest them. 

[jaxs mom]

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@rrpell wrote:

@Citrine1

Yes, I understand....it takes a big leap to get to the point of feeding raw meat!  When it was first suggested to me, I thought "ugh".  I wasn't sure if I could do it. However, my vet approves and my poodle breeder taught me as she feeds her dogs this way.   I just wanted to clarify a few things in case anyone else is considering doing this. The beef I use looks like hamburger.  It is not a "bone" thing.  The chicken quarters are whole and I have defrosted them in water (never the microwave).  I give the chicken to them, outside.  They are large poodles so they take the quarters and go off and eat, without a bowl, like they would do in nature.  I enjoy that part because there is no cleanup!  

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Exactly. My German Shepherd picks the whole pieces of chicken up in her mouth chomps down about 2-3 times and swallows it. My pug who is 13 and my chihuahua get their meat and bones cut into small pieces. My German Shepherd was raised on raw from a puppy and we initially ground her bone in pieces in the meat grinder, it mimics the texture they would get when weaning in the wild. She quickly transitioned off that to meat pieces though. 

[Citrine1]

@rrpell @jaxs mom  Thank you both so much for taking the time to explain this to me and for all the detailed information.  I really do appreciate it.  It sounds as if this works well for you and your dogs!