Dog owner warns against bones as treats

[Elyse]

A Carleton Place dog owner is starting a homegrown campaign against bones and hard chew toys after her English Springer Spaniel ended up with broken and infected teeth.

Deborah Richmond said while she would never give her dog Casey a chicken bone or something small he could choke on, she didn't think twice about rewarding him with a beef bone.

Richmond said she had been giving her dog beef bones as well as twisted rawhide strips for years.

She was shocked when her veterinarian told her ten of his teeth were either broken or infected, and that the strips and bones were to blame.

"The thing that bothered us the most was to find out that two of the roots were infected," said Richmond. "The pain the guy's been in. Because we have been giving him bones and rawhides for a long time."

Alta Vista Animal hospital veterinary dentist Dr. Yvan Dumais said he sees about four or five cases a week involving dogs with bone-damaged teeth.

"When they chew on the bone, it moves and goes off with part of the wall of the tooth," said Dumais.

He said flat rawhide or flexible bones are okay for dogs, but dog owners should avoid giving them anything too hard.

"When I go to a pet shop I am always amazed what people think when they give that to dogs," he said.

In 2010 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration put out a consumer warning against feeding dogs bones, saying that in addition to broken teeth, bones can also get stuck, injure the tongue or mouth, cause constipation or lead to abdomen infections.

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[aronoiiel]

Hmm I wonder what kind of beef bones specifically she was giving? I don't give my dogs raw hide but they get buffalo bones (raw of course) once a week for their teeth and chewing stuffs. Haven't had a problem. I know one time I gave

[mydiamond]

good post, Elyse! Never give my Diamond beef bones but now I know I'd never give him one O_O

[Elyse]

I'm not sure, Tiffany. Suka gets a T-bone steak bone (raw) once every 2ish weeks and he hasn't had a problem. Of course, he's supervised while eating it so we'd catch problems if he had any.

[aronoiiel]

Kiana and Diesel get tbones every now and then (so pricey lol) but I will NEVER give them lamb bones again. Well Kiana can't stomach lamb, literally, but Diesel loves it. Twice I've tried lamb bones and both times they splintered so bad I had to take them away poor boy was so sad it just broke my heart. I don't know what it is about the lamb bones but they suck lol. I can understand if they were the weigh bearing bones would makes sense as Kiana had her tooth chipped on one we got from the butchers; before I educated myself on the proper bones to give of course.

[Rosemary]

I think the problem is weight bearing bones - especially beef, they are far too dense. We also supervise when they are chewing on other big bones, and take them away after a while - I feel that if they can't finish them within a specified time, they are too dense.

[Marakai]

I sit on a fence,

This is a good post.

It's like when they say don't give a dog cooked bones, I know of someone who feeds their dog cooked bones on a daily basis with no issues..

In saying that I'D NEVER EVER feed my two cooked bones.

[Rosemary]

I sit on a fence,

This is a good post.

It's like when they say don't give a dog cooked bones, I know of someone who feeds their dog cooked bones on a daily basis with no issues..

In saying that I'D NEVER EVER feed my two cooked bones.

My parents fed their dogs cooked food exclusively, including cooked bones of all description without every having any problems. All their dogs lived long and very healthy lives and never went to the vet except for their shots. It is just one of those personal choices we make - like you, I would never feed cooked bones because of what I have heard, and there are people who won't feed raw because of what they have read/heard

[RoseWillow&Dexter]

This sounds like another fear campaign.... whats next don't take your dog in the car in case you get into a car accident? Don't take your dog for a walk because someone could attack you and steal your dog....it can just go on everything in life has a risk and can cause harm.

[Annette Gibb]

It is fine to feed your dog bones, and you wont have a problem unless they are: 1. Cooked, because cooked bones can and will splinter, and could choke your dog, or even stab the inside of their mouth or throat. If you know a dog that eats cooked bones regularly then either the dog has just been lucky, or he has actually been cut in the mouth a few times with no one noticing, and has learned how to chew the splinters into tiny bits before swallowing. When bones aren't cooked, they are flimsy, and do not splinter.

2: If they are weight bearing bones with little or no meat on them. Weight bearing bones can break your dogs teeth if they try to break them, which they will, if they don't have meat on them. If they have plenty of meat on them, then your dog won't be trying to break the bone to get to the marrow, but instead will be focused on pulling the actual meat off of the bone. If you know a dog that chews weight bearing bones regularly, you should definitely make sure all of their teeth are ok. This probably depends on what type of dog it is and how strong their teeth are. I will warn you though, I have always supervised them, and then checked their teeth afterwards, and Sam's teeth cracked where only a vet would notice, and the only reason they did was by taking an x-ray. He had to have two of his teeth removed because they had cracked a tiny bit towards the inside of his mouth where I couldn't see.( Sam is a husky mix, and has very strong jaws, and big teeth.) This then became infected and started rotting his teeth. There was only a tiny hole from the outside, but it got bigger towards the back of the tooth. It wasn't until I noticed his gum looking funny that I took him to the Vet, and they were both infected. They had to do surgery to remove them. (The ones at the very back that are supposed to be really strong? ) Since then we make sure weight bearing bones are meaty. (As instructed by the vet, and after doing tons of research.) You should ALWAYS SUPERVISE your dog while chewing ANY TYPE of bone. As said above, choose a set time your dog is allowed to chew on the bone, so you have time to sit and supervise, and then take it away. If you give your dog a weight bearing bone, make sure it has plenty of meat on it, and take it away when there is little meat left before they start to try to break the actual bone. I have learned the hard way, that it will break their teeth.

[Michelle Melsom]

Marius gets beef marrow (soup bones) all the time he usually licks out the marrow and eats the bits of meat of the outside and then never touches them again. He will sometimes grab one and start chewing on it but never long :/

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

mine ALWAYS have rawhide - they love it - it doesnt last long tho