Free food begins whispering your name, and can you safely give your dog bones? Premium Feeders are a very sensational topic in the dog world, racked with myths and facts and doubts that leave pet parents scratching their heads. So let’s gnaw on a card-carrying load of the barking mad myths, and the cast-iron facts, about feeding bones to your furry friend.
OK, onto the first myth: all bones are safe for dogs. Sorry to break it to your pup, but not every bone is created equal in the canine kitchen. Cooked bones are infamous for causing havoc, for example. They’ll splinter into jagged shards in your dog’s tummy faster than you can say “fetch!” That makes eating a high-stakes game that often ends in a trip to the emergency vet.
Large beef bones, more accurately, raw bones, have been pretty safe; these are the ones that have a malleable texture and won’t shatter easily into jagged pieces. But sometimes your dog will somehow manage to make problems even with the good bones — like they were from the literal depths of dog hell. Now, hold your horses and let’s talk digestion for a minute. The broad and frequently deployed assumption has always been that bones are indigestible; rather this is a one-size-fits-all assertion that doesn’t quite fit. Dogs are descendants of wolves, and they were born with a digestive system that can process some roughage, like bones. No, that’s not a carte blanche: oversized bones, or the much-maligned cooked ones, can spell gastrointestinal gobbledygook, too, and leave your pet in a case of the belly blues.
Ever hear that old wives’ tale going around about bones cleaning teeth? It is based on a grain of truth: when raw bones are chewed, they scrub the pearly whites, akin to a toothbrush, scraping off plaque buildup. And bones are no substitute for normal dental hygiene.