Give a dog a bone?

Question

We've just had roast leg of lamb (which was gorgeous by the way...) Is it safe to give the bone to our dog?
If it's relevant she's a 8 month old westie.
Thank guys :)

I was just worried because I know they can't have chicken bones and wanted to check lamb was ok, can't wait to give it her :) thanks!

Oh see that was my worry, ok the bin it is..
ta

Minx not only did I have roast spuds, I also did yorkshire puds too!
Ah well looking forward to my diet... grumble...

Answer 1

Greenee is correct. The only bones that are fit to give to your dog are UNCOOKED beef bones (knuckle bones).

Cooked bones of any variety should be avoided because they can splinter and puncture either the esophogas, stomach or intestines of your little one.

My Westie mix LOVES to chew on knuckle bones and loves the braided bully stix.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Dogs have various forms and sizes,and the difference in sizes hence having different bone sizes.On the norm the larger and thicker the bone the stronger,and if the Westie you are talking about is a Western Highland Terrier,it should have small bones.Although their bones are moderatively strong,their teeth(mouth bones) might not be strong enough to chew a lamb bone.Remember that lambs are quite heavy and all of their weight is put to the leg bones for transport(that should tell you the strength of a lamb leg bone).If at all you want to give it some, you can break the soft juicy edges of the bone as well asthe cartilage.You should chop them up in order to make the chewing easier and alsao to prevent choking.

Answer 3

There are so many different trains of thought on this one. She is quite young and the whole bone may be a bit much. Also the marrow may be to rich if she isn't used to having bones. Boil it for a good hour after you have finished the lamb just to soften it more, cool it well add some of the stock to her normal food as a treat. We have 4 dogs. 2 Outdoor and 2 indoor. All have been fed table scraps including bones as part of their diets in with the dried food. They dogs range from 5 up to 9. All are in great health and have immaculate teeth.
PS...Lamb is FAB!!! Roast spuds too I hope???

Answer 4

absolutely NOT. NEVER EVER feed a dog a cooked bone of any sort. Large raw bones which they cannot get into their moths or break bits off are fine like a large beef knuckle bone.
With cooked bones there is a chance that they will splinter and pierce the mouth, gullet or intestines. Also if they chew off bits, these bits form a solid calcified mass in the guts and cause a blockage.
Raw bones are hard and cannot be chewed like this.
I have kept, shown, bred and rescued dogs for over 20 years and once a week they all get raw beef bones from my butcher. I enclose apic of one of the last fister litters I had with a suitable bone.

Answer 5

There are more than one reason why you shouldn't give the cooked lamb bone to your dog.

*cooked bones cannot be digested by your dog. They can splinter into very sharp shards which can do serious damage.

*Depending on how hard the bone is, it can break your dogs teeth.

*We season meat before we cook it. Thats why it tasted so good to you. Your dog doesn't need the salt. It is VERY bad for your dog.

If you want to give your dog a bone, try a non weight bearing bone from a small animal. Raw chicken legs or turkey legs with plenty of meat on them are perfect. The bones are actually quite soft and your dog can digest them with no problem. A raw lamb shank bone is also fine. You could have removed some of the meat from the leg of lamb so you could roast it for yourself, then give the still meat covered bone to your dog. I know my dog loved when we did that. It kept him busy for hours and never did him any harm. Just remember, no cow leg bones. They are way too dense for your dog to chew on.

Answer 6

I'd have to say NO don't give her the bone. I've found that if the dog can't break the smaller bones open they can splinter them and swallow the sharp little shards. The only bone I've ever given to a dog was a cow's thigh bone. It's the thickest bone. Even with that, I would take it away once I noticed the edges getting frayed. Hope that helps!

Answer 7

It should be absolutely fine to give this to your dog. Cooked bones are more brittle than uncooked bones so just keep an eye out for small pieces. You will have to trust her to attack it in the best and most appropriate way. She will spend hours trying to get at the marrow.

She will love you for it! Let your dog share in what sounds like a delicious dinner!

Please don't give her chicken bones of any form. These sharp bones are considered to be more dangerous for dogs than any other.

I can almost see the grin on her little face already!

Answer 8

Lots of valid points and a pile of worried paranoias. I'm not a veterinarian so I won't try to address the main question, just an aspect of it raised by the loopy person.

Yes, dogs in the wild eat an incredible number of things, wander around with plenty of parasites and gnaw the dickens out of bones. But then... dogs in the wild live much shorter lives than dogs in pet captivity. And their quality of life is much lower and I don't just mean having to handle all the details themselves. They suffer from ailments and infirmities earlier in life, those affect them more strongly and they linger like rich humans toward the end when they have the biggest pile of problems.

You betcha dogs in the wild nut up and do manly things. Then they die. Early and not very nicely. It's my bet not one person responding to this question would wish that on their dogs just so they can be "strong like bull" and eat bone shards so their owners don't have to buy as much food for them.

Answer 9

No beacuse they can easily choke on the small pieces that they bite off which can become easily lodged in their throats and its not easy to make a dog throw up, which wouldnt get rid of it any way...Id leave the bones to the bin if you have any sense and dont want to possibly watch your dog helplessly in pain...

Answer 10

You can buy specially prepared bones from the pet shop. Your best bet is to get one of those, that way at least you can be sure that it is safe. My dog has them all the time and absolutely loves them! Hope this helps.