Is it safe for my dogs to chew beef rib bones (after I've gotten the best part off for me)?

Answer 1

Dogs like bones, they need bones for their teeth. It's ok to feed bones to dogs, because they are different than we are, they can digest them.

You may have heard this for years, but sorry it isn't true!

Your dog cannot digest bones & in fact eating bones can kill your dog by causing intestinal blockages and/or puncturing through soft tissue in the gut, then cause death. These bone particles can build up over time. You may be unaware that this is happening until the day comes that you need an emergency vet.

Bones will break teeth, it's much better to buy a dog toothbrush & dog toothpaste to clean his teeth. In the last few years many products for keeping your dogs teeth clean have been developed. There are the nylon dental chew bones, the rope bones; you can smear dog toothpaste onto those toys. You can even buy dog food formulated specifically for keeping the teeth clean.

Once a year you should take your dog (once its older and depending on its teeths condition) to a vet for a real cleaning. This is done for dogs & cats just as it is for humans. The only exception is in most cases they must have their teeth cleaned under general anesthesia. The reason for that should be obvious, they won't hold still!



Rawhide chew sticks are ok if limited but dogs don't really digest those well either & since they are beef, they contribute to kidney failure in later years because they are also high in protein. The chew hooves that have become so popular are something else that have proven to be dangerous for some dogs. They splinter which like chicken bones can cause major damage in the stomach & intestines. Pig ears are next on the hit list. They can cause some pretty severe gastrointestinal symptoms as well, so I wouldn't recommend those either. The verdict on the newer cornstarch bones is in...dogs have been known to bite off pieces and choke on them (and some even died) just like greenies. The company that makes Greenies now has a new chewier, and softer texture. At least they tried to correct their problem. As for other companies, they just keep right on making their deadly bones and treats. For dogs allergic to corn, the cornstarch bones are out anyways. I have found that the new bones made with potato starch can be very difficult to for some dogs to digest too. Compressed Rawhide is the safest alternative even fror power chewers. They take longer to chew up, and the pieces come off in layers, so the dog is less likely to swallow a huge chunk and choke on it. My personal experience with my 2 big dogs is the compressed rawhide bone does actually take longer to eat, and I don't just "let them have it." I take it up after about 2 hours or so. So its more of a treat, and I don't put them at risk fr choking on it. See a link below for details on where you and I can get it...

What to use for hard snacks? Biscuits made by the premium dog food companies are a good choice. Carrots are great snacks especially for teething puppies. Also you can take some ice cube trays and put the dogs treats in each cubby (pick one that won't swell up in the water), and add some water to each hole. And then freeze them. When they are done, the dog has an ice cube to eat along with a treat inside! The coldness helps the gums feel better during teething & the carrots are healthy. Find a safe alternative that works for your dog depending on what kind of chewer he\she is. A fast to slow, light to powerful.

Do yourself & and your dog a favor, never feed real bones!

I hope I saved your dogs from a trip to the emergency vets and a hole in your wallet! :)

Answer 2

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/epOKw

She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 3

A few days ago I would have said yes. But I had my female pit bull get a bone lodged near her sternum and although it eventually worked it's way out I was very worried for about 24 hours. I gave her vegatable oil and alot of water. I always believed beef bones were hard enough for dogs but now I've changed my mind. I have had dogs all 43 years of my life and this is the first problem I have had with feeding bones. But save the heartache. I no longer will give my dogs bones of any kind.

Answer 4

Cooked rib bones are NOT ok for dogs. Once bones are cooked, they become more brittle and splinter easily. Uncooked bones are ok (even uncooked chicken bones are fine), but once cooked, there are very few bones that are ok for dogs to chew. Rib bones are too thin and break apart too easily. You can risk your dog choking, or having the bone splinter and cause major damage to your dog's insides, or even harm his mouth/tongue.

Answer 5

I used to give my lab beef rib bones without any complications. She just gnawed at them, but our Golden would swallow the blasted bone whole and I had to stop giving them both bones to keep the Golden safe.

As long as your dog is monitored to be sure he/she will not try to swallow the entire bone it should be safe to let them chew on the bone. Pick out larger bones that won't be easily swallowed.

Answer 6

Beef or pork bones are fine for dogs to chew on. Chicken bones present a problem however, because they splinter when chewed and can damage the lining of their stomachs.

Answer 7

I had a dog that loved bones, til he wore the enamel right off his four bottom front teeth and had to have them pulled.

In general, it's a good idea to only give dogs food, and treats, formulated for dogs,and that includes not feeding table scraps.

Answer 8

If they are raw then ok but cooked bones splinter.Make sure you pick up the bones right away after they are done chewing on them as you do not want them to collect bacteria

Answer 9

According to my vet. It is safe to use any type of bones.
Except those of rabbit and chicken,or I guess any other small brittle bone that are likely to snap and either choke the dog or cause digestive problems that could require surgery for removal.
Flat shoulder, or hip and thigh bones are the type he recommended. but that is for a large dog.
Happy gnawing to you both!

Answer 10

I wouldn't trust any bones... when i was younger my dad gave our lab bones all the time but after giving her a porkchop bone it got Stuck when she tried to poop it out. After that experience we never gave any of our dogs bones again.