Why raw bones are more than a dog separation anxiety cure!

So by now I’m sure most of you have heard to never feed your dog bones and then you hear a conflicting view that bones are great for your dog! What gives? Are they good or are they bad? Actually both are true…

As a dog I’m here to tell you that RAW bones are GREAT! They have many benefits which including:

• Clean teeth (save money on expensive doggie dental bills!)
• Good breath
• Naturally expressing my anal glands (gross I know)
• Mental exercise (which helps with dog separation anxiety because it makes us dogs tired)
• Physical exercise for my jaws

So why do I say that bones are bad for dogs? Well there are a few rules that you should follow when feeding bones to your dog and they are as follows:

• NEVER FEED COOKED BONES because they splinter and can cause intestinal problems, this includes smoked bones
• NEVER feed weight bearing bones, especially of larger animals. These bones are stronger and tend to chip and break dog’s teeth. I have a broken took myself from a marrow bone, luckily it wasn’t a molar!
• I’ve heard that some of the best bones are knuckle bones, lamb shanks and necks because they are soft and of course chicken carcasses and turkey necks.
• Whatever bones you feed make sure they are appropriately sized for your dog
• Never feed your dog a bone unattended. Keep an eye on them in case they choke and you need to come to give them the doggie Heimlich maneuver! If your dog has separation anxiety and you want to tire them out before you leave them home alone then give it to them an hour before you leave to mentally tire you dog friend out. A dog trainer once told my owner that after a dog chews on a bone for 30 minutes or more we will release endorphines that help us relax and feel satisfied.
• Just to drive the point home NEVER FEED COOKED BONES!!

The photo shows what happened when I ate a weight baring beef marrow bone! You can see that my tooth got chipped. It didn’t hurt but it could have it I had cracked a molar!

I hope you learned that bones are good for you! If you have questions about RAW bones below then please feel free to post and if I don’t know the answer I can point you in the right direction to a person who will know, I’m just a dog after all and I don’t know EVERYTHING!

Woof!
Manchego the Anxious Dog