Is it Bad to Feed Bones to a Dog?
- Raw meaty bones are good for a dog's teeth and jaws.cow hoof image by Leonid Nyshko from Fotolia.com
Feeding a dog a "biologically appropriate raw food" (BARF) diet is becoming increasingly popular. According to Australian veterinarian Tom Lonsdale, raw meaty bones should ideally comprise 70 percent of a dog's raw diet. Chewing raw bones can help keep a dog's teeth and gums healthy and strengthen its jaw muscles. - The Food and Drug Administration warns that cooked bones, large or small, are bad for a dog. Hard cooked bones can break a dog's teeth. A dog may also choke on bits of bone that break off and get stuck in its esophagus. Bone fragments may also cause an intestinal blockage or, if sharp enough, may cause peritonitis--a potentially deadly bacterial infection of the abdomen resulting from feces passing through holes in the dog's intestine.
- It is up to the dog owner whether he wants to feed a raw diet featuring raw meaty bones, which can be beneficial when fed properly. Dogs should never be fed cooked bones of any type.
