Dog bones: what can be given and which can not be fed?

A dog's love for breaking stones is known to every dog ​​owner. Bones are not only a kind of toothbrush, but also fun for a dog. There is an opinion that by crushing bones, the animal grinds its teeth, but in fact it is impossible to do this with a bone, rather, on the contrary, the teeth from this procedure in dogs become dull.

In order for dog entertainment to not turn into pet health problems, such as damage to the gums, teeth or esophagus, dog breeders need to understand which bones can be given to their dog and which ones should not.

A puppy, and sometimes even an adult dog, needs to satisfy an innate instinct, which is related to the fact that an animal needs to gnaw something from time to time. The formation of a dairy dentition in dogs occurs up to six months of age, and then, as they grow older, the teeth change to permanent ones. Bones or sticks for razgryzaniya most relevant during the change of teeth, and after the change of the dentition there is no need for splitting solid objects. However, it’s still not worthwhile to completely exclude bones from the dog’s diet, as they have certain benefits for the animal’s body:

• The dog's chewing apparatus consists of muscles and tendon ligaments, and in order to maintain them in a healthy state, constant training is required, performed by actively chewing at least 3-4 times from 7 to 10 days;
• the hard surface of cartilage and bone tissue helps to clean the teeth of the dog from dental plaque on the enamel and soft plaque, which contains bacteria;
• bone marrow, which is located inside the tubular bones, is a valuable nutrient that is rich in animal proteins, which, entering the dog's body, saturate it with the necessary complex of fatty amino acids;
• as part of any bone tissue contains natural sources of minerals calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and other trace elements necessary for proper nutrition of the dog;
• in the process of chewing and monotonous chewing, the animal gets the opportunity to simply occupy itself or calm its nervous system with excessive overexcitement, as well as switch attention from one object to another;
• the bones, being an object for breaking, distract a young dog from spoiling shoes, furniture and other household items.

If you give the dog the wrong kind of bones that are suitable for crushing, the animal may have quite serious health problems:

• sharp chips and edges of the bone fragments can cause injury to the gums or the oral mucosa of the dog, which will cause inflammation due to the development of a bacterial infection;
• bone pieces often cause damage to the integrity of the tooth enamel, which eventually leads to the formation of carious cavities and destruction of the tooth;
• due to the regular use of abnormal bones, the teeth of a dog can not only become very dull, but they also grind and sometimes break;
• damaged or diseased teeth cause inflammation of the animal’s gastrointestinal tract;
• fragments of small bone fragments can damage the integrity of the mucous membrane of the esophagus, stomach and intestines, sometimes even perforation of these organs occurs;
• large parts of the bones can fall into the trachea or larynx of the dog, it can be very difficult to remove them, such cases can cause mechanical asphyxiation, which can lead to death in an adverse event;
• fragments of bones can get stuck in the lumen of the small or large intestine, disrupting their patency partially or completely, it is often even the case that in such situations surgical intervention to restore the health of the dog is indispensable.

In order for the crushed bones to be digested in the dog's stomach, the acidity of the gastric juice must be quite high. If your pet consumes dry food or is on a mixed diet with partial addition of natural food, the pH of its digestive juices is slightly reduced, and the bones cannot be digested and absorbed by the body properly. To clear the stomach of bones, the dog begins to reflex vomiting.

Bones and cartilage are not a complete food for a dog, regardless of its size or breed, so you cannot replace feeding in the hope of saving food or natural products. The bone for your four-legged pet needs not only to choose the right, but also to prepare it in a special way before giving it to the pet.

Consider what bones you can give a dog without harm to its health.

• Beef bones This refers to large tubular formations that take from the femur and cut off the part located closer to the hip joint. It is better if there are residues of muscle fibers and tendons on the bone surface. Such bones can be offered to the dog in boiled or raw form, but after the dog has eaten the bone, it should be picked up so that the pet does not gnaw it into small pieces.
• Cartilage. Cartilage tissue in itself is a very valuable and nutritious product, which contains in its composition collagen, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and protein components. Usually cartilage taken from the area of ​​the ribs of cattle. Cartilages can be given to dogs of any breed, since crushing them can not harm the pet to health, on the contrary, this product will strengthen the dog's own musculoskeletal system. Cartilage can be offered to the dog raw or cooked.
• Meat and bone mince. It is cooked by chopping the boiled bones and mixing them with minced meat. For cooking do not use the bones of birds. The finished product can be fed a dog a little, 2-3 times a week. It is impossible to give such food to a pet often, since meat and bone stuffing is poorly digested in his stomach and it is necessary that the remnants of this food do not accumulate, but are promptly removed from the stomach and intestines. Sometimes crushed boiled vegetables and cereal porridge are added to such stuffing. This is necessary to enhance intestinal motility and improve the output of undigested parts of the meat from the dog's body.

For puppies, from the age of two months, soft veal ribs are best suited. The kid will gnaw off the remains of meat and cartilage from them, but as soon as the bone is gnawed, it should immediately be taken from the pet. Therefore, you should try not to leave the puppy with a similar dog treat one. If you want to treat your puppy with a beef mosley, then a tasty morsel must be large - This is necessary so that the dog could not accidentally swallow it.

Before you give your four-footed friend a bone, you need to make sure that the product can be eaten by dogs, and that it is absolutely fresh and clean, without any other impurities and odors.

To ensure that your pet does not have problems with the health of the digestive tract, It is necessary to exclude from his diet the following types of bones.

• Tubular chicken and turkey bones. They represent a danger to the stomach and intestines of the dog due to the fact that they tend to split into sharp fragments that injure not only the animal’s oral cavity and the digestive tract organs, but often even violate the integrity of the teeth. In addition, the raw bones of chickens can be infected with a bacterium called salmonella, and after eating such treats, the dog develops a bacterial disease.
• Pork cartilage and bones. Since this animal has a large percentage of animal fats in its body, not only its meat but also its bones can become an increased source of hard-to-digestible and digestible fat for the dog. Even boiled pork bones contain a large amount of pork fat. Raw bones should also not be offered to the dog for food, since pigs are a peddler of helminths, and the risk of a dog becoming sick when using such bones with the remains of meat fibers on them is very high.
• Rabbit bones. Despite the fact that rabbit meat is considered dietary meat, the bones of this animal are thin and fragile, which means that they are unsuitable for human consumption. Sharp fragments of rabbit bones can damage the oral cavity or the walls of the stomach and intestines, thereby causing a threat to life for your pet in the form of acute peritonitis.
• Lamb bones. Mutton products have the content of refractory fat, which is poorly digested in the stomach of a dog. The bones of a ram are small in size and fragile. When grinding, the bone tissue breaks down into small sharp fractions that can damage your pet's digestive tract.
• Fish bones. Their sharp structure is an increased danger to the stomach and intestines of animals. For this reason, dogs should not be fed boiled or raw fish, as there is a real threat of perforation of the digestive organs or sticking of such bone fragments in the larynx.

In addition to the fact that excessive cracking of bones can ruin your pet’s teeth, There are a number of serious problems, the consequences of which can be very sad, as they sometimes lead to the death of a dog.

• If the bone is stuck in the dog in the gaps between the teeth, the animal begins to have a strong reflex drooling. The dog tries to get the bone fragment that prevents it, but if it fails, then at the worst outcome of the situation, the dog may suffocate as a result of asphyxiation from his own saliva.
• When a large bone gets stuck in the trachea and blocks the access of oxygen to the lungs, when no help is given, suffocation occurs.
• If, after your dog has eaten bones, he has started to vomit, he should immediately be taken to the veterinary clinic, as this pet's condition indicates that it has an obstruction in the digestive tract.
• Sometimes after consuming the bones, you may notice diarrhea in the dog with blood. This situation requires the adoption of emergency medical measures, since, most likely, your four-legged friend has damaged intestines and can begin peritonitis, which within a few hours can lead the dog to death.
• It happens that small fragments of bones are collected in the stomach into a dense conglomerate, which cannot be expelled from the dog’s body by natural means. Cleansing enema, oil rectal suppositories, and in more complex cases, surgical surgery will help alleviate the condition.

For information on what bones can and cannot be given to a dog, see the following video.