This is a common question, so thought I'd make a post of meaty bones that I like for chi's for dental and recreational use ....
Other raw feeders - feel free to add to this thread with examples of what you use as meaty bones.
I use these in place of a meal in most cases.
Chicken feet (found at asian grocery stores). Cheap and a great "toy" that most chi's love. Totally edible.
Chicken necks. I like to remove the skin as its so thick and fatty. Again, I do not let Brody eat an entire chicken neck, too much bone. I let him gnaw on it for awhile, then take it away and throw in the freezer for another day. When it gets too small and could be a choking hazard, I throw it out.
Chicken wings. I usually separate these into 3 sections. The drumstick, the middle section and the wing tips. I keep the wing tips in a baggy in the freezer and give out in case of a loose stool. Works great. The drumstick and middle section are a meal and will be completely consumed.
Ribs. Obviously separate these. Great for teeth cleaning. Take away once it dries out and its stripped of meat.
Short Ribs. Not for gulpers. But fine for dogs that are careful eaters. One of Brody's favorites. He does not eat all this bone. Just eats the meat off and then gnaws on the bone for a couple of hours. I don't feed all the meat at one time, too much. I slice off the big chunk of meat and save that for another meal and just feed the bone with a thinner covering of meat.
Pork necks - try to avoid the ones that area really sawed up. Avoid bones that have been sawed like t-bones or pork chop bones.
This is not a complete list! But may help someone new to raw get started on figuring out what meaty bones are good for our dogs.
Thanks for posting that! It will help me the next time I'm in the grocery store, especially since I have never bought any meat for myself. I'm clueless! Those chicken necks are huge compared to the ones we get. I wonder if the ones I buy are cut in half already or if they're from small chickens. Odie has one for a meal no prob with normal poop after.
Great post. I love that Brody is so delicate with his food, mine eat like a swarm of locusts! Half a chicken neck is gone in minutes, ditto ribs, they don't daintily nibble the meat off, it is just crunch, crunch, crunch, gone! The girls even gobble down organs as if they are yummy (still can't persuade Harley that they are even edible...) they are such a joy to feed.
They had turkey feet the other day, went down well but I did trim the claws off first as they were big and sharp. (From a free-range turkey, not a farmed one, don't know if that would have made a difference.)
I"m glad you pointed that out Stella! That's a perfect example of why you have to know your dogs. Each dog is different. What works for one might not work for another. Some dogs are gulpers and it wouldn't be safe to give them a chicken foot as they'd just snarf it down and possibly choke. Some dogs just nibble and some gnaw. It's important to feed BIG if you have a greedy gus so they can't just inhale the food.
Awww turkey feet sound great! Brody would love one of those!
Just bought chicken necks and beef ribs. The sweet sound of crunching necks makes me happy and the pups too. I feed them raw once in a while, but never with bones. Kai won't stay still for teeth brushing (she smacks her head back and forth like a crocodile), she hates it and her teeth just keep getting more plaque. Hopefully 2x a week will keep her teeth clean or should I give them More?
This is a great topic! Thanks 4 the piks!!!
We buy the 1/2 chicken necks every week! All 5 dogs & 1 ferret like them!! I bought them chicken wings this week but they take my girls 2 long 2 eat!! They r very slow at eating them!!! Normally on & off all day!!!
I hav noticed a small amount of tension with bones. Pearl (who doesn't do this any other time) growls when ruby (not diamond thou) comes near her bone!! It does seem like a fair comment from pearl as ruby does tend 2 take them even if she has 1 not far away!! How do I stop ruby from doing this? Or is it because ruby is the Alfa dog???
It does make me look twice as pearl is my quietest!! She hardly ever barks or growls at anything I think she was nearly 4 months old b4 she barked!!!!
When a dog growls or guards something that is called resource guarding. Raw food is very high value. It is worth guarding. You can google it to get different viewpoints on how to deal with it, but I would just make it simple for yourself and when you give out high value items, like raw bones, put them in a crate or in separate rooms, so they can eat in peace, without worrying that another dog will steal their goodies.
This is really helpful! You may have seen that Pico badly fractured one of his large chewing teeth on a beef kneecap! I feel awful that I didn't know these weren't appropriate bones.
Thanks to you, my pups, who love to chew, have more options!
Very helpful post. I might have to ease into this idea (-: I have a question, when you give these types of items to dogs, where do they eat them? I have a phobia about raw meat on counters, floors etc. Just curious, no judgement of anyone intended.
You can feed outside. Or in a crate. Or in a kitchen gated off. Or I feed on a beach towel. Brody is trained to not leave his towel. After he eats, I throw it in the washer. Quick and easy and sanitary.
Tracy, I cannot thank you enough for this post!! I wish it would be stickied for easy reference. This has been a question of mine for a while, and you're right--it seems like it should be so easy to know, but it's not. The pictures with the description of what & how is priceless. I have studied dog food and nutrition for literally hours and hours lately--since Lulu's illness. I was so happy with Lulu on ZP because it was air-dried raw. I felt like I had the best of all world--raw without having to feed actual raw. I so appreciate the concept of raw feeding and understand the drawbacks to kibble, I just have a phobia about giving Lulu raw meat. I wish I didn't--I wish I could get over it. I have been barely cooking her meats: turkey, fish, chicken(she can't have much of that or she starts itching), hamburger, stewmeat, pork. I barely broil or bake, never boil or fry of course. From what I have learned it doesn't change the protein at all and almost no vitamins or minerals are lost. Only enzymes are destroyed, but the dog produces its own enzymes. I did give Lulu a raw chicken leg once (my phobia was overcome by dental needs) when she was on ZP because her breath was so bad I knew her teeth needed attention. You can clip her nails all you want, but brushing her teeth is like wrestling a greased pig. She licked it a couple of times and walked away. I know this is saying two different things--thank you for the raw meaty bone post but I'm afraid of raw, but I do keep trying to push myself in that direction.
How do you train them to stay on a towel? I bet my two would love these treats but they would run it right back to their bed (like they do all treats)! I like the outside option. Lady would probably try to bury it like she did with a treat once outside. Made me laugh.
Jaxx is the same way! I gave him frozen pumpkin not too long ago and tried to get him to stay on the towel but he kept running with it back to his bed. I would love to give raw bones for his teeth but I don't want raw meet all over my carpet.
Hopefully when we move there will be a way to confine him to have raw bones.
I just trained to the towel. Put it out. Put him on it. Told him to sit. Stay. Gave him the meaty bone. Praised him when he laid down on the towel. Put him back when he walked off it and said "uuuuh uuuuh stay on your towel." It only took a couple times.
Brody is a very polite eater. The towel thing didn't work for mine. Taz made it under the bed once with her chicken wing and it would take a braver person than I am to get her out from under there when she has a raw bone. Now I just pop them in a crate when they have raw.
Can I ask what anyone does about their paws after they eat? They have held their bones/meat with their paws, so there's a possibility that any bacteria that's on the meat is on their paws and they will walk all over the house and the furniture--or at least Lulu will because she has full access to anywhere in our house she wants to go. Does anyone bathe off their paws with anything antibacterial after they eat? And please, Tracy, ease my mind again that they can withstand bacteria in raw meat without it making them sick--let alone the thought of her choking on a bone.
It is strange with my dogs- and maybe this is totally normal- but neither Kerri or Copley like to get their paws dirty. Even eating a whole rabbit head or goat neck neither Copley or Kerri will touch meat with their paws. But also think about this- your dog walks in the yard where they poop. Poop is much more likely to have bacteria, parasites and other ickies than raw meat. I feed my dogs in their crates and I wipe down the crates every so often. In good weather when Copley is eating something bigger I feed outside.
A favorite thing around here is deer neck. I give it whole and then put it back in the freezer after they have gone at it for a while. Necks seem to be something that hunters are willing to give me a lot so you might have good luck getting a hold of it. Kerri just cleans the meat off of these but my 20lb dog can easily power through the bones so I think a more ferocious chewer of a chi would also get some bone out of it.
I only wipe their paws if they are greasy. Unless you are going to lick the floors/furniture it isn't really an issue. So unless Lulu has access to the kitchen counters you shouldn't have any problems.
As for making them sick, remember that wild dogs will bury a kill for several weeks and then dig it up and eat it with no ill-effects. So clean, fresh meat that has been kept refrigerated is no challenge at all for their digestive systems.
This is wonderful, Tracy!! I will for sure be bookmarking this and using it as a reference for anyone who may be interested. Thanks so much!! The visuals make it so much easier!! =)
Thank you everyone for your responses!! I really appreciate the info. and that you care enough to bare with me. Haha Your dog's nutrition is one of the most important decisions you will make in their lives, and I do not take it lightly for Lulu as I know the rest of you do not as well.
Hiya, I've been reading this thread and am amazed, I used to keep cats and know you can't give a cat a chix bone, but one thing I couldn't find and I mite be being really dense but do you give them raw chix feet ect? Or do you cook em? Xx
Brodysmom thank you for this information. I have a couple questions. On the chicken wings. With it separated in to 3 parts how many of the two larger parts would you feed a 6 pound chi at one time? Do they eat the bones completely on these?
The ribs, is the first picture a pic of what people call baby back ribs? Are these better than the chicken for teeth cleaning? Do they eat the bone or is the bone to hard and should be taken away after the meat is gone? Give one whole rib for a 6 pound chi?
I a looking at doing this twice a week for teeth health.
Thank you.
Thank you for this.
Ok, I think I have it figured out. The first pic that just says ribs is pork ribs? The second pic called short ribs are beef ribs? Am I right? The pork are a lot less expensive are they good for teeth cleaning and is it safe for the dog to eat some of the actual bone or are pork ribs not good for eating as in will they be to hard, crack a tooth, or splinter?
I bought some lamb ribs that had no hormones or antibiotics and I gave my baby one. She snubbed her nose at it. : ( I got a freezer with 10 more in baggies. I will try again.
Ooo the chicken feet look pretty good for my chi, is there anyway they could choke on the lil feet bones? I get a lil scared with bones as my staffy had a chicken wing (raw) and she must of ate it too quick, and we herd her screaming and we ran outside and she was trying to do a poo and the sharp bone was stuck half out of her bum hole and the other sharp side was sticking inside her, was splitting her bottom and she was screaming, wasn't nice, and never did that again!!!
I think feet are a pretty safe option, they are more cartilage than bone. You do have to be careful with bigger dogs swallowing things like wings whole, chewing is to be encouraged! Bones should be appropriate for the size of dog, and small amounts of bone offered to begin with, so the digestive system is able to cope and digest the bone efficiently.
Wow. Since the lamb ribs were not a hit I went and bought chicken necks. I took off the skin and on the advice of the pet store cut the neck in half. My little girl went after it aggressively and ate it really fast. I am happy she didn't snub it but now worry it was to small and she may have not chewed well. Should I not cut them in half? Are the bones so soft that she didn't need to gnaw on them?
Don't worry about the bones, they will digest just fine even if she didn't crunch them at all. Dogs stomachs are meant to digest bone like that, they don't need to chew like we do.
I don't feed chicken necks but maybe other people who do will chime in- I don't think you need to cut them in half but I guess you can if you want to. Also in the future there is no need to remove the skin, unless your chi is having digestive upset, then maybe remove the skin the first couple of times until they are more used to eating raw bones. Skin and fat are actually good for dogs in their raw form, no need to trim it too much usually.
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