Q. She was not given the turkey bones, she got them out of the garbage and does not seem to be in any sort of pain. She still has an appetite and drinks. Will this eventually go away once the bones are fully digested?
A. I work at a vet clinic and your dog will probably be fine. It's okay that she has diarrhea - but if she stops having BM's, stops eating, or starts vomiting - then it's no longer okay. At that point you might have a problem and it will be time to visit the vet for x-rays. For now though, just let her be...you can try giving her some yogurt to calm her stomach. Best wishes...
What bones would be safe for a 2.5 yr old german shepherd???
Q. I have never given my dog table scraps or anything but alot of people i know give their dogs chicken, turkey, etc bones... what is actually good and safe for a 2.5 yr old german sherpherd to have? thx for your advise
A. What a lot of ancient married females your question attracted! Because, with one exception, they have given you a pack of old wives' tales...
� Poultry bones:
Unlike the scrawny old free-range hens, the modern chook has very soft bones.
A large police kennel in Britain has fed thousands and thousands of chooks to their dogs without a single mishap. My dogs are very well-behaved when I arrive home with a pack of KFC - they love the bones, even though I have sucked every scrap of meat off them, so each chooses a good spot on which to lie down and watch me until a bone flies in its own direction to reward its good behaviour.
I cannot comment on turkey bones - turkeys aren't as fashionable here as in the USofA so none are on sale cheaply enough to become pet food.
� Dangerous bones:
Fish needles.
Bones from baked or roasted meats.
Bones with a person or other large live mammal wrapped around them.
� Safe bones:
Raw bones.
Pressure cooked bones.
I also toss my dogs the bones from pan-fried chops, but I don't set the pan for very high temperatures.
Dogs are VERY versatile, but their digestive system evolved to be perfect for animal protein - birds, eggs, fish, insects, mammals, reptiles - whether fresh or carrion. And they have evolved to thrive on the leftovers of human meals.
Dogs lack the enzymes to digest plant proteins, and even if they had those enzymes, their gut is too short to give them time to work. The way to make plant proteins digestible is to mill them then cook them - but cooking denatures the vitamins.
So the basic diet for adults should be raw meat-on-small-bones (digested bone has the perfect balance of calcium to phosphorus), supplemented by cooked table scraps when they are available.
Whole or half chooks, whole or half rabbits are fine. Sections of lamb or fawn are fine. When I can get it, a cow or deer that has been frozen and run through a band-saw to reduce it to chunks of about a lb of meat each is fine.
If in doubt, seek out lambs' briskets or rack-of-lamb or a sheep's spine.
The cautions are:
� Those scraped-clean beef-shin bones available at butchers & supermarkets have far too much marrow inside, and no worthwhile meat outside, the result being that a pooch who splits one open gives itself diarrhoea. If that is your only source of bones, split them, & scrape most of the marrow out before giving one to your pooch. Spread the marrow out over about 5 days or whatever time your dog's bowel action indicates.
� Perhaps once in its lifetime a dog will chomp a rib-bone so that it jams EXACTLY between the upper carnassials (P4s). The dog cannot make it move, but your finger can easily get under that bit of rib to force it off the teeth - the dog will then happily finish eating that bit of rib.
� If your dog gulps its food instead of chewing (something that kibble-fed pooches are prone to do), you must feed only bones too big to be gulped down.
� If you have a degenerate dog that needs an operation because it didn't chew a bone before swallowing, then IF it survives never again give THAT dog bones. I've never had it happen in my stock. Only very rarely is there any evidence of a bit of bone in their stools. Coyotes, foxes, wolves do NOT daintily pick the meat off the bones of what they kill, they eat as much meat as they can hold, sleep it off, then next day quietly settle down to dispose of the bones.
See http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_GSD_Source/links/Feeding__Nutrition__GDV_Bloat_001198556443/ for a host of information about different ways of feeding. It also tells you how to compare different kibbles, if you INSIST on using them - but note that the period in which bloat escalated some 18,000% perfectly matches the period in which kibbles rose from virtually unknown to virtually universal. I doubt that that is mere coincidence. And note the research recommendation that kibble be covered in table scraps.
To ask questions about GSDs you should be in a couple of the 300+ YahooGroups dedicated to various aspects of living with GSDs. Click on the name to go to the Home Page of ones you like the sound of. Check whether their "mission statement" indicates that they want to talk about what you want to talk about. If so, scroll down to the Monthly Activity display to check that the group is neither "dead" nor produces more traffic than you can handle.
Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly
"In GSDs" as of 1967
� Poultry bones:
Unlike the scrawny old free-range hens, the modern chook has very soft bones.
A large police kennel in Britain has fed thousands and thousands of chooks to their dogs without a single mishap. My dogs are very well-behaved when I arrive home with a pack of KFC - they love the bones, even though I have sucked every scrap of meat off them, so each chooses a good spot on which to lie down and watch me until a bone flies in its own direction to reward its good behaviour.
I cannot comment on turkey bones - turkeys aren't as fashionable here as in the USofA so none are on sale cheaply enough to become pet food.
� Dangerous bones:
Fish needles.
Bones from baked or roasted meats.
Bones with a person or other large live mammal wrapped around them.
� Safe bones:
Raw bones.
Pressure cooked bones.
I also toss my dogs the bones from pan-fried chops, but I don't set the pan for very high temperatures.
Dogs are VERY versatile, but their digestive system evolved to be perfect for animal protein - birds, eggs, fish, insects, mammals, reptiles - whether fresh or carrion. And they have evolved to thrive on the leftovers of human meals.
Dogs lack the enzymes to digest plant proteins, and even if they had those enzymes, their gut is too short to give them time to work. The way to make plant proteins digestible is to mill them then cook them - but cooking denatures the vitamins.
So the basic diet for adults should be raw meat-on-small-bones (digested bone has the perfect balance of calcium to phosphorus), supplemented by cooked table scraps when they are available.
Whole or half chooks, whole or half rabbits are fine. Sections of lamb or fawn are fine. When I can get it, a cow or deer that has been frozen and run through a band-saw to reduce it to chunks of about a lb of meat each is fine.
If in doubt, seek out lambs' briskets or rack-of-lamb or a sheep's spine.
The cautions are:
� Those scraped-clean beef-shin bones available at butchers & supermarkets have far too much marrow inside, and no worthwhile meat outside, the result being that a pooch who splits one open gives itself diarrhoea. If that is your only source of bones, split them, & scrape most of the marrow out before giving one to your pooch. Spread the marrow out over about 5 days or whatever time your dog's bowel action indicates.
� Perhaps once in its lifetime a dog will chomp a rib-bone so that it jams EXACTLY between the upper carnassials (P4s). The dog cannot make it move, but your finger can easily get under that bit of rib to force it off the teeth - the dog will then happily finish eating that bit of rib.
� If your dog gulps its food instead of chewing (something that kibble-fed pooches are prone to do), you must feed only bones too big to be gulped down.
� If you have a degenerate dog that needs an operation because it didn't chew a bone before swallowing, then IF it survives never again give THAT dog bones. I've never had it happen in my stock. Only very rarely is there any evidence of a bit of bone in their stools. Coyotes, foxes, wolves do NOT daintily pick the meat off the bones of what they kill, they eat as much meat as they can hold, sleep it off, then next day quietly settle down to dispose of the bones.
See http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_GSD_Source/links/Feeding__Nutrition__GDV_Bloat_001198556443/ for a host of information about different ways of feeding. It also tells you how to compare different kibbles, if you INSIST on using them - but note that the period in which bloat escalated some 18,000% perfectly matches the period in which kibbles rose from virtually unknown to virtually universal. I doubt that that is mere coincidence. And note the research recommendation that kibble be covered in table scraps.
To ask questions about GSDs you should be in a couple of the 300+ YahooGroups dedicated to various aspects of living with GSDs. Click on the name to go to the Home Page of ones you like the sound of. Check whether their "mission statement" indicates that they want to talk about what you want to talk about. If so, scroll down to the Monthly Activity display to check that the group is neither "dead" nor produces more traffic than you can handle.
Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly
"In GSDs" as of 1967
How often should you brush your dog's teeth?
Q. We just adopted a 7 year old maltese chihuahua mix and his teeth and breath are disgusting. The vet said they could clean them for about $450!
Is there anything else we could do? I've been brushing his teeth everyday now and they do seem to be getting a bit better. I also heard that feeding them raw bones make dogs teeth white and healthy. What type of animal bones/meat should I get and where can I purchase them?
Also, what type of dog kibble would you recommend?
Thanks!
Is there anything else we could do? I've been brushing his teeth everyday now and they do seem to be getting a bit better. I also heard that feeding them raw bones make dogs teeth white and healthy. What type of animal bones/meat should I get and where can I purchase them?
Also, what type of dog kibble would you recommend?
Thanks!
A. I never brush my dogs teeth, they are raw fed and the diet takes care of that for me.
Kibble has no teeth cleaning benefits, if it did our pets dental health wouldn't be as bad as it is.
If you want to feed kibble feed a high quality one, Innova, Solid Gold, and Wellness are a few. You can find out the quality of a dog food by going to http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com
Raw meaty bones can be given a few times a week, or daily even if your dogs main diet is kibble. For a dog your size turkey necks, chicken thighs, chicken feet, things along those lines would be good. You can find them in the meats section at your local grocery store. Avoid products with added solutions though, it'll say on the label. Also don't feed raw and kibble in the same meal. They should be fed a few hours apart as they digest at different rates and this can lead to tummy upset.
Bones to avoid include anything cooked, and the large weight bearing bones of mammals such as cows, pigs etc.
If you want more information on feeding raw feel free to email me.
http://www.rawfed.com
Rawhides also do nothing for dental health. They leave a nasty film on the teeth. Not only that they are a risk for intestinal blockage as they are not digestable. Many brands of rawhides are also treated with nasty chemicals.
*Also wanted to say Bindi the dog in my avatar had teeth as brown as her coat when she was started on raw. The vet was recommending yearly dentals for her. A week into raw there was a huge improvement, now months later her teeth are as white as this page.
Here are some pictures of rawfed vs. kibble fed teeth, these are of a cat but the same applies to dogs. http://www.rawfed.com/dental.html
Kibble has no teeth cleaning benefits, if it did our pets dental health wouldn't be as bad as it is.
If you want to feed kibble feed a high quality one, Innova, Solid Gold, and Wellness are a few. You can find out the quality of a dog food by going to http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com
Raw meaty bones can be given a few times a week, or daily even if your dogs main diet is kibble. For a dog your size turkey necks, chicken thighs, chicken feet, things along those lines would be good. You can find them in the meats section at your local grocery store. Avoid products with added solutions though, it'll say on the label. Also don't feed raw and kibble in the same meal. They should be fed a few hours apart as they digest at different rates and this can lead to tummy upset.
Bones to avoid include anything cooked, and the large weight bearing bones of mammals such as cows, pigs etc.
If you want more information on feeding raw feel free to email me.
http://www.rawfed.com
Rawhides also do nothing for dental health. They leave a nasty film on the teeth. Not only that they are a risk for intestinal blockage as they are not digestable. Many brands of rawhides are also treated with nasty chemicals.
*Also wanted to say Bindi the dog in my avatar had teeth as brown as her coat when she was started on raw. The vet was recommending yearly dentals for her. A week into raw there was a huge improvement, now months later her teeth are as white as this page.
Here are some pictures of rawfed vs. kibble fed teeth, these are of a cat but the same applies to dogs. http://www.rawfed.com/dental.html
Are dogs who eat raw beef neckbones at risk for perforated intestines?
Q. I've read dogs who eat chicken and turkey can get perforated intestines but what about if they eat beef bones? Could it do the same, or does that only happen with chicken and turkey because those bones are sharp? Help please?
A. RAW chicken and turkey bones are probably the safest bones you can feed BUT they should be covered in meat and large enough that the dog needs to work for his meal. Cut, bare bones are more likely to cause issues than meat convered ones.
Beef bones are usually too dense to be considered a good bone for a dog. Those laerge shin and marrow bones are more likely to wear teeth away than clean them. The only beef bones I would feed would be meaty ribs.
Before I knew better, we gave our previous dog a large marrow dog every week 'to keep her teeth clean'. She ended up with tiny tooth stumps as every single tooth in her head had worn away. And she still had to have teeth removed from periodontal disease!!
Beef bones are usually too dense to be considered a good bone for a dog. Those laerge shin and marrow bones are more likely to wear teeth away than clean them. The only beef bones I would feed would be meaty ribs.
Before I knew better, we gave our previous dog a large marrow dog every week 'to keep her teeth clean'. She ended up with tiny tooth stumps as every single tooth in her head had worn away. And she still had to have teeth removed from periodontal disease!!
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