Benefits of Feeding Raw Bones

Recreational and consumable raw bones provide vital minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, and they also keep your furry foodies' dental health in tip-top shape. But it's not just about nutrition; chewing on raw bones provides mental stimulation, exercise, and releases those feel-good endorphins. This behaviour goes beyond a habit; it's a natural instinct they're born with.

Types of Bones - Recreational vs. Consumable

Recreational Bones

These bones provide minimal nutritional value to your pet's diet. However, the advantages of offering your pet marrow bones as a natural chew are numerous: 

• Dental Health: Effectively cleans teeth and massages gums. 
• Jaw Muscle Exercise: Helps exercise and strengthen the jaw muscles. 
• Mental Stimulation: Provides an engaging endorphin-releasing activity for mental stimulation.

Consumable Bones

These are typically safe for complete consumption, though individual pets may have specific limitations. These bones can nutritionally boost a pet’s diet and even serve as a meal replacement for some pets. Other benefits include:

• Source of Calcium: Offers a rich source of calcium and other vital minerals, including phosphorus and magnesium. 
• Dental Health: Effectively cleans teeth and massages gums. 
• Mental Stimulation: Provides an engaging endorphin-releasing activity for mental stimulation

Choosing the Safest Raw Bone for Your Pet

Red Dog Blue Kat has created a Bone Selector Quiz to help pet parents select the best bones for their dog or cat based on their size and chewing style. You can also refer to the Bone Selection Chart at the end of this section to see which bones may be appropriate for your pet. Choosing bones that are appropriately sized and match your pet's chewing style is important because it helps reduce the risks of potential choking hazards, dental issues, stomach upset or discomfort during consumption. Before taking the quiz or viewing the chart, take the time to observe and understand: 

1. Your Pet's Chewing Style

• Gentler Chewers approach their meals with a more gentle nibbling or scraping technique. 
• Aggressive Chewers are enthusiastic chompers, savoring every bite. 
• Gulpers are a speedy swallower, in a hurry to eat heir food with little to no chewing.

Proper Chewing Technique & How to Teach It to Your Pet

Chewing raw bones is a learned behaviour so puppies, kittens, and adult dogs new to raw diets may need some guidance. For recreational bones, the ideal technique involves removing meat, cartilage, and sinews without fully consuming the bone. Avoid forceful chewing that could lead to bone cracking, increasing the risk of choking and potential tooth fractures. The safest way for your pet to chew a consumable raw bone engages the entire mouth, making use of the large pre-molar and molar teeth situated at the rear of the mouth. How to teach your pet proper chewing techniques with consumable bones:

• Begin by holding one end of the bone while offering the other to your pet. 
• Encourage them to alternate chewing sides by gently moving the bone from side to side within their mouth.
• Be patient and supportive, and remember to praise your pet's efforts!

2. Their Life Stage and Breed

• Puppies: Young animals with baby teeth may struggle with bones due to their small teeth. To introduce them to bone chewing, start gradually and hold the bone for them to get used to the idea. While they may not be able to eat it yet, this practice provides valuable enrichment and introduces the concept from an early age. It is not recommended to give recreational bones to any puppy that has not had their adult teeth come in yet (usually around 6-7 months of age).
• Seniors: Older pets, especially those with dental issues or missing teeth, might not be able to chew bones effectively. For these pets, consider using our ground meals that contain bone to maintain a balanced calcium/phosphorus ratio without the need for whole bones. 
• Flat-faced Breeds (Brachycephalic): Breeds with flat faces, like Pugs, Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, Boxers, Boston Terriers, and similar breeds, often have limited chewing abilities due to their skull structure and dental conformation. Keep a close eye on these pets and explore suitable bone options tailored to their needs. 
• Miniature Breeds: Miniature dogs have small jaws and teeth, requiring appropriately sized bones for enjoyment and chewing. Small dogs are prone to dental issues, making bones important for oral health. Consider options like Chicken Necks, Chicken Wing Tips, Cornish Hen Feet, Duck Wings, and Sardines.

Now that you understand your pet's chewing style and have considered their size, breed, age, and history, take the RDBK bone quiz and view the bone selection chart to see what bones are recommended for your pet. 

Bone Selection Chart for Dogs and Cats 

In the below chart, the columns represent your pet's current weight/size, and the rows represent the type of chewer your pet is. Each suggested bone should be relative to your pet's size (i.e. if you have a medium pet, you will likely require medium size marrow bones). 

	Small (<25lb)	Medium (25-60lb)	Large (>60lb)
Gentle Chewers Only	Meaty beef shank (sm) Beef neck (sm) Beef ribs (sm) Boar bones (sm) Beef marrow (sm) Beef/Bison femur (sm) Kangaroo leg (sm) Lamb femur  Pork femur Whole sardine Kangaroo tail (sm) Salmon head/fillet Whole quail	Meaty beef shank (md) Beef ribs (lg) Beef patella (md) Boar bones (md) Beef neck (md) Beef marrow (md/lg) Beef/Bison femur (lg) Kangaroo leg (md) Whole sardine Kangaroo tail (lg) Salmon head/fillet Whole quail	Meaty beef shank (lg) Beef ribs (lg) Beef patella (lg) Boar bones (lg) Beef neck (lg) Beef Marrow (lg) Beef hock Kangaroo leg (lg) Kangaroo Tail (lg) Bison leg joint Whole sardine Salmon head/fillet Turkey neck (lg) Whole quail
Aggressive & Gentle Chewers	Beef/Bison knuckle (sm) Lamb neck (md) Lamb ears Chicken necks/wingtips Chicken feet Duck feet & necks Cornish hen feet Whole sardine Ox tail (sm) Salmon head/fillet Whole Quail	Beef/Bison knuckle (md) Chicken backs/frames Chicken feet Lamb neck (md) Lamb ears Salmon heads/fillet Turkey necks Duck feet & necks Ox tail (md) Whole sardines Whole Quail	Beef/Bison knuckle (lg) Lamb ears Chicken backs/frames Duck feet & necks Whole sardine Salmon head/fillet Whole Quail
Gulpers	Whole sardine	Whole sardine Cornish hen feet	Whole sardine Cornish hen feet

How to Safely Feed Raw Bones to Your Pet

General Safety Guidelines for All Raw Bones

• ALWAYS supervise your pet while chewing/consuming raw bones. Remove the bone immediately if concerns arise.
• Ensure your pet has been taught or knows proper chewing techniques. 
• NEVER cook bones. Cooking alters their chemical composition, making them brittle, sharp, and difficult to digest. Feeding cooked bones can result in issues such as choking, vomiting, diarrhea, or digestive complications.
• DO NOT serve on an empty stomach when your pet is hungry.  This may increase the risk of gulping.
• Thaw bones completely in the fridge before feeding (with the exception of softer raw bones such as Whole Sardines, Salmon Fillets, and Whole Herring).
• Keep frozen until ready to serve. Refrigerate uneaten bones for up to 3 days. Discard bones after 1 hour if not in the fridge.
• Wash hands and all surfaces with warm, soapy water after handling.

Guidelines When Feeding Recreational Bones

• ALWAYS choose a bone larger than your pet’s mouth capacity. Opt for a raw bone around the same size as your dog's head to minimize choking risks.
• DO NOT give recreational bones to aggressive chewers or gulpers. 
• DO NOT allow your pet to chew the bone down to pieces that can be swallowed.
• Remove and discard (including kangaroo tail bones) when one or all of the following apply:
• The majority of the meat, connective tissue and marrow have been consumed
• Your pet reaches the brittle part of the bone
• If cracks or splinters are noted

Guidelines When Feeding Consumable Bones

• Ensure your pet has been taught or knows proper chewing techniques. 
• Note for gulpers: swallowing whole increases risks.
• Although considered a consumable bone, DO NOT give Kangaroo Tails to aggressive chewers or gulpers.

Potential Risks of Feeding Raw Bones

Raw bones can be safe when appropriate choices are made based on the size of your pet, the type of bone, and the style of chewer that they are, but feeding bones, like many other foods, can present some risks. We must be aware of the potential risks as well as our pet’s abilities in order to feed them safely. Remember: ALWAYS supervise your pet with any raw bone so that you can remove the bone immediately if concerns arise.

Fractured Teeth

Fractured teeth and worn teeth are considered a risk when allowing a pet to chew on almost anything. With bones these risks can be mitigated/eliminated via proper bone selection for your individual pet’s size and chewing style. Here are some tips to help avoid fractured teeth:

• Do not give recreational bones to aggressive chewers. In particular, weight bearing bones of large animals are much harder and more likely to cause fractures in aggressive chewers.
• Fully thaw bones in the fridge before serving (with the exception of fish). Very gentle chewers may be an exception to this, as the bone will slowly defrost to a safer state as they chew. 
• Teach pets proper chewing techniques.

However, dental injuries can always happen, so be sure to always supervise your pet closely when they are chewing or consuming bones and take them away if any concerns arise.  It is also good practice to inspect your pets’ teeth and mouth often and especially before and after offering bones, so that you can recognize any concerns and address them before they become an health or medical issue.

Choking

When consuming raw bones, there is the potential for choking, however, this can be eliminated by choosing the safest and most appropriate bone for your pet. Here are tips and best practices to avoid the potential for choking when serving bones to your pets:

• Fully thaw bones in the fridge before serving.
• Never cook bones.
• Teach pets proper chewing techniques
• Feed raw bones on a full stomach (other than very meaty bones).
• Never give recreational bones to aggressive chewers or gulpers.
• When feeding recreational bones & kangaroo tails:
• Choose bones larger than your pet's mouth capacity.
• Do not allow them to chew down small pieces that can be swallowed.
• Remove and discard when: most of the meat, connective tissue and marrow have been consumed; they reach the brittle part of the bone; or cracks/splinters are noted.
• Know how to perform the Heimlich maneuver on your pet. Watch an instructional video here. 

Gastrointestinal Upset/Complications

Gastrointestinal issues can have many different causes, such as consuming too much bone marrow, eating large pieces of bone, gastrointestinal sensitivities, etc. There are a few tips and tricks to help avoid gastrointestinal issues when feeding raw bones:

• NEVER feed cooked bones - ALWAYS fully thaw them in the fridge and serve raw.
• Only give bones 1-2 times per week for adults and 3-4 times for puppies and kittens. Too much bone can result in constipation and discomfort.
• Transition slowly to allow time for adjustments in the digestive tract to take place. One recommendation is to start with ground raw bone meals for a period of 14-30 days before introducing whole raw bones.
• Feed raw bones on a full stomach (other than very meaty bones).
• Never give recreational bones to aggressive chewers or gulpers.
• When feeding recreational bones & kangaroo tails:
• Choose bones larger than your pet's mouth capacity.
• Do not allow them to chew down small pieces that can be swallowed.
• Remove and discard when: most of the meat, connective tissue and marrow have been consumed; they reach the brittle part of the bone; or cracks/splinters are noted.

Red Dog Blue Kat has a quiz you can complete in order to get a list of recommended bone options based on your pet's size and chewing style. Take the RDBK bone quiz  for some guidance.