# Begley passed a good size chunk of bone... should I be worried?



## Rusty (Jun 13, 2012)

Warning... graphic poop talk!

Begley is on a kibble diet (Acana), but we give him a raw marrow bone once or twice a week to chew on for entertainment, mostly. Yesterday he was chewing on a piece of elk marrow bone and I saw that he got a little chunk/shard off of it, so I threw it away.

Fast forward to this evening after work, and Begley was really straining to poop. The first part of his stool was pretty normal, but he kept stopping on our walk and straining to pass more. Finally just a while ago he passed a shard of bone about 1.5 inches long. The ends of it were pretty pointy, but based on what I recall it seems that this shard composes most, if not all, of the shard he broke off the bone and swallowed last night. None of the stool had blood in it, and he's continued to eat and drink normally, but I admit I'm a bit concerned still.

Any thoughts/experiences? Does it seem like we should be in the clear now that this shard has been passed, or is there anything I should be worried about or looking out for?


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I think you should be OK this time, but marrow bones should be avoided for just this reason. Sharp flakes and shards can break off, and do a lot of damage (and chewing on the hard bone can damage teeth, too). Much better to give softer bones (raw, of course) that can be consumed with no problem. I'd do watchful waiting, and take him to the vet if there are any signs of fever, lethargy, or internal bleeding.


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## Lene (Jan 18, 2013)

I think marrow bones are mostly weight bearing bones, and should not be fed to a dog... A lot of dogs only get the marrow out, and leave the actual bone, and a lot of people stuff these bones (after the marrow is out) with kipple, peanut butter etc.... They are great recreational bones, if you dog is not a great chewer...


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I don't feed marrow bones because of this issue and because they are so hard I worry about Swizzle breaking his teeth on these. Raw chicken bones are ideal. I think FJM's advice is right on the money as usual.


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## Rusty (Jun 13, 2012)

Thanks. Things seem okay this morning. Begley had a normal poop on his walk with no visible blood. He was wanting to sit down a fair bit, though, which makes me think that maybe things are a little irritated still. No more straining, though, and he was energetic on his walk and ate his breakfast well, so hopefully we're okay this time?

Begley's not a power chewer and normally doesn't get any pieces of the bones, but this time there was a little ridge on the side that I didn't notice, and he broke some of that off. Scary stuff.

So for safer recreational chewing options, what should I look for at the store? I read chicken backs/necks, but is there anything else? Specifics are appreciated.


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

We use raw marrow bones all the time, and have never had trouble. But, this is something for me to think about as well. Knuckle bones would be good I would think, and possibly hooves.


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