# Raw Meaty Bones for Toys



## katharine (Feb 24, 2012)

Hey All,

Just wondering what kind of RMBs people give to their toy poodles. Someone gave Gizmo a raw goat bone while he was staying with my parents for a weekend, so I'm not sure what happened exactly but apparently he threw up and had diarrhea. When I got him back he was really sick and after a week of vet visits it turned out he had asphyxiation pneumonia, probably from breathing in the vomit. Anyway, he's had beef marrow bones without problems, but he just licks out the marrow. I want to get him some bones to chew, I'm just nervous about him having a bad reaction or choking on small bones. 

Any suggestions?


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Mine get:
Half a chicken wing
Small pork or lamb riblets, one at a time
Bones from shoulder or shank of lamb - these are more recreational, but have some marrow.
I've never had any problems feeding them bone.


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Yes, he needs to be eating bone. Try chicken necks. Take off excess skin.

I've seen 5 - 6 week old shepherd puppies (smaller than tpoos) eat them whole. It's alarming the first time you see it, but it's completely 100% OK for a dog to swallow raw bones whole. I've had larger dogs swallow chicken drumsticks whole! Always funny, once you get over the shock of it.  

I ordered chicken necks for my mpoo puppy since he's not eating pork neck bones quickly enough that I can give him enough balanced raw diet in a day.


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## Lily (Feb 29, 2012)

Seriously? Raw meat for toy poodle puppies? Their tummies are fine with it? Just curious, i mean there are lots of germs on uncooked meat.... And won't the bones break their tiny little teeth? Someone told me not to start any hard food for my pup till he is 6 to 7 months old...


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Raw bones (not weight bearing bones) are soft. They dog eats and digests the entire bone.

Dog's digestive system's are not like humans'. It is, in a phrase, "short and fast". It is rare for bacterial to be able to colonize or cause problems. However, it IS there. People with comprimised immune systems can get sick from raw-fed dogs - even when the dog is completely healthy.

Just because a dog is small doesn't mean it is sensitive or delicate. Those tiny puppies do some serious damage with tiny teeth. 

Raw feeding is a huge commitment. After learning how much misinformation is out there in the raw feeding world, I wouldn't attempt it without my veterinary textbooks. There are too many ways to do it wrong. I was just reading a case study about a family switching to homemade food. After 2 weeks on homemade food, they were all hospitalized for a week, one of the cats died. Pets are not little people. You can't leave out parts of a diet because it's confusing or overwhelming. Once you understand it, it's simple and cheaper than high-end kibble.


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

I've seen 4 week old puppies eating chicken necks.


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

My Spoo was eating raw bone in chicken at the age of 5 months. Make sure the chicken is as healthy as possible and very fresh. If you can get organic that is even better. Always read the ingredients. It has to be just chicken. If it says with retained water that is ok. But Never Ever with Solution which contains salt and sometimes other chemicals!

Never cooked bone, as it splinters. I would suggest starting out by holding on to one end of the bone while your pup chews on it until they know what they are doing. Otherwise they might actually swallow it whole. (The first time I gave my Spoo pup a chicken leg without holding on th it he swallowed it whole and looked so surprised! I was shocked, but then he harked it back up and then carefully started chewing it up.) My Spoo has always choked on necks so I no longer feed them, but does fine with wings, legs, thighs. When he got older, about a year, I gave him the entire chicken leg quarter, which is better because usually it is cut to include some of the back and part of the liver. I still always stay in the same room with him when he eats.

Because he has been fed bone in raw I never had any problem with him chewing on things he shouldn't, like shoes, or destroying toys, etc. He is 11 now and still has some of his first stuffed animals. They are looking matted and rather ratty, but no destruction.

Stick with one meat only for a few weeks until they have adapted to that meat. If you start feeding several raw meats at once and they have a problem with one of them you will not know which one it is. 

*Study up on feeding raw from really good sources before you continue!!*

It is very rare to find a vet that understands raw feeding, so unless you have a good holistic vet in your area you are not likely to get any good advice on raw feeding from them. Most of them have been trained by the dog food companies and will claim all sorts of terrible false things will happen and insist you not feed them raw!

Fortunately there was one vet here that runs sled dogs and feeds them raw so they will be winners, so when I had a problem with my vet (that made my spoo very ill), I went to him for advice, and also back to my breeder who had even better advice. 

You have a lucky puppy with a parent who wants the best best for fur baby and is willing to learn the right way! 
If my spoo could talk to you, and to your little one, he would so highly recommend a raw diet !


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Excellent info from @kontiki, but this thread is 8 years old and the OP's not been back since.  I'm going to close it to further replies to avoid confusion. 

Feel free to start a new one to continue the conversation, if you like!


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