01/25/2025
The Importance of Femur Bones in your Dog's Diet
First and foremost, femur bone is a great source of calcium and phos- phorus, two minerals that are present in appropriate percentages for healthy dogs, and are important to a dog's skeletal health. Bones are living tissue composed of living cells. Because bones are living tissue, they are a complex source of a wide variety of nutrients. These nutrients include min- erals embedded in protein, fat and fat-soluble vitamins, marrow which
contains iron, and natural antioxidants. A meat based diet without bones supplies far too little clacium for a healthy dog, and throws the ideal cal- cium/phosphorus ratio way off. A dog who receives too little calcium will suffer the loss of bone density, as his body attempts to keep the blood calcium level at an adequate level by drawing calcium from the skeltal system. A calcium deficiency can also result in a condition called tetany, which causes seizure-like tremors.
Chewing on femur bones also does a great job of scraping tartar off a dog's teeth, keeping the teeth white and the breath fresh. This is far more
than just a cosmetic issue. Tartar formation invites inflammation of the
gums by giving bacteria a way to infiltrate the gums and multiply. The resulting infections can wreak havoc with the dog's health, contributing to
problems with the joints, lungs, kidneys, and liver. Chronic infections can
also lead to the decline of the density of the bone in which the dog's teeth
are anchored, and tooth loss often results.
Dogs who have to work at tearing meat from bones reap the benefits of
all that exercise. A dog with a meaty,raw bone will often plant his front feet on the bone and pull the meat and other soft tissues away in sections
and scraps, exercising his legs, shoulders, neck and back.
Many of the dangers to dogs presented by bones are actually caused by chewing inappropriate bones. The most dangerous bones are cooked bones, especially cooked poultry bones which tend to splinter. It's also un- safe to allow a dog who tends to eat fast or chew aggressively to eat his bones without supervision.
Dogs whose teeth are already in poor, weak condition, and dogs who
chew super-hard items such as rocks, dried cow hooves, or commercially prepared dried or sterilized bones are most likely to damage their teeth or
crack a molar. Broken teeth do not commonly result from chewing fresh bones, even the relatively hard joint or "knuckle" bones or "marrow" bones taken from cattle.
When dogs chew on bones, they scrape off tiny pieces which is softened
or dissolved by the dog's powerful stomach acids and then pass through
the intestinal tract, where they are finally eliminated, often in a white, chalky stool. This is normal.
Dogs must be under your supervision while they eat their bones, not only to prevent any choking episodes but to avoid fights. Separate multiple dogs when giving femur bones.
If you decide to give your dog bones, start slowly. by limiting the
amount of time a dog is allowed to gnaw on bones at first. Some dogs are
so wild about their new treats that they attempt to swallow the bones
whole; some dogs never learn the trick of drawing out the pleasurable chewing experience. Anything you can do to encourage the dog to take his
time and chew will help his teeth.Make sure you build in some time to help transition your dog from manufactured food to a diet that includes
bone. This will permit their digestive system to "ramp up" the production of more and stronger stomach acids to digest the bones.Some dogs may
suffer diarrhea following their first few bones.Sometimes a loose stool is accompanied by thick,clear mucous.Since marrow is hardy and nutritious,
cut back on the dog's food. Skipa meal if your dog chews for more than 30
minutes. As long as these symtpoms don't persist beyond a few days, then everything is ok.
Any time you're dealing with raw meat or bones, proper handling is
important. Freeze or refrigerate raw bones until you feed them. Clean the
surfaces in your kitchen that the bones have touched, such as counters or
cutting boards, and wash your hands after handling them. How the dog
handles the bone after it's given is not necessarily germ-free, of course.
Lots of dogs bury bones, digging them up to snack on later. The bones decompose a little from the natural enzymes in them, but that probably justs
adds to the aroma and the dog's enjoyment. If your dog is burying bones,
you're probably feeding him too much, but I have a rottweiler that will
only eat yesterday's bones. He buries them, digs up the ones from the previous day, and eats them. I guess he likes the aging process. It's something
he's done for years. Whatever you do, don't buy the dried, baked,"basted"
or "sterilized" bones available in stores and through catalogs. These impossibly hard products are not intended for consumption, and pose a great
risk of damaging the dog's teeth.
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