Yet another marrow bone question

[ledhed]

After a few weeks of searching I finally found a source of raw marrow bones right under my nose.... in the meat section of the grocery, nicely wrapped and even labelled "Dog Bone".... and cheaper, frankly, than any other chew treat that I've purchased. And Napoleon LOVES it.... he's going at it like a champ.

I've taken a good portion of the marrow out and retained it, per your suggestions... he's mainly worried about cleaning the meat off at this point. He got it for a half hour yesterday with no belly upset... we're going to try an hour today and see how he does.

Anyway.. the question is, for those of you experienced raw bone givers: I'm wondering the size of bone you use. The ones that I found are about 8 inches long and 2-3 inches in diameter, and quite heavy. He can just barely pick it up by one end and drag it around. I wasn't able to get at the marrow deep in the center of the bone with a spoon.... I can't imagine Napoleon will ever be able to get it out. Is it OK for that deepest marrow to stay in there or should I dig it out with a knife or something? Right now I'm wrapping the bone back up and keeping it in the fridge, at least until all the meat is off it, but eventually I'd like to be able to leave it out for him after I'm confident it will be safe for him and not upset his stomach. I'm assuming you all give these bones whole, with the marrow cavity down the center so you could look through the bone like a telescope once all the marrow is out. It shouldn't be split down the center, right? Should I saw it in half maybe, so that he can access the entire marrow cavity, or just leave well enough alone? Also.... is there any danger to the teeth with these,.... I'm wondering specifically around the sawed off ends, where I can envision a lot of prying going on. Has anyone ever heard of dogs damaging their teeth chewing on these? Thanks all... sorry for the long-ish post.

JL

[sakirby]

JL.....

i personally like to give oscar the smaller marrow bones. i find them at the same shop i can get the larger ones at. or, you could ask the butcher at the grocery store to cut it maybe? i like that oscar can get his tongue all the way in so he can get all the marrow out. because if they don't get it all, and you don't scrape it out, it smells pretty bad ;) so, the ones oscar has are about 4 inches long. that way he can really get them clean. i know i don't really want to touch it and dig out the marrow :)

also, like judy said, for the teeth, i would just limit chewing to an hour each day.

yes, you are right, whole bones...once oscar cleans them off, i can see right down the middle. then i keep them around and fill them with peanut butter, or apples and give them to oscar when i leave.

also, to minimize the smell, i give oscar his raw bone for an hour, and then i refreeze it. he likes it just as much if it is frozen, and i think it helps his teething pain. so, i just refreeze it each time, until it is totally clean.

hope this helps! good luck!