Something else to worry about re bones

[sanford]

Here is an excerpt from an article in the Whole Dog Journal, describing the unlikely occurrence of a donut shaped shin bone getting stuck behind the canine teeth:

 

"... The bone was donut-shaped (likely, a cross-sections of a cow’s “shin” bone)... 

 

Cole got ahold of the bone and was writhing in distress and guys were jumping in, trying to see what was wrong. It was the best-case stuck-bone incident you can imagine: it wasn’t stuck in his throat or actually hurting him, but Cole had somehow gotten the bone looped around his lower jaw and was freaking out. If he didn’t have canine teeth (“fangs”), it would have slipped right off, but any efforts to remove it caused the bone to pinch his gums and chin. The guys tried to get the bone off in a number of ways, but Cole grew increasingly scared and anxious and defensive.

My son found an emergency veterinary clinic that was open, about 40 minutes away. The vet gave Cole a sedative, but he still fought any efforts to manipulate the bone, so the vet fully anesthetized him. Within about five minutes, the vet was finally able to twist and turn and unlock the puzzle and remove the bone. The vet then administered a reversal drug, monitored Cole long enough to see that he awoke and was going to be fine, and that was that: $250. Ouch."

 

I hope I don't sound like an alarmist... I'm neither pro or anti-bone... I'm only submitting this to give folks a heads-up. This seems like such an unlikely scenario, but as we all know, unlikely things sometimes can and do happen with our pets.

Edited September 9, 2014 by sanford

[hheldorfer]

Thanks for sharing that story!  As unlikely as it may seem, I know this scenario is entirely possible.  We are careful with *anything* round.  Just the other day, Buffy somehow got her foot caught inside her collar.  No idea how it happened.

[Dempsy's Mom]

Poor Cole.  Sometimes stuff just happens.  Glad he's ok.

[Malcolm's Dad]

Thanks for the heads up Sanford. Jimnconnie, who we haven't seen for quite a while, posted about their Cairn chipping a tooth on a bone. It was a shin bone I think. I think Idaho posted about having problems with bones too. This is a new one though, getting the bone stuck on a tooth.   Malcolm gets kneecaps. They are safe and keep him occupied.

 

  Does Buffy have the itchies? I wonder if she tried to scratch her neck and got the foot caught.

[Idaho Cairns]

Yes, I have had this experience with our Sammi--same thing, a large cross section of a cow bone that she somehow got over her canine teeth.  Fortunately she is trusting enough we were able to manipulate the thing off her chin and over the canines ourselves.  We have never given the dogs bones since.  I'm actually more concerned about slivers of bone than anything else even tho back in the 50's we would give our hunting dogs chicken bones regularly to chew and never had a problem. 

[pkcrossley]

 

i agree with many of these observations, i don't understand what advantage there could possibly be in letting dogs chew on bones today. i know back in the rough and tumble days, when kids went barefoot and hoped not to contract lockjaw, people thought letting a dog have a bone was an innocent treat. and if he didn't survive the encounter, well, he had a nice life, bury him at the edge of the bean field, and go get a pup from farmer shroder's new litter. different days. 

[hheldorfer]

 

  Does Buffy have the itchies? I wonder if she tried to scratch her neck and got the foot caught.

Yes - she had the itchies pretty bad a few weeks ago and that is quite possibly how she got her foot caught.  We have been taking her collar off when it's not needed.

[Hillscreek]

Agree with pk and don't give bones to Angus. But I have to say that my friend's JRT who is about six or seven now I think, has gleaming, gleaming teeth. She has a rib bone twice a week to gnaw on. She's never had a toothbrush in her mouth and never had teeth cleaned at vets. Of course it might just be genetics.... who knows?

[bradl]

I think for teeth, both are true!

 

I will say that for the years we fed unground bones (primarily raw chicken backs and wings) ALL the dogs' teeth were unbelievably gleaming.  Now that we feed ground, the genetic differences are clear again, and periodic dental cleanings are back on the schedule. 

[sanford]

 

 

...back in the rough and tumble days, when kids went barefoot and hoped not to contract lockjaw, people thought letting a dog have a bone was an innocent treat. and if he didn't survive the encounter, well, he had a nice life, bury him at the edge of the bean field, and go get a pup from farmer shroder's new litter. different days. 

 

Ah, pk...almost makes me miss those "good" old days!

[Malcolm's Dad]

 PK you've got me thinking about the old days. They sure were different. When I was very young my dad fed the dogs with the leftovers from our plates. There was commercial dog food but he dogs didn't like it. Some canned food they would eat but not dry dog food. Not sure how healthy the leftovers were for a dog. Not sure the dog food today is any better. The leftovers had meat and vegetables (and salt and fat). Today I see dog food advertised with meat and vegetables.   The dogs got bones all the time, beef and chicken. My dad said the bones are good for their teeth. There is no way I would give a chicken bone to a dog today they splinter and get can caught in the throat. I gave real beef bones to my last dog and Malcolm at first. Then I read about teeth chipping and other problems with the really hard bones like shin bones. My dad was a butcher and brought home fresh cut shin bones for the dogs. We were lucky no problems. What I know now Malcolm will not get a hard bone. I found the kneecaps. They are not hard and are not soft either. They make for good gnawing. Malcolm enjoys chewing. They do keep the teeth clean. The teeth are not sparkling but there is no tartar.  He will work on a fresh bone for hours. I'm not going to struggle with him trying to clean his teeth. The kneecaps are safe. No splinters, not hard enough to chip a tooth. I think my dad was right about bones being good for their teeth. I don't think he knew about the problems they can cause. All I can say is I'm glad we never found out the hard way.