knuckle bones

[Nena]

My vet told me that raw knuckle bones were good for dogs to chew on. I have tried at the butcher and grocery store and they don't carry them anymore. just the raw marrow bones they call soup bones. pet stores only carry smoked knuckle bones or raw femur bones. 

so now I don't know what to buy.

anyone give bones to there dogs.  I am looking for the teeth cleaning and they would like to clew them to.

I have my Nena the cairn terrier, and a collie named cash.

 

[bradl]

We had to look around to find knuckle bones. Some of the larger and specialty-oriented groceries would carry them. 

[Nena]

thank bradL will try those kinds of stores. so your dogs do well on raw knuckle bones

[bradl]

They did for many years. To be honest we eventually stopped feeding them after a slab fracture. 

 

I will say that I do sometimes think that that the loss of an occasional tooth via damage may actually be a reasonable trade-off compared to the nearly inevitable loss of many teeth from NOT having the benefit of raw bones.  For me it's one of those puzzling trade-offs where there seem to be No Right Answers and more a matter of what your comfort level is at a given time.

 

We do feed raw (meat+bones, veg, tripe, etc.)  but pre-ground. Yet, I'll feed kibble for a few days if the dogs are being house-sat and it seems easier for the sitter, or in certain situations on the road, etc. 

[Malcolm's Dad]

I've been using smoked kneecaps that are found in the pet section of Menards. Malcolm did get smoked knuckle bones. Here is what I found. Knuckle bones last for a long time. Malcolm would chew them for days and days. He would get tired of the used one and want a new one. They are good for cleaning the teeth, they won't be gleaming white like a vet visit cleaning. They do a good job and keep the tartar off the teeth. Problem is they are hard. I would hear cracking like noises sometimes when he really chomped down on one. One time jimnconnie posted their dog chipped a tooth while chewing on a bone. Not sure what kind of bone it was. That got me worried. One day I noticed the kneecap and tried one. The kneecaps are not as hard as the knuckle bones and don't last as long. Malcolm can get two or three days max out of one. They aren't that soft either so they are good for getting the teeth clean and give Malcolm a good chew without the worry of chipping a tooth. They clean the teeth just as good as the knuckle bones. They seem safe to me so I've been using them for years now. They aren't as good as a vet cleaning. They do an acceptable job.

[Tuesday]

Murphy gets kneecaps from our local feed store.  They are pretty soft, have never splintered, and do a great job of getting his toofies clean.  We've never brushed his teeth or taken him to the vet for a cleaning and each year at his check up his vet is impressed.

[Nena]

Thanks everyone for input. It is a worry about broken teeth but worth the try

[sanford]

 

We do feed raw (meat+bones, veg, tripe, etc.)  but pre-ground. Yet, I'll feed kibble for a few days if the dogs are being house-sat and it seems easier for the sitter, or in certain situations on the road, etc. 

How in the world do you get your dogs to accept kibble after having fed them yummy raw meat+bones, veg, tripe, etc.? Ruffy loves his raw frozen diet and won't eat kibble now. 

[bradl]

These guys would probably eat dirt if I put it in a bowl around dinnertime.  

[sanford]

These guys would probably eat dirt if I put it in a bowl around dinnertime.  

[bradl]

just sayin'