1. The benefits of eating bones for dogs
1. They can grind their teeth
Bone is a natural tool for teeth grinding for puppies at the stage of tooth replacement. It can not only help dogs relieve the itching and pain caused by tooth replacement, but also promote the loss of deciduous teeth and the normal growth of permanent teeth, preventing the occurrence of double row teeth in dogs. occur. If the pet owner gives the dog some suitable bone grinding during the teeth replacement period, it can also prevent the dog from chewing and destroying the furniture.
2. Can pass the time
Most dogs stay home alone for a whole day after the owner goes to work. If there is nothing to kill time, the dog will also be depressed. So pet owners can also give the dog a bone to chew on to help it pass the time.
3. Can clean teeth
Many pet owners don’t brush their dogs’ teeth regularly, so the dog’s teeth are easy to accumulate tartar and form dental calculus. For dogs, bone is a natural tooth cleaning tool, which is more palatable than tooth gel, chewing gum and other products, and there is no additive in bone, which is safer.
4. Calcium can be supplemented
The dog’s physical development should pay special attention to the ratio of calcium to phosphorus, because the dog’s food is mainly meat, and the proportion of phosphorus in meat is relatively high, so the dog’s physical development should pay special attention to the ratio of calcium and phosphorus. It is easy to be deficient in calcium, and eating bones can help dogs supplement calcium.
2. Disadvantages of dogs eating bones
1. Damaged teeth
Because many bones are very hard, frequent gnawing on the bones can easily lead to loose dog teeth
, gradually wear out or directly break the dog’s teeth.
2. Scratching the intestines
Some bones are relatively brittle, such as the bones of chickens and ducks, which will form spikes after being crushed, which is easy to scratch the dog’s mouth Enteritis or oral ulcers are easy to form after bacterial infection.
3. Blocking the intestines
Many dogs don’t like chewing food, and often swallow it in one bite. In this case, it is easy to swallow some small bones, which are blocked. Intestinal obstruction can form in the intestine, and in severe cases, surgical clearance is required.
4, stuffed between teeth
When dogs eat some hollow bones, they will easily turn into flaky or spiky crumbs after being bitten. These crumbs are easy to It gets stuck between the dog’s teeth, causing the dog to not be able to eat normally and drooling all the time.
5. Constipation
Because the minerals in the bones will absorb the water in the intestines, it is easy to cause the dog’s stool to be dry. If the pet owner often feeds the dog bones, or once Sexually feeding dogs a lot of bones can easily lead to constipation in dogs.
Third, how safe is it for dogs to eat bones?
1. Choose raw bones
Because cooked bones are more brittle and harder, they are more likely to scratch the intestines or get stuck between teeth.
2. Don’t eat hollow leg bones
Because the leg bones of chickens and ducks are harder than other bones, but they are hollow, so the bones after being crushed are sharper , more likely to scratch the intestines. Although leg bones such as cattle and sheep are not easily broken, dogs will gnaw very hard in order to eat the marrow inside, which is easy to damage their teeth.
3. Choose larger bones
Normally, the bigger the bones are for dogs, the safer they are, because small bones are easily swallowed by dogs. resulting in intestinal obstruction.
4. Avoid overfeeding.
Dogs that eat too many bones will cause constipation due to lack of water in the stool. In severe cases, the dog’s anus and rectum will be scratched, causing the dog to defecate with blood.
4. Which bones are safer for dogs to eat
1. Cartilage
Cartilage is a bone with a high safety factor. Dogs like to eat it, and it can be easily chewed and digested. There is basically no risk. The only downside is that the cartilage is soft and cannot grind your teeth.
2. Various pressure-cooked bones
Bone cooked in a pressure-cooker is easy to chew, so it is also very safe, and there is no risk of scratching the intestines. But there is no grinding effect.
3. Fish head, fish tail
The smaller fish head and tail have no spikes and are particularly easy to chew, so they are safer than poultry bones, but because The hardness is small, and it does not have the effect of cleaning teeth and grinding teeth.
4. The necks of chickens and ducks
The bones of chickens and ducks are not so hard, so they are relatively safe. They can be eaten whole by dogs, but they must be big enough to let them go slowly. Nip and chew, so don’t chop into small pieces.
5. The tailbone of cattle and sheep
The tailbone of cattle and sheep is similar to the neck of chickens and ducks. These bones also need to be large enough to prevent the dog from swallowing them in one bite.
6. Rabbit and chicken-duck skeletons
Frozen rabbit and chicken-duck skeletons are also more suitable for dogs, but these bones have a lot of fat and need to be cleaned in advance To avoid the dog eating too much fat to cause intestinal discomfort or obesity.
7. Pig fan bone
The pig fan bone is relatively large in size, has a lot of bone marrow, and the hardness is not high, so it is very suitable for dogs, but if it is for small dogs to eat pig fan bones , Be careful not to let it be eaten at one time to avoid constipation.
To sum up, it is not impossible to give dogs bones, but there are many points to pay attention to, and there are also certain risks. Therefore, pet owners should pay more attention when feeding dogs bones. Once they find that dogs have adverse reactions after eating bones, they should send them to a doctor for examination in time.
