As Stray Dog mentioned, the only real danger with bones is if they are cooked. With my dog, on the few occasions when I’ve given him raw weight bearing bones, he just doesn’t touch them. It’s probably not because they are dangerous, but because he just can’t be bothered with something so hard and heavy. One time he actually gave me a confused look which I interpreted as him saying “You expect me to eat that? What do you think I am, some kind of big predator cat?” He then walked away and went to sleep.
Did some research on this raw food isuue or as others call it B.A.R.F.
Here’s are a few links I have found on this matter.
mollyjones.com/pages/nutrition.htm
I have also found some opposing views.
secondchanceranch.com/traini … index.html
parkvets.com/petsandvets-barf.html
Maybe we could split this thread into a new one discussing canine diet. I want to hear what other dog or pet owners feed their pets. This is a really intriguing topic. I’ve never even given this issue about alternative pet diets a thought until Stray Dog brought it up.
Re. the sources on the Second Chance Ranch site, I checked into the background of those sources against a raw diet.
Robert Vansaun makes and markets his own commercial diet. He also argues that wolves cannot thrive on a raw diet, and instead require all food to be cooked. :loco:
Jim Lincoln’s research (Washington State - see last source) was sponsored by Purina, as is Julie Churchill.
Jennifer W. Sheldon is not a nutritionalist - she has written a book on wolves.
Ann Martin is criticized for basing her theories on BARF diets on studies that didn’t give a proper BARF diet.
Parkvets, of the second anti-BARF link, make a lot of money promoting and selling Hill’s Science Diet.
Most vets, if you question them, will admit that they get all their pet-nutrition info from one of the pet-food companies. Look around their surgery and you will spot the Hill’s or Purina guide to pet nutrition. That’s like trusting the Coca-Cola guide to healthy drinks or the McDonald’s guide to nutritious diets.
Most of the negative comments surround internal injuries from ‘raw’ bones (Dr. Billinghurst has never experienced this in his decades of veterinary practice; all the bones that caused problems were cooked), and the level of bacteria (according to the sources, this was only a problem for animals whose immune system was already compromised).
Hope that helps!
Sean