Raw bones and choking

Sampson

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Jan 24, 2013
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Sampson
We are heavily considering switching our english bulldog to a RAW diet. But my bf lost a 5 month old english bulldog due to choking on its kibble so the idea of feeding Sampson bones is scary to us as we are some what paranoid about choking. Does anybody on here grind up the bones? and it is significantly better for their teeth to eat the whole bone than it is to grind it up?
 

RiiSi

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Sep 30, 2011
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Taisto, Kylli, Salli, Angel-Usko and Angel-Voitto
My 10 week old bully is chewing on a bone as I write and I'm not worried at all. The bone is so big he can't choke on it. Whole bone is essential for healthy teeth, grinded bone don't do much for cleaning teeth. Raw is better in it self for teeth, but they will get tartar without chewing bone.
And shouldn't your bf be paranoid about feeding kibble, not bone, since his OBD choked on kibble, not bone????

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Petra

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Jan 8, 2013
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Boeboe, Bennie Boy and Joey
I've also been wondering this... I thought for sure the bones were minced:confused: Before joining this site I had never even heard of RAW feeding. Can have something to do with me being from Sweden/South Africa but I know I've always been told NEVER to give my dog anything else than beef bones. We have a saying in Sweden "Never give any bone starting with an F", in Swedish that would be all bones but beef... fisk (fish), fågel (bird), får (sheep), fläsk (pig). I'm overly paranoid about most things so it's not a good idea to listen to me since I have no experience or knowledge about RAW feeding but would love to learn:) I bet the dogs love it...
 

ame16

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Oct 18, 2012
125
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Philadelphia, PA
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Eleanor ('Elly')
You never want to give any cooked bones. I also don't feed load-bearing raw bones from large mammals, but things such as chicken, turkey and lamb bones are fine.
 

izstigspunks

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Sep 16, 2010
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The Stig Racecar Driver and (Sweet Angel) Punkin Brutus
The trick is the bigger the better so they'll be forced to chew. I use my closed fist as a reference and I don't give my boys anything smaller or around the size of it. If so, then they'll be tempted to swallow them whole. It is a little scary at first when they regurgitate. But eventually you'll learn what they can comfortably handle. After 2 years of it though, I still watch them when they eat in case something happens.
 

Scueva

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Sep 27, 2012
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Chicago, IL
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Duchess
I don't care how big of a bone duchess tries to swallow whole! I had two choking instances. I now grind everything, it's not the easiest but she's worth it. As far as a grinder my recommendation is get the most expensive one you can afford and don't get anything less than $200 it will be a waste of money! My grinder grinds whole duck, necks, backs. You aren't gonna find a grinder that will handle much more than that as far as bones go unless you spend like $1k. I find that course ground leaves chunks of bones that still require chewing but are less of a chokin hazard. I also recently found a meat supplier that is very inexpensive and he grinds stuff for me! Look for co-ops in your area to find meat at absolute lowest prices. I try to keep my cost below $1 per lb. I have been doing raw since 4 months and she is 10 months now. I initially started with pre-package raw but it was way too expensive. I was spending $80-$100 per week! I noticed such a change with the raw! You won't regret going raw, it's so healthy for them. I did alot of research on raw. I'll be happy to answer any questions I can!
 
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Sampson

Sampson

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Jan 24, 2013
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Sampson
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Ive also heard that the grinders can burn the bones making them turn brittle. have you had this experience?
 

ame16

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Oct 18, 2012
125
5
Philadelphia, PA
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Eleanor ('Elly')
Ive also heard that the grinders can burn the bones making them turn brittle. have you had this experience?

Unless you have some incredibly compelling reason to grind the bones, I'd really, really recommend you feed whole.
 

izstigspunks

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Sep 16, 2010
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Ive also heard that the grinders can burn the bones making them turn brittle. have you had this experience?

No, have never heard of it. It depends on the grinder I guess. But the cheaper ones cannot grind bones, so you'd need to purchase something that's at least 1/4 hp (if I can remember).
 

ModernFemme

Arts'y bulldog farts'y
Community Veteran
Oct 5, 2012
882
61
Delaware
Bulldog(s) Names
Sir Remington (Remi)
Marrow bones are thick enough that remi can eat them safely... And this is the bully who swallowed a 1 foot bullet stick. The thicker, the better.

Remi loved the raw frozen variety, but turns out he was allergic to beef.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

luseaann

Member
Oct 3, 2011
510
16
Long Island, NY
Bulldog(s) Names
Liz and Amy
The ladies started raw when they were 6 months and 4 months, respectively. I find they chew everything I give them quite thoroughly. They never try to gulp their food. I think it is because they eat raw and have to chew their food. They started with chicken leg quarters and looked at me as if I was crazy the first time I gave it to them. But then they started chewing and figured it out. The bottom line is that they are dogs. They will figure it out. Just watch to make sure.
 

ame16

New member
Oct 18, 2012
125
5
Philadelphia, PA
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Eleanor ('Elly')
The ladies started raw when they were 6 months and 4 months, respectively. I find they chew everything I give them quite thoroughly. They never try to gulp their food. I think it is because they eat raw and have to chew their food. They started with chicken leg quarters and looked at me as if I was crazy the first time I gave it to them. But then they started chewing and figured it out. The bottom line is that they are dogs. They will figure it out. Just watch to make sure.

Yep. And don't freak out if they regurgitate their food. This is perfectly normal and does not mean they are choking.
 
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Sampson

Sampson

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Jan 24, 2013
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Sampson
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I've always suspected that a dog would chew the bone. I think Sampson has a more difficult time with kibble because it is dry and the pieces are too small to really chew them. I've been feeding our mastiff puppy raw for a little over a month, but she doesn't have much of an underbite compared to Sampson. Plus Sampson always coughs and makes loud noises while eating lol. My bf lost an English bulldog pup to choking, so he is really nervous. He says that bulldogs are choking prone, but I've noticed a ton of bulldog owners feed RAW! So I can't imagine they all feed raw with ground in bone. I've just convinced Adam to switch Sampson to RAW, so I'm not gonna push the bone yet, I wanted to verify its safe first as well. I just want sampson to get the occasional bone for his teeth. Thanks for all the input ! This forum is awesome!image.jpgimage.jpg
 

ame16

New member
Oct 18, 2012
125
5
Philadelphia, PA
Bulldog(s) Names
Eleanor ('Elly')
I've always suspected that a dog would chew the bone. I think Sampson has a more difficult time with kibble because it is dry and the pieces are too small to really chew them. I've been feeding our mastiff puppy raw for a little over a month, but she doesn't have much of an underbite compared to Sampson. Plus Sampson always coughs and makes loud noises while eating lol. My bf lost an English bulldog pup to choking, so he is really nervous. He says that bulldogs are choking prone, but I've noticed a ton of bulldog owners feed RAW! So I can't imagine they all feed raw with ground in bone. I've just convinced Adam to switch Sampson to RAW, so I'm not gonna push the bone yet, I wanted to verify its safe first as well. I just want sampson to get the occasional bone for his teeth. Thanks for all the input ! This forum is awesome!View attachment 36048View attachment 36049

Raw is perfectly safe. However, I would strongly advise against marrow bones, recreational bones, soup bones, beef knuckles, etc. These are all teeth breakers. Instead, offer him chicken or turkey quarters/halves/whole chickens, pork ribs (don't offer single ribs - over at least 3 or 4 at a time), etc. etc. etc.
 

izstigspunks

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Sep 16, 2010
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His fear is perfectly natural. What a horrific tragedy he had to experience. Tiny baby steps ... We're always here too.
 

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