# What age for rawhide bones/bones ?



## mixwell (Sep 18, 2012)

I assume this topic has already been asked but my pup is 11 weeks old now and I've been told by some that you should wait until he gets his adult teeth, I hear raw chicken bones are okay but when you cook them they become more fragile to splintering etc. Currently I feed him puppy chow and water and a neighbor bought him a pork bone which he seemed to love but didn't have a bad reaction to and tore the "end caps" off of both sides. 

My main concern is him breaking off a piece that is too large for him to swallow/digest but the reason I ask is because my friends and I love to grill and we get down on some ribs but usually throw the bones away. I'm curious @ 11 weeks if he's still too young to give the rib bones whether it be spare or baby back bones but if he can take em I would rather him chew em up than to throw them in the trash at this stage..

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks !


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## MSK (Aug 13, 2008)

I dunno about anyone else but, I wouldn't be feeding whole bones yet. Whole Ground Animals but, that is me. Like these

https://www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_35&products_id=32

https://www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_33&products_id=245

Rib bones are especially hard even hard on some adults definitely would not give them until he gets adult teeth.


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## EckoMac (Aug 25, 2010)

I believe the OP was talking about giving cooked rib bones. If that is the case, if you don't mind cleaning up the runs later... as long as you monitor the pup while gnawing, and take away if he starts breaking pieces off, then I would think it would be OK.

As far as rawhide goes, I avoid it like the plague. If you are looking for bones at a pet store look for things that say "edible" on them. Those are usually easily digested, and don't normally cause blockage like rawhide can. If you MUST use rawhide, aim for the ground, or pressed kind. 

I feed raw, so Ecko gets raw rib bones to chew on. My chi is kibble fed and I give her a bully stick to chew every now and then.


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

I would never feed rawhide, they don't digest it well and it isn't good for any dog of any age. My adults I don't even buy them those. I would give antler chews, or larger raw meaty bones , or for young pups the nyla bones are sometimes ok. Mine will shred those now so I wont even give nyla bones. If you are looking for something to keep them busy I would go with the antler or just a kong toy and stuff it with carious things like hamburger meat, yogurt, cheese, peanutbutter, really whatever you can think of and then freeze it. Takes them awhile to get through it and no risk of choking on a bone or anything.


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## mixwell (Sep 18, 2012)

Right on ! Thanks for the heads up on the rawhide bones. I think I may invest in some antler chews as I've heard they pretty resilient or perhaps some softer types until he gets his adult teeth in. I've heard from various sources that kong products are really good.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

No rawhide for the mentioned above reasons.
I give my puppies raw cow legs and they love them! There is nothing wrong with giving them raw bones but I wouldn't give chicken bones even if raw if you're not feeding raw diet.
NO cooked bones! EVER! They can splinter off and you can have an emergency on your hands! Any cooked bone becomes brittle and rib bones splinter, I don't even give raw ribs to my dogs. Pork is ok but it can have worms I would stay away from raw pork again unless you're feeding raw and know how long to freeze pork for.

It's ok to give puppies like a raw leg bone mine love it! and if they break a puppy tooth it will be replaced soon by an adult tooth. I think just about all my litters of pups had raw legs to chew on and never go a broken tooth but I guess it could happen. 

So the question in the OP was, Rawhide? NO can get stuck in the belly
Cooked rib bones? NO they can splinter and get stuck in the stomach
raw chicken bones? I would suggest it unless you're feeding raw. You don't want to mix raw chicken and kibble it's too hard to digest. One or the other but since you're asking for just a treat I would just stay away from it.


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

never ever ever cooked bones of any kind.

I know a few people who feed RAW to their pups, I have also read about dogs swallowing whole chicken legs and its fine because their bodies digest differently, hence like PK said above do raw or kibbles, not both. They get the best nutrients that way.


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## MamaTank (Jun 12, 2011)

I don't know about bones on a non-raw diet. I started my youngest dog on raw the day after he came home at 8 weeks old. He started on chicken, so... 
Antlers are great for teething pups though, I can attest to that! Deer antlers are the least hard of them (elk I think, or Moose, are the hardest) but even a deer antler held up for 6 months to my 100 pound German Shepherd --who was an avid chewer.


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## NYBlueNose (Apr 22, 2012)

I wouldn't feed ANY dog raw hide. It isn't good for them, not good for their stomach, hard to digest, and serves no nutritional purpose at all. Moreover, pit bulls have the habit of biting off large chunks and swallowing them, which makes raw hide very dangerous for this breed specifically. Obviously, a lot of people feed it anyway, but mostly because they don't know any better. As a kid, all my labs got raw hide, but we didn't know any better, lol. Use antlers, much healthier, great for their teeth, and full of calcium.


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