Have you ever wondered why it is a big deal if your dog eats rib bones? It may be a cliché that dogs love to chew on bones. We might believe that it is good for them, but there are actually some precautions for that.
FDA even warns us that this tradition is very dangerous for your dogs. Thus,you need to find out what is really good for them.
Should You Give Your Dogs Rib Bones?
The answer is a big no. Although the FDA warning is not clear as to what extent it applies, doctors don’t generally recommend pork rib bones whether it is cooked or raw.Although the pork’s meat is deemed a great source of protein, the bones should not be considered as a treat and should be disposed of immediately.
Meanwhile, some people may believe that larger bones are better. However, it was pointed out that bones, regardless of their size, are unsafe. It is never good for your dog’s diet. It is said that if you give them bones, you are just preparing your dogs to be candidates for a trip to your vet.
Why? Because if they have eaten bones, dogs may be required to undergo an emergency surgery, or much worse, it could be killed. Below are some of the dangers that your dogs may suffer if you allow them to eat bones.
10 Dangers Of Bones
- Teeth damage. This means that you have to consult a veterinary dentist and the procedure may be lengthy and costly.
- Tongue and mouth injuries. You also need to have a trip to your vet. The process may be very bloody and messy.
- Bones looped around its lower jaw. In order to fix this, you need to see your vet, which may not just be costly for you, but it will also be painful and frightening for your dog.
- Bones stuck in esophagus. It means that the tube where the food travels from the mouth to the stomach is barred. It may lead your dog to gag while trying to bring back up the bones. If your dog cannot get the bone outside its esophagus, you may need to check your vet.
- Bones stuck in windpipe. This will occur when your dog inhales a small bone. This will cause your dog to have a difficulty in breathing, so you need to go to your vet immediately as this case is an emergency.
- Bone stuck in stomach. Although the food travels fine from its mouth to its stomach, there is a possibility that the bone is too big for it to pass through its intestines. This means that your dog needs to undergo a surgery or endoscopy to remove the bones from the stomach.
- Bone stuck in intestines. Just like the danger when the bones are stuck in the esophagus, windpipe, or stomach, bones in intestines may cause a blockage, which indicates that it’s time to undergo a surgery.
- Fragments cause constipation. Bones may be too sharp to pass through the intestines or rectum. This may lead your dog to suffer from a severe pain. Since the cause is internal, you need to visit your vet. And of course, bones are full of calcium, which could firm your dog’s stool.
- Rectal bleeding. This situation can be very painful and messy for your dog. You need to check your vet immediately.
- Peritonitis. It is an infection of the abdomen due to the holes in the stomach or intestines caused by the poking of the bone fragments. This will require you to visit a vet because this situation is an emergency, however it can be difficult to treat such that it could lead to its death.
Indeed, the dangers may let you say that you will never let your dog eat bones again. However, there are cases when your dogs really want to eat bones.
Should You Let Your Dogs Eat Bones At All?
It should be remembered that whatever kind of bones is not safe for your dogs. However, if your dog insists, you may give the raw ones. Raw bones are softer, which means that it poses less risk than cooked bones. Here are the facts and fiction when you feed raw bones to your pets by Dr. Bruce Syme.
As we all know, cooked bones are harder. It becomes a health hazard if dogs chew hard bones. It can also mean a trip to your vet and much worse, the death of your pet. Cooked bones may also not be as healthy as the raw ones because cooking removes the nutrients found in bones.
Here is a video for you to understand whether or not raw bones are safe for dogs to eat.
Conclusion
So now that you know the dangers of feeding your dogs a bone, you should be aware of what they put in their mouths. Although raw bones are better than cooked bones, it may not be recommended to eat both as it can cause damage to the different body parts of your dog.
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