A guide to raw bones.....

.......and where to buy them locally.

There is a lot of controversy over giving your dog a raw bone, so in summary:

The pros are:

• The meat on the bone provides a good source of proteins and essential nutrients.
• The action of tearing the meat off bones naturally cleans the dog’s teeth and helps prevent gum disease, bad breath and is purported to prevent problems with anal glands. 
• Chewing bones occupies and stimulates your dog.

The cons are:

• risk of chipped or cracked teeth.
• risk of bones splintering and lodging in your dog’s throat.
• risk of bone splinters being swallowed and tearing intestinal tract.

If you are giving raw bones the types recommended are:

• Chicken (wholes or halves)
• Chicken wings (for very small dogs only)
• Turkey (wholes, halves, or quarters)
• Rabbit
• Lamb necks, shoulder or shanks
• Pigs trotters

(these are basically bones that do not splinter)
 
And the rules of thumb are:

• Bones should never be cooked, they should always be raw.
• Bones should always be meaty, not bare.
• Always supervise when your dog is eating a bone.
• Don’t let your dog swallow a bone, and immediately throw away bones that have become small enough to be swallowed, or bones that are too bare
• Never get a bone from a butcher that has been thrown away, or has been chopped into small pieces.
• Make sure that children don’t come close to possessive dogs while they are chewing.

Here are the local butchers where you can buy raw organic bones:

Lidgate: 110 Holland Park Avenue. W11 4UA. 0207 727 8243

Kingsland: 140 Portobello Road. W11 2DZ. 0207 727 6067

Daylesford Farmshop and Café: 208-212 Westbourne Grove. W11 2RH. 0207 313 8050

 
And online from:

www.naturalinstinct.com

www.higherhacknell.co.uk

www.honeysrealdogfood.com