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I gave my dogs a few leftover bones from grilled ribs, thinking they'd chew on them for a few days. No. They ate them whole, right then and there. Is this safe / healthy?

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  • Well, they shouldn't be eating cooked ones. But they eat raw ones whole safely. So maybe the grilled bones are really that cooked after all.
    – user2607
    Jul 6, 2014 at 0:04

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In general, I would avoid giving cooked bones to a dog. Cooking makes the bones very brittle and much more likely to shard and cause injury. It's also because they're cooked that they crunched through them so quickly, they just won't stand up to any real pressure from the jaws of a dog.

If you want to give them bones, you might want to look around for a dog-friendly butcher who is experienced in saving bones for dogs. They would have nice big bones and then they'll get days of enjoyment as a result.

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  • Raw bones are good for dogs, except for the weight-bearing bones of an ungulate. The leg bones of cows and other such animals will break your dog's teeth. Under supervision, you may let them lick out marrow. But trade out another bone before the gnawing begins on those rock-hard bones.
    – Basil Bourque
    Jul 6, 2014 at 6:43
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No bones period, bones are NOT good for dogs not even a little bit. They grind away their teeth and have risks of breaking their teeth as well (see it all the time in clinic), bone chewers always have awful teeth.

Another thing that we see quite often are obstructions and perforation of the GI tract from dogs swallowing bones whole or shards, impactions are treated with a nice expensive surgery where as perforations are more likely to be fatal.

Rule of thumb if you whack it on your knee and it hurts then it's too hard for your dogs teeth.

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