marrow bones for dummies

[rglogan]

Since I have been on the forum, I have learned so much about proper nutrition for my dogs.

One question I have is what exactly is the marrow bone? Someone else had this quesiton in another thread, and I thought I knew what it was. Over the weekend, I went to the market and asked for a marrow bone from the beef section. The people looked at me like I was crazy. I ended up getting what looked like as the cow femur bone (they cut it up into pieces for me). Prior to cutting it up, the bone was very large (about one foot in length). I put the bones in the freezer for 24 hrs and then gave each of the dogs one.

They loved the bones and chewed on them all day. Then, the next morning, my male with a sensitive stomach threw up. Not trying to be gross, but I noticed pieces of bones in the vomit. I have also just started feeding veggie, chicken neck and back bones with their kibble, so I was thinking all of it together was too much of a change in his diet. The other concern I had was that I had gotten the wrong kind of bone.

Any ideas???

[Sheenagirl]

I don't know where the people in that market have been! You are right - they are called beef marrow bones - they are labeled 'marrow bones' at my market. The last ones I got were cut into pieces about 3 inches long and there is marrow in the middle of the bone. Hopefully you can try another market?

Sounds to me like what he ate was a little too much at one time. Perhaps you could cut down on the amount of raw chicken/bones until he can adjust to the richness.

I'm sure some of the "barf" feeders will chime in here and give you a little more info. ;)

[Roscoe's dad]

They are also called soup bones. I don't recall if this was mentioned, but they last longer and are less mess if frozen.

[rglogan]

Yes! The people at the meat counter did refer to them as soup bones, so it must have been the right thing.

[2rotties2luv]

The marrow, although nutricious, is very high in fat which may cause your dog's upset stomach.

Some people scoop out most of the marrow before giving it to the dog. Enough of the marrow sticks to the inside of the bone to keep the dog's interest.

Also I get them with some raw meat and tendons left on the outside. One dog will chew the bone frozen, the other one won't so I have to defrost his in the microwave first !!

[codglvr]

How about the knuckle bones, good or bad?

[Judy Chrusch]

rglogan, some of the bones I've fed Czar were quite big too, he can hold on to them better but you do take the chance of them eating too much at one timeI remove some of the marrow cause Czar will also throwup or have a grumbly stomach;) The knuckle bones I really have to watch bc he bites big pieces off and swollows them then later they come up too so you might want to just keep an eye on your boy and perhaps remove some of the marrow too.

Judy