Raw bone treats - Why they help your dog?

Dogs thrive on love and attention, but what they need to be strong and healthy is the right diet. Dogs are descendants of wolves and just like their ancestors, they also ate raw food. Dogs can handle a raw diet since they possess a robust digestive system, have strong stomach acids, and their gut contains bacteria-killing agents.

While some of us still prefer to give their dogs cooked food, what must be understood is that high temperature cooking destroys the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that the dog can naturally derive from the ingredients. This makes the diet nutritionally deficient.

One great way to ensure that your dog gets their nutrition while still being on a partial diet is to feed them a raw bones as treats. When feeding dogs bones, one must ensure that we never cook the bones. Bones become hard when cooked and when chewed, can splinter and become a choking or laceration hazard for your dog. Dogs are meant and equipped to consume raw foods and that includes raw meat and bones.

Why Raw Bones?

First up, feeding raw bones to your dog is perfectly safe and they are an essential part of your dog’s health and well-being. 

Raw bones contain minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. The meat attached to the bone as well as in the marrow has several nutrients that benefit your dog greatly.

Providing your dog bones gives them an opportunity to indulge in their favorite activity – chewing. Chewing is a stress buster for dogs and helps them let out their energy. Pets that are not given access to chewing bones show a greater likelihood of becoming destructive around the house.

Help maintain dental hygiene

Need to ensure dental hygiene for your dog? Raw bones is your answer. Dogs, like humans develop conditions like plaque and tartar on their teech Excessive build-up can lead to bad breath, cavities, gingivitis, and your dog can also lose her teeth much earlier than they need to. Unclean teeth might also require expensive teeth scaling and extractions that need to be performed by an experienced vet.

Chewing on a raw bone stimulates saliva enzymes there helping clean plaque and tartar naturally. When you offer your dog a bone after a meal, all the chewing can help dislodge trapped food particles from the teeth.

Provide nutritional value

Raw bones are primarily composed of calcium phosphate, a mineral that is crucial to your dog’s growth. When you feed your dog raw bones, you are in fact helping his skeletal system to regenerate and adapt. It’s important to note that the body can absorb calcium from bones up to four times faster than from calcium supplements.

Don’t restrict your bones to grown dogs alone; start the habit early, especially if you have a large-breed pup. They grow quickly and need the extra calcium phosphate boost.

Discourage unwanted chewing habits

All dogs go through teething and chewing, but some persist long after they’ve grown up. If your dog excessively self-licks, scratches, and exhibits other nervous behaviors like biting or chewing on furniture, offering a raw bone might be a great idea. It will divert his attention away from these behaviors and help develop a positive, natural chewing habit. Plus, all that chewing on the bone is great for your dog’s jaw muscles.

Discourage begging for table scraps

If your dog wants his food and yours too and makes your mealtimes a battle of wits, then you might want to consider tossing him a raw bone while you eat. It will be a good distraction and you can then enjoy your dinner in peace.

Adds roughage to the diet

Raw bones are great to keep your dog’s tummy in working order. Her digestive tract will benefit as the raw bone cleanses and scours her system from the inside. And the extra roughage in her diet will make her potty time a lot more regular.

Things to remember

There are a few things that you must keep in mind when feeding raw bones to your dog. This will ensure that your dog is utilising the opportunity of grawing at a treat to the best. 

• First, you should always monitor treat time with a raw bone. Never give your dog a bone and leave home. This is to ensure the bone doesn’t break off into smaller pieces he can swallow directly or choke on.
• When your dog is done chewing on the bone, you should put it back in the freezer, so you and your dog don’t have to worry about the build-up of dangerous bacteria on the bone when left out.
• If you are adding bone to the food, you can grind it and add the powder to his food. Choose soft, hollow bones like the wings or necks of poultry for this. These can easily be crushed in a meat grinder.
• If you are giving your dog a recreational bone, we recommend a large bone, like a hip or femur bone from large animals like buffalo. These last longer and they are also filled with nutritious marrow.
• If this is the first time that you are offering a bone, ease into it slowly. Offer him one bone over a few days so that he doesn’t overeat and get sick from it.
• Only buy fresh, raw meaty bones from a reputable natural pet food company.
• Pick the bone as per your dog’s size. If the bone is too big for your pet, he will not be able to eat it and will get discouraged to chew it. And it if is too small, then the chances of it being swallowed whole are great, and it could get stuck in the GI tract.
• Uneaten pieces of bones should be discarded immediately.
• Lastly, inspect your dog’s teeth and gums for any abrasion or cracked teeth. Your vet should check your dog’s mouth at least twice a year. If you are feeding raw meaty bones, it is all the more important to not miss the appointment.

Our pets mean the world to us and we are entrusted with their well being. Given their history, dogs love raw bones and like their guardians, it is our responsibility to give them regular access. The bones give them oral exercise, improve your pet’s psychological well-being, and provide nutrition as well.  

All in one single bone.