Pig ears???

[OctoberGotti]

I have a soon to be 12 week old puppy and was searching for some chew toys for him. I read a couple of threads on here regarding chew toys, but no one mentions pig ears. Are those ok for him? I used to give these to my pitbulls all the time, but wasn't sure if this was ok for our little boxer.

I also noticed a lot of "raw bones" mentioned on some threads. Is the knuckles you can get like at petsmart ok or do I need to go to like a butcher?

 

[gmacleod]

The dangers of pig's ears (along with raw hides, and other dried body parts that are essentially leather) are covered in many many threads on the forums, and even in our FAQ

From a toxicity, choking and obstruction hazzard perspective, as well as the risk of bacterial poisoning - there is no difference at all between raw hides, pig's ears, or any other chemically-cleansed, dried body part that is, by any other description, a piece of leather.

Personally, I would never give one to my dog. I prefer to give him natural things to chew upon (I define natural as (a) something that nature designed the dog to consume or chew upon, and (b) that hasn't been treated in any way by chemical means). For a dog, that essentially means raw bones.

As for whether what you're seeing in your pet store qualifies - it's hard to say without seeing them. Have they been cooked, smoked, or sterilised? If they have, I wouldn't feed them. All you need is something raw, and preferably too large for the dog to swallow. It's easy enough to pick up a soup bone from a grocery store or butcher.

 

[OctoberGotti]

Thanks for clarifying!!! I think just to be safe I will just go to a butcher or grocery store for some raw bones. How often should I give him raw bones?

 

[gmacleod]

It depends a bit on the raw bones, really. If you get marrow bones (generally these are large bones, like knuckles or leg bones - with a soft centre, which is marrow) then it's not really something for daily chewing. Not unless you scoop some of the marrow out first, anyway. Marrow isn't bad for your dog - actually, it's extremely nutritious stuff. But it's also incredibly fatty, so if the dog gets too much, he's liable to end with loose stools (and over the long term, if fed daily, a risk of pancreatitis). So a rough rule of one marrow bone a week might be a good idea (restriction not required once the marrow is all gone, of course).

For other sorts of bones, or if you've scooped some of the marrow out first, then there's no reason why the dog can't have it daily to chew upon. Doesn't have to be a new bone every day. Plenty of people give the dog his bone to chew for an hour or two, then wrap it up and put it away in the freezer until next time. You only really need to chuck them out when they get small enough that the dog might try to swallow it whole.

 

[RoyeBeth]

Peeking in here and hope it's ok to ask a question as well gmacleod. You mentioned the raw bones being OK, does that mean they're OK for for a puppy with baby teeth? My pup is 11 weeks old, I thought a raw bone would be too hard for her?

 

[gmacleod]

Actually raw bones are excellent for teething puppies. Hard to think of anything better.

Yes, they're hard - but this is what will help the puppy to get those loose teeth out her jaw before they start to decay in-situ. And they help enormously for bringing the new teeth through the gums as quickly as possible. LOL - the force of chewing is controlled by the puppy Just because the bone is hard doesn't mean the pup will bite so hard as to hurt themselves.