Should you throw your dog a bone?

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Sources: Matt Riegel, 785-532-5690, mriegel@vet.k-state.edu
William Fortney, 785-532-4605, wfortney@vet.k-state.edu
http://www.mediarelations.k-state.edu/WEB/News/MediaGuide/fortneybio.html
Pronouncer: Riegel is (REE'-gul)
News release prepared by: Amber Haag, 785-532-6415

Friday, April 8, 2005

SHOULD YOU THROW YOUR DOG A BONE?

MANHATTAN -- Throw a dog a bone. It's a well-known phrase, but is it true? When you get down to the facts, should you throw your dog a bone?

Dr. William Fortney, assistant professor of diagnostic medicine/pathobiology at Kansas State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, said it depends on the dog, the bone and the reasons you have for giving your dog a bone.

"Every day, thousands of dogs chew bones and rarely does it cause a problem," Fortney said. "But occasionally it will, and we always remember those occasions when it did cause a problem."

Fortney said the decision of which bones are safe and which are not depends both on the dog's chewing behavior and the type of bone.

"Historically, we have told our clients never to feed chicken bones to their dogs, because they have a tendency to splinter," Fortney said. "Those splinters have a much better likelihood of hanging up in, or penetrating the intestinal tract. We also tell our clients not to feed pork chop bones, because the sharp point has the tendency to lodge somewhere, requiring surgical or endoscopic removal."

Fortney said a dog's chewing behavior can range between that of a "chewer" and that of a "gulper."

"The dogs that are chewers will patiently and persistently grind a bone to very small, harmless pieces or dust, and obviously that dust is not going to be harmful," Fortney said. "It's those gulpers who try to swallow big chunks of bones or the entire bone. The chewers can eat any bone, and the worst it will do is cause a little gastro-intestinal irritation. But when a gulper swallows big splinters and chunks, that's where the serious problems occur."

"Unfortunately, many owners give their dog bones, because they think bones have nutritional value or clean the dog's teeth," Fortney said.

Fortney said owners should not "throw a dog a bone" for either of these reasons.

"In the wild, wild dogs, wolves and coyotes get dietary calcium, phosphorous and protein from bones, but a domesticated dog does not need that," Fortney said. "A pet dog gets all the nutrients it needs in a bag of dog food. In fact, I would argue that eating a bone might actually give a dog too much protein, calcium or phosphorous and might cause a nutritional imbalance in the dog's diet."

Dr. Matt Riegel, assistant professor of clinical sciences, specializes in animal dental care at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine. He said although some bones may help slightly with plaque removal and reduction of calculus build-up on a pet's teeth, they should not be used as the primary home care product for cleaning your dog's teeth.

"There are other things that work more effectively, such as daily tooth brushing," Riegel said.

In fact, bones can sometimes be the cause of dental problems for the pet, Riegel said.

"One of the potential downsides to bone chewing is that, depending on the animal, many dogs will chew so aggressively that they may fracture teeth within the mouth, causing worsening of dental problems," Riegel said.

Fortney said some owners give their dogs bones to fulfill the "desire to chew."

"Most dogs have a desire to chew, especially when they're puppies," Fortney said. "Some dogs lose it, and some don't. Giving your dog a bone can satisfy the dog's desire to chew something. Owners are giving their dogs a reasonable choice of something to chew instead of shoes, doors, furniture and those kind of things."

Although Fortney said fulfilling the desire to chew is an acceptable reason to give your dog a bone, he recommends alternatives to natural bones.

"I think there are better alternatives from a chewing standpoint than using natural bones -- bones from pet stores, rawhide bones, hard rubber bones, rope toys and string toys are all preferable to real bones," Fortney said.