A Guide to Feeding Your Dog Bones

There are a number of reasons to include bones as part of your dog’s diet. As well as being a source of essential nutrients, chewing bones encourages your dog to display natural behaviours which benefits their emotional wellbeing, and also helps to keep their teeth clean and healthy. There are many different types of bone available, so The Raw Food Dog Co has advice for how to incorporate bones into your dog’s diet.

Why feed raw bones to dogs?

Due to their abrasiveness, raw bones clean dogs’ mouths like no other chew on the market can. This means you won’t need to manually brush your dog’s teeth and it’s unlikely that they will develop oral problems. They take a long time to chew, making them an enriching way to mentally stimulate your dog and keep them occupied - preventing boredom-induced behaviours like destroying household items.

Meaty bones can be used as a meal replacement as the bones themselves are rich in protein and minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, whilst the cartilage is a source of glucosamine, chondroitin and vitamin C. Please note that you should never feed cooked bones to your dog as they are brittle and can splinter into small, sharp pieces. Fresh, raw, meaty bones are best.

Choosing the right bones

It’s better to give your dog a bone that’s too big and will take longer to eat, than a bone that’s too small and they could choke on - especially if your dog is new to eating bones. Small dogs can be fed smaller bones like chicken necks and rabbit pieces, whilst small carcasses like chicken frames, duck frames and whole rabbits are a good choice for medium-to large sized dogs. For large and very large dogs, opt for products like veal brisket, veal necks and beef brisket. Bones such as wallaby tails are crunchy, soft and long-lasting to keep dogs of all sizes entertained for hours.

How often should I feed my dog bone?

Bones should make up around 10% of a dog’s raw diet - so this could be a small amount in regular meals, or bigger bones once or twice a week. At The Raw Food Dog Co, we strongly promote adding bone broth to every raw meal too. Bone broth helps your dog’s digestive process and supports healthy joint function.

All of The Raw Food Dog Co’s products are locally and ethically sourced, are human-grade and contain no antibiotics. Please visit here to browse our range of bones, and here for bone broth and milks. When you’re ready to order, our premium quality products can be delivered to your door at a time that suits you.

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