
Yes, we do sell marrow bones and other recreational bones, but when we do, the sale *always* comes with a heavy dose of education and a gentle warning that these bones are, indeed, the most dangerous ones that we sell and should only be fed to dogs for which you are fully confident can enjoy them safely.
What does “enjoy them safely” mean? It means your dog will not bite down hard on them or chew vigorously on them. The right candidate for enjoying these bones is one that will carry the bone around for days (or weeks) and lick it gently. Be sure to select a bone that has been cut to a safe size for your dog’s mouth (not too small to become a swallow risk, and not a risk for getting caught on their jaw, as pictured here).
Weight bearing bones from large animals (like cattle) are very dense. They can fracture your dog’s teeth and will break up into sharp shards when broken/cracked, which is a safety issue. Marrow bones are usually cleanly stripped and well-trimmed of attached meat, then cut down to size, during the butchering process. The modern “fit for human consumption” butchering process removes the important, nutritious and useful meat, connective tissue, and hide attached to this bone (as nature provides) to safely and properly cushion the ingested bone fragments during digestion.
These bones can also get caught in your dog’s mouth or jaw – and if swallowed, they can do some serious damage.
Marrow, gelatinous and knuckle bones are all considered recreational bones — which are also referred to as WRECkreational bones because of the problems they may cause. We strongly recommend & promote the feeding of raw MEATY bones – which are different than the recreational bones. Below you can find our feeding suggestions for raw bones. If your dog can safely manage marrow bones, that’s great, and we have them here for you — but please make sure that you are aware of the risks associated with these particular types of bones before offering them to your dog.
Here’s a good article that reviews the issues with marrow bones.
Other places to learn more about this issue can be found here and here and here.
The below list of raw bone suggestions was originally written & complied in 2005. Note: we have a lot of new products and producers available these days, but this gives you a good idea of things to try with your dogs & cats. The TIPS listed at the top are relevant & important to review, as this information applies to EVERYONE considering feeding bones.
Raw Bone Suggestions from SFRAW |
TIP #1 |
The larger and meatier the bone, the safer it is to feed. Look for bones that are the size of your animal’s head (they will not be able to swallow the bone whole or without chewing first). Bones that are cut into small pieces are more of a risk to feed as they can be swallowed whole without being chewed. Feeding bones/parts the very same size of your animal’s throat are the most dangerous as they can get lodged in the esophagus; animals can misjudge their ability to get the piece down their throat safely. |
TIP #2 |
If a bone is not super meaty ‘as is’, feed it as a topper or dessert to a portion of muscle meat (ground, stew or trim), organs/offal, soaked/sprouted, cooked, fermented or pulped veggie/veggie-fruit mix. Feeding boney bones alone without enough non-bone material (meat, organs, or other bulk) may cause constipation or an impaction. |
TIP #3 |
Do not feed long or weight bearing bones unless you have an animal that carefully chews the meat off the bone or licks the marrow out of the bone only. Do not feed these bones if your animal is apt to bite down hard, chip off pieces and/or crack them open. Long and/or weight bearing bones are most prone to splitting or cracking into sharp shards. These are the types of bones that are more likely to cause obstructions, intestinal perforations, get lodged in the roof of the mouth, and cracked teeth when chomped on. |
Weaning / Very young puppies or kittens (will gnaw on these bones while learning to eat them safely) |
Chicken necks |
Chicken backs |
Chicken wings |
Duck necks/wings |
Rabbit, cut |
Oxtails, cut in half |
Pork, Beef or Venison necks (they will chew, but not consume) |
Pig feet / trotters |
Bison or Beef tails |
Turkey necks |
Cornish Game Birds, whole or cut into big pieces |
Quail, whole or cut in half |
Goat bones |
Lamb necks |
Lamb breast |
Guinea Hens, Pheasant & Goose, whole or cut |
Squab, halved or quartered |
Tiny-Small Dogs + Adult Cats |
Chicken necks |
Chicken backs, cut in half |
Chicken wings |
Duck necks, cut in half and lengthwise |
Duck, whole cut into pieces |
Rabbit, cut |
Pork necks, cut (just recreational for some) |
Beef & Venison Necks, whole or cut (just recreational for some) |
Oxtails |
Bison necks and tails |
Turkey necks |
Guinea Hens, cut |
Cornish Game Birds, whole or cut into big pieces |
Quail, whole or cut in half |
Goat bones, cut |
Lamb necks, cut |
Lamb breast, cut |
Lamb flaps, cut |
Pheasant & Goose, cut |
Medium-Large Sized Dogs |
Chicken necks |
Chicken breast |
Chicken backs |
Chicken wings |
Chicken feet |
Chicken carcass |
Chickens, split or quartered |
Duck necks |
Duck carcass |
Duck feet |
Duck, whole |
Rabbit, whole or cut in half |
Pork necks |
Pork tails (high fat content, feed sparingly) |
Pork butt, bone-in |
Pig feet / trotters |
Beef feet & necks |
Beef rib plates, meaty, whole |
Oxtails (possibly) |
Bison necks |
Bison tails |
Turkey necks |
Turkey carcass bones |
Turkey tails, if they won’t swallow whole |
Turkey, whole, split or quartered |
Cornish Game Birds, whole |
Quail, whole |
Goat bones |
Squab, whole |
Lamb shoulder |
Lamb necks, cut |
Lamb breast, cut |
Lamb flaps |
Whole ewe or whole lamb, cut |
Guinea Hen, Pheasant & Goose, whole or cut |
Giant Dogs |
Chicken necks |
Chicken breast |
Chicken backs |
Chicken wings |
Chicken feet |
Chicken carcass |
Chickens, whole, split or quartered |
Duck necks |
Duck carcass |
Duck feet |
Duck, whole |
Rabbit, whole |
Pork necks |
Pork tails (high fat content, feed sparingly) |
Pork butt, bone-in |
Pig feet / trotters |
Guinea Hens, half or whole |
Oxtails, whole |
Bison tails |
Turkey necks |
Turkey carcass bones |
Turkey tails |
Turkey, split |
Cornish Game Birds, whole |
Quail, whole |
Goat bones (cut 6-way or 6-8″ pieces) |
Squab, whole |
Lamb shoulder |
Lamb necks, whole |
Lamb flaps |
Pheasant & Goose, whole or cut |
Bones Suitable for Animals Prone to Pancreatitis (all bone is high in fat; you will need find lean cuts from lean animals) |
Rabbit |
Goat |
Quail |
Cornish game birds |
Chicken (remove skin and fat) |
Turkey (remove skin and fat; tails not suitable) |
Oxtails/Bison Tails |
Fish Heads (in small/short sessions, served frozen and freeze in between) |
Venison, Elk, Wild Boar trimmed of fat |
Recreational Bones for Small-Med-Large Sized Dogs with Very Soft Mouths(if they never bite down hard; will chew meat off bone without cracking open) |
Beef (young, veal ideal) ribs, meaty |
Beef or Veal necks |
Beef or Veal shanks |
Beef knuckle bones |
Beef or Veal marrow/soup bones |
Bison necks |
Bison soup bones |
Bison shanks |
Bison ribs, meaty |
Pork ribs, meaty |
Pork shanks |
Pork soup/knuckle bones |
Venison neck |
Lamb shanks |
Lamb marrow bones |
Goat shanks |
Super Meaty Bones (these products are reliably very meaty) |
Duck, Pheasant, Guinea Hens, Goose, whole and pieces |
Rabbit, whole or pieces |
Pork Necks |
Beef, Calf, Sheep, Goat or Pig Heads, whole |
Pork hindshanks |
Beef or Veal shanks, whole hindshanks |
Beef, Veal or Bison oxtails |
Chicken, whole, split or quartered |
Chicken whole legs |
Chicken thighs |
Chicken breast |
Turkey, whole or split |
Turkey breast |
Turkey thighs |
Duck carcass |
C&M goat bones (super duper meaty) |
Lamb or Goat shoulder |
Suckling Pigs |
Whole or half carcasses of almost any animal |
Lamb necks, whole |
7 thoughts on “On Feeding Marrow (and other “recreational”) Bones vs. Raw MEATY Bones”
You must log in to post a comment.