Give Your Dog a Raw Bone!

Big, meaty marrow bones can be essential to your dogs health. When picking out a bone, we recommend a raw knuckle bone. Knuckle bones are large enough that your dog can't get the whole thing in his mouth, which would be a choking hazard. Though they may sound gross, raw bones are great for your dog's overall health - dental, physical and mental.

Dental
As your dog chews on the marrow bone, it cleans the teeth. The act of chewing will massage the gums, preventing gum disease and infections. It will clean off plaque and help keep the teeth white. As your dog rips the tissue off, the tissue acts as a natural floss for the teeth. It's also a great workout for the jaw.

Physical
Raw bones contain essential minerals and nutrients. The marrow is a great source of fat, protein and iron. The bone itself contains calcium and phosphorus. Given a few times a week, this can be of benefit to your dog's health. However, this is not the same as feeding BARF or RAW diet. Those are complete diets and should be researched fully before you give them. We have Lily on Stella & Chewy's Raw Beef Patties. These contain ground bone powder so she gets her calcium and phosphorus needs met with her daily meals.

Mental
A raw bone gives your dog hours of enjoyment as they rip and tear at the tissue, teeth scraping at the bone. The mental stimulation relieves anxiety. Extracting the marrow from the bone will help keep him entertained. They can greatly reduce boredom and keep your dog occupied.

We don't recommend giving your dog ANY bone unsupervised. I usually give Lily a bone in the yard on the weekends after a long hike. As I'm cleaning the house, I'll peek out at her to watch how she's doing with the bone. After a few hours, when the marrow is gone from the inside and the tissue/meat from the outside, I will pick it up and toss it in the trash.