No Bones About It- We Do Not Like Bones!

posted: Thu Jan 05 12:00:25 EST 2017 by: Jill Farley, VMT Tags: "Clinic Specials" "News" 

Dogs LOVE bones. We know it, you know it, we know you know it. Dogs love a lot of things that are not good for them. We also know many of you have spent a lifetime watching dogs enjoying bones with no obvious problems. Veterinary staff have spent a lifetime seeing the problems that have arisen from bones; constipation from ingested bone fragments, pancreatitis,  lacerated intestinal tract from the same, bones caught in the back of the jaws/teeth, painful fractured and/or cracked teeth that need oral surgery, etc. 

Depending on the dog, you may not notice the pain they experience from the fractured teeth if there is root exposure because they may just chew on the opposite side of their mouth. 

There are other chewing options other than bones that may work for your dog that are safer. "Super Chewers" sometimes are not safe with any options because they can crack the best of options and swallow portions.

Then there are dogs that get into these predicaments! 





This happened under supervision in just a moment. This ended happily with removal but we have seen other versions where the mouth was lacerated and infected from a bone fragment lodged in the back teeth for a period of time, dog fights that arose from a dog pawing frantically at it's mouth and another dog came over to see why, surgery necessary to remove bone from intestinal tract with portion of the intestines being removed.

Please trust us and make your home a bone-free zone!