[Ania's Mommy]

I found 20 lb two pack of some sort of pork roast on sale and couldn't pass it up. When I got home and began to look at it, I realized that it was the top portion of the leg and flank (?). There are some big bones in it and I'd love to give them to Ania.

Are pigs considered "large animals"? Are these bones okay to feed? Or is Ania at risk of tooth breakage?

If I bought this same cut in beef, I would make soup with the bones.:biggrin:

Thanks!

 

[DaneMama]

I don't consider pigs as "large" as cows and feed heavier bones from them on a regular basis without issue. I think you'd be safe with feeding it, but I would keep an eye on her regardless :wink:

 

[Ania's Mommy]

Yeah, these would be the biggest bones she's ever had. :biggrin:

The way it was packaged in the store, I thought I was buying my standard pork shoulder roast. But when I got home and saw just how gnarly it was, I realized it was something else entirely (since going raw, I've gotten a lot better at anatomy LOL!). There were 3 joints in each roast! Separating joints is always kind of a challenge. I always feel like a doctor gone bad or something. Also, the skin was still on! Chicken skin I have learned to deal with and am used to it. Pig? Not so much.

Guess I'll read the labels next time. Thanks Natalie!

 

[DaneMama]

So, were they ball and socket type joints? I'm just trying to grasp what you are talking about....?

Either way I think it should be fine. I don't think that commercially raised pigs get to weigh 1000+ pounds like cows do. So their bones don't carry around nearly as much weight...but honestly I could be wrong about that. I have just never had a problem. The fact that my dogs can't "eat" beef ribs, but can eat pork shoulder roasts all the time tell me that pigs are "small" enough to have bones that are appropriately edible for a dog.

 

[Ania's Mommy]

Yup; ball and socket joints. And I meant two joints, 3 sections of bone. Not 3 joints. I saved two of the bone sections (the third was only the socket portion and about an inch of bone. This is where the roast was cut, so the bone was made too small and really sharp).

The lowest portion of bone seems to be fine. It was smallish. The middle section is what I'm most concerned with. It kind of looks like a giant turkey leg... Its almost as big around as my wrist.

If it helps any, I think the cut I bought was what you would use if you were going to make a ham... It was called a picnic roast (but meat cut names tend to be regional sometimes, so I don't know what they would call it elsewhere.)

I think I'll give 'er a shot tomorrow. It's definitely a rec bone, though.

 

[DaneMama]

If you have any doubts or hesitations just don't worry about feeding it. Better to be safe than sorry, but I personally think you shouldn't have any issues with it :wink:

 

[Ania's Mommy]

The little bone cruncher is eating the bone in question as I type. I am listening very closely to her, and she sure is making a lot of noise! :biggrin: I very rarely go outside to observe her eating anymore, so listening to her crunching (exceptionally loudly with this particular bone, I might add) is a little startling. But I'll get used to it again! She's doing great!

So, how would I know if she DID crack or break a tooth? I realize that all dogs are different, but what is the norm? What did Shiloh do?

 

[DaneMama]

Well it really depends on how badly they crack it or chip it. Shiloh's was very badly cracked at a diagonal through the entire fourth upper premolar tooth. My guess is that it was pretty painful and stopped chewing on that side to avoid using that tooth. When Jon and I started dating, I took a look in her mouth (I always do mini exams on any dogs I come across LOL) and found a lot of tartar all over that tooth. I found this odd because she was raw fed. Upon further inspection, which was hard because she was very sensitive with it, I found that it was severely cracked.

I always recommend taking a look in your dog's mouth on a regular basis regardless of what they eat. That way you can notice anything that is worrisome before it gets to be a worse situation.

Some dogs will crack their teeth, but in a way that doesn't cause issues. Its hard to say which ones are like this and which ones aren't. The best thing to do is keep an eye on things and go from there. You know that a broken tooth is painful, if there is a lot of tartar buildup from non use of that tooth.

 

[Ania's Mommy]

Ania ate all but about 3 inches of the bone in about 1/2 hour! It had lots of good marrow in it, so I'm happy about that. The only real marrow she gets is from chicken, so I'm glad she got it from another meat source for once. I threw away the leftover bone because she was done with it for the night and it was smaller than I'm comfortable with (if she was still working on it, I probably would have let her have it).

I didn't expect her to be able to eat the bone, and I left a good amount of meat on it, so I gave it to her for her dinner. So her dinner was huge!! I guess we'll be skipping breakfast...

Final consensus: I will not seek out these types of roasts, because even though Ania ate it okay, I think I may be testing her boundaries with it. And it made me a bit nervous. I will still give her the other bone in a month or so, though. Ya know, since I already have it.:biggrin:

Thank's for your help Natalie.

 

[DaneMama]

I'm glad you let her have the bone! I routinely give the girls about two days worth of food in one sitting and then skip the next day altogether :wink:

 

[Ania's Mommy]

I routinely give the girls about two days worth of food in one sitting and then skip the next day altogether :wink:

I would do that, except that my husband LOVES to eat and thinks Ania is just like him. If he's hungry, then she must be too. I've learned to pick my battles.

 

[Ania's Mommy]

Ah crap. I woke up this morning to a pile of puke. Everything was mostly undigested and she didn't re-eat the puke. It was just waiting for me in the living room. :frown:

Why did she puke? Too much bone in one sitting? Too much food (she ate at least double the weight she normally does for that meal)? What to do now? I still am going to skip breakfast, I think.

 

[whiteleo]

Probably just too much food, she isn't used to it.

 

[DaneMama]

Probably too much food or too much rich food. If dogs aren't used to those types of meals it can make them feel sick. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[Ania's Mommy]

So my husband told me that she puked again at around 10 am. :frown:

Is that a normal puke-pattern for an overfed dog? Puking more than 12 hours later for the second time? It's also been hotter than she is used to. Would that maybe have anything to do with it? She hasn't acted overheated or anything.

She is acting normal now.