[aimee]

Hi Spy Car,

Cannoli, Is making valid points in regards to feeding bones. Disclosure: When I was a teen I saw a young shepherd choke to death from a bone.. it was a horrible thing to witness.. and no doubt has forever shaped my thoughts on the feeding of bones to dogs.

The risk may be small… and you may think it will never happen to your dog, and most likely it won’t, but what if it does?

I would never be able to forgive myself if my dog choked or had an esophageal or intestinal perforation or a blockage from a bone I gave him/her, which is why I’ll never feed bones. Others may be able to deal with such a situation differently which will lead them to a different choice.

The dental benefits from bone chewing are primarily cosmetic (Clarke 1998) and do not come without dental risk in addition to the risk of death. Since brushing teeth is superior to bone chewing in maintaining dental health there is no “cost” to not offering bone.

Finally, I’m having difficulty in understanding the following statement and hoping you can explain it to me.”The PMR style of feeding with 10% bone keeps the Calcium Phosphorus ratios at the perfect 1.2:1 levels” I did the calculations for an 80/10/10 PMR breakdown and do not get a 1.2:1 ratio. 80 grams chicken breast has 4 mg Ca and 170 mg Phos, 5 grams chicken liver has 0 Ca and 15 mg Phos, 5 grams beef kidney has 1 mg Ca and 13 mg Phos. 10 grams chicken bone has 1800 mg Ca and 830 mg Phos. Adding them all together yields 1,805mg Ca and 1,028mg Phos for a Ca/Phos ratio of 1.75:1 and a mind blowing 16.4 grams Ca/1000 kcals.

Nutrient levels for chicken meat/ liver and beef kidney taken from USDA Nutrient database. Ca and Phos content in chicken bone from Suchy et al 2009 ” Chemical composition of bone tissue in broiler chickens intended for slaughter”