Dog bones. Your pet’s guilty pleasure, right? Every time you get one out, your dog either does the cutest happy dance you have ever seen or sits very still waiting to be rewarded. Bones can keep your dog occupied for hours on end – we have heard countless stories of dogs sitting with their bones outside until the early hours of the morning. Bones are not only great to keep your dog entertained, but they’re extremely beneficial for your pet’s gums and teeth, among other nutritional benefits. On the other side of the fence, specific bones can be devastatingly detrimental to your pet’s health. That’s where we come in; we want to tell you all about bones! The benefits, safety tips, common risks, and why our slowly dehydrated bones are actually good for your dog because they don’t calcify! But we will get into that a bit later on.

 

BENEFITS OF BONES

Healthy gums and teeth = healthy dog!

When dogs chew on a bone, they are essentially cleaning their teeth and gums just like us humans do every single day! You may wonder why a dog needs to clean their teeth, but just like humans, their teeth develop tartar over time which can lead to gum disease.  When a dog chews on a bone, they scrape all surfaces of their teeth against the bone.

Gum disease isn’t just bad breath and ugly teeth, it can cause immense pain in your furry friend’s mouth and even teeth lose. More importantly, the tartar build-up can influence your pet’s immune system, making them more likely to develop diseases such as inflamed heart or clogged kidneys.

Keep in mind, chewing on bones will not reverse inflamed gums or gum disease if your dog already has these issues. We recommend seeing a vet about feeding your dog bones if they already have gum issues.

 

Fresh calcium for strong bones!

Remember when you were told to drink milk as a kid to make sure your bones were big and strong? Calcium is just as important, if not more, in your dog’s diet! Naturally dehydrated dog bones are soft on the outside and hard in the middle with marrow, which is rich in calcium and phosphorus. Calcium will ensure your dog develops good bone structure, blood coagulation, muscle contraction and can have a beneficial effect on your dogs vision and heart function.

 

Beautiful coat with no carbohydrates!

The marrow in dog bones are also great sources of collagen, which encourage a healthy skin and coat on your beautiful pooch! Bones are also a great way to get important nutrients to your dog without a large amount of carbohydrates. Drool Pet Co is a firm believer of no grains or fillers in our dog treats or food, but many supermarket dental treats are high in calories and carbohydrates. Bones are simply nutrients, with added fun!

 

Anal gland health

This may seem unusual, but if your dog is swallowing small pieces of soft bones in dehydrated dog bones, this can help harden their faeces and help with anal gland issues.

 

COOKED BONES OR DEHYDRATED BONES?

You have heard it over and over again – do not feed your dog cooked bones, and we couldn’t agree more! When bones are booked, they calcify which causes them to splinter, and they also result in Maillard reactions which can make the protein in the bones indigestible for your dog. If your dog were to ingest these splintered pieces of bones, these shards pass through their intestines which can have a fatal effect. Think of it like if you chewed on a piece of glass; your body would not be happy if it had to try and digest glass!

Naturally dehydrated bones are an entirely different kettle of fish! Drool Pet Co’s slow-dried bones are naturally air dried very slowly. We don’t take shortcuts, we’re passionate about cooking bones in a way that makes them brittle and safe for your furry friend to eat. Just like if you were to lay out lamb bones to dry naturally, our bones still have dried meat attached which makes our bones even more perfect for a long-lasting chew. Dehydrated bones are not cooked bones.

 

SAFETY TIPS

Choose the right bone for your dog

It may be common knowledge, but choose your bon according to your dog’s size and breed. For example, don’t feed your tiny little chihuahua our kangaroo chops, opt for a smaller bone like our pork bones. This will allow your dog to enjoy their bone without feeling intimidated or face health issues for trying to eat something that isn’t really for them.

 

Avoid choking

In the unfortunate and unlikely event that your dog does happen to choke on their bone – we recommend watching the following video to learn what to do in a choking situation.
If your pet is also prone to eating their food fast or they have missing teeth, try to smash the bones to break them down while your dog gets used to bones.

 

So, if you have been avoiding bones in the past in fear of choosing the wrong bone or accidentally feeding your pooch a cooked bone, we recommend opting for Drool Pet Co’s naturally dehydrated dog bones. As always, our bones are naturally preservative, steroid, grain, chemical, and filler free. We are passionate about providing 100% Australian and natural pet treats for your furry friend. Check out our pet treats here.