June 18, 2024 • 11 mins
This week’s question is about marrow bones:
“Looking for advice and information on giving puppies bones. I've heard so much conflicting information about the benefits and risks, but I'm thoroughly confused. A dog dentist once told me not to give my dog anything to chew on that I couldn't dent with my thumbnail. Yet here I see hooves and raw meaty bones being offered. Thoughts?”
In this episode, I lay out:
- The risk and benefits of giving your puppy or dog marrow bones
- The relative risk for different dogs and breeds
- The factors you should take into account when deciding whether or not to give your dog a marrow bone.
Visit our website, madcapradio.com for further reading.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I'm Jane Messineo Lindquist
and this is a Puppy Culture
potluck podcast.
You bring the topics,we bring the conversation.
Today's topic is marrow bones.
(00:22):
We get a lot of questionsabout the safety of marrow bones
as a chew projectto give your puppy or your dog.
So let me read you the question.
Looking for advice and informationon giving puppies bones.
I've heard so much conflicting information
(00:43):
about the benefits and risksthat I'm thoroughly confused.
A dog dentistonce told me not to give my dog anything
to chew on thatI couldn't dent with my thumbnail.
Yet here I see hooves and raw meaty bonesbeing offered.
Thoughts?
So let's talk about marrow bones.
(01:07):
There is no one answer to this questionabout the safety of marrow bones.
It really
depends on the age and chewing strength
and thoughtfulnessof chewing of your breed.
Many people object to marrow bonesbecause they've been told that weight
(01:31):
bearing bonesrun the risk of fracturing teeth.
And indeed, canine dentists
often advise against marrow bones.
But if you think about it, canine dentists
only see the bad outcomesfrom marrow bones.
I would imagine if you took into accountthe entire population of dogs
(01:57):
that are given marrowbones, the actual risk
for your dog is probably quite small.
At least statistically.
I have not had a fractured toothfor any of my dogs in 30 years
that I've been giving my strongchewing bull terriers marrow bones.
(02:17):
But it definitelycould be a consideration,
if you're in a breedthat's prone to teeth fractures,
because I do think some breedsprobably are more prone than others.
And we're going to talk a little bitmore about that.
I'm sure that diet and individualgenetics play a role in this.
(02:39):
There are certain in humans for instance,
genetics, where teethcan be more likely to to fracture.
So I don't know.
I haven't found any studies,but I would imagine that
some dog's teeth are stronger than others.
And I would imagine nutritionand prenatal nutrition and whatever
the puppies or the dam has been fedher whole life
(03:02):
would have an influence on this.
So the risk is probably not equalfor all dogs.
At least that would be my hypothesis.
What I do know from the science out
there is that
individual genetics and breed aside,
(03:25):
the risk of dental fractureappears to go up in a linear fashion
as the size and strength of the dogincreases.
One study of 492
dogs that were presentedfor dental fractures found
that 75% of them were large breed dogs.
(03:48):
25% were medium to small breed dogs
and none of them were toy breed dogs.
So again, the risk appears to go upnot unpredictably
with the size and the strength of the dog.
Makes sense.
Teeth are teeth.
The Rottweiler has a bite force that is800% more forceful than the Papillon,
(04:14):
but the Rottweilers teeth are madeof the same material as the Papillon.
Sure, the teeth are bigger and stronger,
but the actual molecular material
that the teeth are made of is the same.
And it makes sensethat the larger the dog,
the more risk of fracture.
(04:34):
By the way, for those of youthat are taken aback by that 800% number,
a link to the studythat talks about the variation
of bite force between breeds,I'll put that up on the show page.
By the way,
in that study, they did classify
the reasons as why those teeth
(04:56):
had fractured, and the vast majority
of the fractured teeth involvedsomething other than chewing a bone.
Mostly it was playingor carrying a rock or something like that.
So while I'm not completely discountingthe possibility
that your dog could fracture a toothon a marrow bone because it is possible,
(05:19):
I'm going to say that I think the risk
has been a bit sensationalized.
And, you know, the fact is
that dogs and puppiesespecially need to chew
and they need to chew hard
in order for proper bone modeling.
(05:40):
Jaw, bone density and shape has been found
to be positively correlatedwith chewing hard objects,
that's in rodent studies,and the connection
between chewing and bonemodeling in humans is well-established.
I mean, just Google chewing and bonemodeling, 100 citations will pop up
(06:01):
so humans and dogshave to chew and chew hard.
In fact, sidebar,
scientists
hypothesizethat a lot of the dental problems
that modern humans have arebecause we don't
chew hard foods anymore.
Not sure that I want to bepart of the pilot program
(06:22):
that goes back to eating nuts and grainsand nothing else.
But, you know, there it is.
You do need to chew.
You need to chew. The dog needs to chew.
And I'm not sure that chewing only thingsthat could be dented with a fingernail
is going to get that job done of properbone modeling,
particularly in puppies.
(06:44):
Just to clarify, it's
not just puppiesthat need to chew and chew hard.
It's dogs as well, adult dogs.
Because if if you don't chew hard, then
and this is true from humandental science, you start losing bone.
(07:04):
That's why when, for instance,you maybe lose one tooth
or you don't have good occlusion,
you'll
start losing bone because there's nothingto oppose that other tooth
and put pressure on itbecause it's the pressure that
triggers you to remodel bone constantly.
We're constantly remodeling that bone.
(07:24):
So it's an, it'ssuper important for puppies
because we want them to develop correctly,but it's important for dogs
to, to maintainwhat we've built during puppy hood.
And I'm just going to say the advicenot to give anything
that you can't dent withyour fingernail is madness.
(07:47):
With a strong chewer like a bull terrier.
If you can dent it with your fingernail,they can choke on it.
And if it's possible for them tochoke on it, they'll find a way to do it.
So softer chewing items are a hardno for us,
but maybe they're on the menuif you have a toy poodle.
(08:07):
But then again, if you have a toy poodle,
that dog is unlikely to cracka tooth on a marrow bone.
So maybe you don't really needto worry about it.
That's your call.
What's more of a concern for mewith the marrow bones
is the richness of the marrow,which can lead to loose stools.
(08:30):
Marrow is a super food
and it's extremely goodfor puppies and dogs.
But in moderation.
I know a lot of people write in on thesethreads and say, well, it's just fat.
And yes, marrow has a lot of fat in it,
but it's got a lot of other stuff,which that's a whole podcast in itself.
(08:51):
But it is an amazingly healthy foodfor your puppy or your dog.
But again, too much ofit is going to give them diarrhea.
So for my adult dogs,
I freeze the marrow bonesso they can't get a ton out at once
and I just take it away from themwhen I feel they've had enough.
And then for my puppiesbecause it's hard for them to chew it
(09:13):
and not very attractive for them to chewif it's frozen.
I let them have the marrow bonesfor a short period of time
and then I take them away beforethe puppies can have too much marrow.
So I want to read this,
this commentthat somebody wrote in on on this thread
and she said, this probably isn't an issuewith bull terrier puppies,
(09:37):
but long headed breedsshould be careful about marrow bones.
You just haven't liveduntil you've used a dremel to remove
marrow bone from a Borzoi’slower jaw, zero stars,
definitely do not recommend.
So there you go.
That's another consideration.
If you've got a Sheltie or a Borzoi, maybe
(10:00):
you don't want to give them a marrow bone.
So let's sum this up on a risk benefit
spreadsheet.
Let's do a virtual spreadsheet.
Marrow negatives; possiblefractured tooth, possible
getting jaw stuck, possible diarrhea.
(10:21):
Positive of marrow; proper
bone modeling of the jaw, proper teethsetting into the jaw,
no choking hazard and a super food.
So there it is.
I hope that positioned it for youat least.
You know, as with anything,the answer is usually,
(10:42):
it depends and marrow
bones are a good example of that.
If you liked this podcast,you'll love our puppy owner course
available at madcapuniversity.com.
If you're a breeder
check out our breeder coursealso available at madcapuniversity.com.
(11:03):
Breeders, if you want to get your puppyowners started the right way,
check out our bulk discountsfor multiple copies
of our puppy course at puppyculture.com.
Well that's it for this time.
Thanks for listening.
Bye bye.
I'm Jane Messineo Lindquist
and this is a Puppy Culture
potluck podcast.
You bring the topics,we bring the conversation.
Today's topic is marrow bones.
(00:22):
We get a lot of questionsabout the safety of marrow bones
as a chew projectto give your puppy or your dog.
So let me read you the question.
Looking for advice and informationon giving puppies bones.
I've heard so much conflicting information
(00:43):
about the benefits and risksthat I'm thoroughly confused.
A dog dentistonce told me not to give my dog anything
to chew on thatI couldn't dent with my thumbnail.
Yet here I see hooves and raw meaty bonesbeing offered.
Thoughts?
So let's talk about marrow bones.
(01:07):
There is no one answer to this questionabout the safety of marrow bones.
It really
depends on the age and chewing strength
and thoughtfulnessof chewing of your breed.
Many people object to marrow bonesbecause they've been told that weight
(01:31):
bearing bonesrun the risk of fracturing teeth.
And indeed, canine dentists
often advise against marrow bones.
But if you think about it, canine dentists
only see the bad outcomesfrom marrow bones.
I would imagine if you took into accountthe entire population of dogs
(01:57):
that are given marrowbones, the actual risk
for your dog is probably quite small.
At least statistically.
I have not had a fractured toothfor any of my dogs in 30 years
that I've been giving my strongchewing bull terriers marrow bones.
(02:17):
But it definitelycould be a consideration,
if you're in a breedthat's prone to teeth fractures,
because I do think some breedsprobably are more prone than others.
And we're going to talk a little bitmore about that.
I'm sure that diet and individualgenetics play a role in this.
(02:39):
There are certain in humans for instance,
genetics, where teethcan be more likely to to fracture.
So I don't know.
I haven't found any studies,but I would imagine that
some dog's teeth are stronger than others.
And I would imagine nutritionand prenatal nutrition and whatever
the puppies or the dam has been fedher whole life
(03:02):
would have an influence on this.
So the risk is probably not equalfor all dogs.
At least that would be my hypothesis.
What I do know from the science out
there is that
individual genetics and breed aside,
(03:25):
the risk of dental fractureappears to go up in a linear fashion
as the size and strength of the dogincreases.
One study of 492
dogs that were presentedfor dental fractures found
that 75% of them were large breed dogs.
(03:48):
25% were medium to small breed dogs
and none of them were toy breed dogs.
So again, the risk appears to go upnot unpredictably
with the size and the strength of the dog.
Makes sense.
Teeth are teeth.
The Rottweiler has a bite force that is800% more forceful than the Papillon,
(04:14):
but the Rottweilers teeth are madeof the same material as the Papillon.
Sure, the teeth are bigger and stronger,
but the actual molecular material
that the teeth are made of is the same.
And it makes sensethat the larger the dog,
the more risk of fracture.
(04:34):
By the way, for those of youthat are taken aback by that 800% number,
a link to the studythat talks about the variation
of bite force between breeds,I'll put that up on the show page.
By the way,
in that study, they did classify
the reasons as why those teeth
(04:56):
had fractured, and the vast majority
of the fractured teeth involvedsomething other than chewing a bone.
Mostly it was playingor carrying a rock or something like that.
So while I'm not completely discountingthe possibility
that your dog could fracture a toothon a marrow bone because it is possible,
(05:19):
I'm going to say that I think the risk
has been a bit sensationalized.
And, you know, the fact is
that dogs and puppiesespecially need to chew
and they need to chew hard
in order for proper bone modeling.
(05:40):
Jaw, bone density and shape has been found
to be positively correlatedwith chewing hard objects,
that's in rodent studies,and the connection
between chewing and bonemodeling in humans is well-established.
I mean, just Google chewing and bonemodeling, 100 citations will pop up
(06:01):
so humans and dogshave to chew and chew hard.
In fact, sidebar,
scientists
hypothesizethat a lot of the dental problems
that modern humans have arebecause we don't
chew hard foods anymore.
Not sure that I want to bepart of the pilot program
(06:22):
that goes back to eating nuts and grainsand nothing else.
But, you know, there it is.
You do need to chew.
You need to chew. The dog needs to chew.
And I'm not sure that chewing only thingsthat could be dented with a fingernail
is going to get that job done of properbone modeling,
particularly in puppies.
(06:44):
Just to clarify, it's
not just puppiesthat need to chew and chew hard.
It's dogs as well, adult dogs.
Because if if you don't chew hard, then
and this is true from humandental science, you start losing bone.
(07:04):
That's why when, for instance,you maybe lose one tooth
or you don't have good occlusion,
you'll
start losing bone because there's nothingto oppose that other tooth
and put pressure on itbecause it's the pressure that
triggers you to remodel bone constantly.
We're constantly remodeling that bone.
(07:24):
So it's an, it'ssuper important for puppies
because we want them to develop correctly,but it's important for dogs
to, to maintainwhat we've built during puppy hood.
And I'm just going to say the advicenot to give anything
that you can't dent withyour fingernail is madness.
(07:47):
With a strong chewer like a bull terrier.
If you can dent it with your fingernail,they can choke on it.
And if it's possible for them tochoke on it, they'll find a way to do it.
So softer chewing items are a hardno for us,
but maybe they're on the menuif you have a toy poodle.
(08:07):
But then again, if you have a toy poodle,
that dog is unlikely to cracka tooth on a marrow bone.
So maybe you don't really needto worry about it.
That's your call.
What's more of a concern for mewith the marrow bones
is the richness of the marrow,which can lead to loose stools.
(08:30):
Marrow is a super food
and it's extremely goodfor puppies and dogs.
But in moderation.
I know a lot of people write in on thesethreads and say, well, it's just fat.
And yes, marrow has a lot of fat in it,
but it's got a lot of other stuff,which that's a whole podcast in itself.
(08:51):
But it is an amazingly healthy foodfor your puppy or your dog.
But again, too much ofit is going to give them diarrhea.
So for my adult dogs,
I freeze the marrow bonesso they can't get a ton out at once
and I just take it away from themwhen I feel they've had enough.
And then for my puppiesbecause it's hard for them to chew it
(09:13):
and not very attractive for them to chewif it's frozen.
I let them have the marrow bonesfor a short period of time
and then I take them away beforethe puppies can have too much marrow.
So I want to read this,
this commentthat somebody wrote in on on this thread
and she said, this probably isn't an issuewith bull terrier puppies,
(09:37):
but long headed breedsshould be careful about marrow bones.
You just haven't liveduntil you've used a dremel to remove
marrow bone from a Borzoi’slower jaw, zero stars,
definitely do not recommend.
So there you go.
That's another consideration.
If you've got a Sheltie or a Borzoi, maybe
(10:00):
you don't want to give them a marrow bone.
So let's sum this up on a risk benefit
spreadsheet.
Let's do a virtual spreadsheet.
Marrow negatives; possiblefractured tooth, possible
getting jaw stuck, possible diarrhea.
(10:21):
Positive of marrow; proper
bone modeling of the jaw, proper teethsetting into the jaw,
no choking hazard and a super food.
So there it is.
I hope that positioned it for youat least.
You know, as with anything,the answer is usually,
(10:42):
it depends and marrow
bones are a good example of that.
If you liked this podcast,you'll love our puppy owner course
available at madcapuniversity.com.
If you're a breeder
check out our breeder coursealso available at madcapuniversity.com.
(11:03):
Breeders, if you want to get your puppyowners started the right way,
check out our bulk discountsfor multiple copies
of our puppy course at puppyculture.com.
Well that's it for this time.
Thanks for listening.
Bye bye.
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