Most dog trainers would have recommended bones for your dogs to manage their boredom, anxiety, destructive behaviours. We know that our dogs are scavengers who have a fondness for chewing, so why not feed that instinct without damaging our precious furniture & personal items.
Now that we know bones are good, we need to understand what kind of bones need to be offered to our dogs. A few tips are below:
DO NOT OFFER:
Cooked bones: these can break easily and can get stuck in their guts or tear some of the internal tissues.
T-Bones: Similar to our food scrap getting lodged in the kitchen sink, T-bones can also get stuck in the dog's throat and cause severe damage. Let's avoid these too.
Raw bones (small or circular): A rule of thumb is not to offer a bone to your dog that is smaller than the size of its mouth or one that breaks easily. Both can be choking hazards and cause injuries to the mouth and intestinal tract.
Raw bones: that are from an unknown source (causes of salmonella & other bacterial infections), or that are smaller than the dog's head (choking hazard) or bones that break easily (pork bones, rib bones, etc) are recommended not to be given to our dogs
So that leaves us with what kind of bones can we offer them? It seems like all is lost here!!
ONE CAN OFFER:
ALWAYS UNDER SUPERVISION, raw bones from a known source. These bones need to be bigger than the dog's head and should not break easily. Bones with lumps or bulges on both ends are strongly recommended. At Anvis we recommend refrigerating the bone before giving it to the dog to kill any bacteria and to throw away the bone after a few hours. This does not guarantee that no teeth will be splintered or damages to the internal organs will happen, fyi.
Many trainers here also suggest alternatives to bones..safe chew toys (rope toys, coconuts with husks) or tennis balls depending on how intensely your dog chews are good options. Whatever it is, make sure you supervise your dog chewing so you are aware of the best options to offer.