Recently, my community newspaper released an emotional write-up regarding a local dog who sadly lost its life on Christmas day due to swallowing a cured ham bone. Basically, the story is centered around the unfortunate death of a mini Schnauzer named Burtie. He faced a life-ending obstruction in his belly, caused by a ham bone that was bought from a retail store’s pet section on Christmas Day.
Vets couldn’t do anything to save him so the kindest thing to do was to let him go. Two other dog owners have come forward after their dogs became sick from eating the same ham bone dog treat, luckily they both recovered.
It’s an incredibly sad story, and the only thing we can take away from it is to spread the news as far and wide as possible to avoid cooked or cured bones entirely. Raw bones are OK, especially chicken bones, as they’re so soft.
There are plenty of excellent healthy dog treats out there but if you do want to give your dog a bone get a raw one from your butcher, avoid leg bones and make sure it’s too big for the dog to get it in his or her mouth.
Learn How to Choose the Right Food for Your Dog
A good alternative to bones is a Stag Bar, which is a deer horn, not bone so will not splinter, just wear down gradually.
Please pass this story on, especially to anyone you know who may not be aware of the dangers of cooked bones.
Check out this alternative: 5 Reasons Broth is Healthy for Dogs
