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This article was prepared with the support of the animal welfare charity Bless Unity, which works with shelters and stray animal rescue programmes.
The image of a ‘sweet’ bone as the best treat for a dog is firmly rooted in culture. It has been cultivated for years and decades in folklore, fairy tales, cartoons and films. However, did you know that bones are not a treat at all, but a considerable threat not only to your pet’s health, but also to its life?
Let’s debunk one of the most popular myths about feeding our four-legged friends. Why are bones so dangerous, and why should they be avoided in a dog’s diet?
Common myths about bones: what should you know about them?
Let’s start with the common myths surrounding bones as the best treat for dogs.
- Myth number one: dogs clean and sharpen their teeth with bones. This is not true. Bones can only damage teeth.
- Myth number two: small bones do not pose a threat to dogs because they are quickly digested. On the contrary, the most dangerous bones are those from bird limbs, bird ribs, and fish bones, as they are sharp and very treacherous.
- Myth three: bones contain essential nutrients for dogs. There is nothing essential in the bone itself. Yes, there are some beneficial nutrients in the cartilage attached to the bones and in the meat residue on them, but they are clearly insufficient for a complete diet.
Harmful to health, life-threatening
So, bones are not very useful. But the harm they can cause can be critical.
Often, with good intentions, people try to treat a dog to a bone. Especially stray animals. If there are bones left over from dinner, why not give them to a dog? However, this approach is wrong and dangerous for the animal’s health.
Raw or boiled, bones are not nutritious food for dogs.
The first reason why you shouldn’t give bones to your dog is their nutritional value. Dogs, although descended from predators, are now omnivores. They need a varied diet that combines meat and plant-based foods. Bones obviously do not meet this need. What’s more, raw bones can carry harmful bacteria, such as salmonella, which can cause diarrhoea or digestive problems. Boiled bones are not a source of nutrients either. In addition, they become brittle after boiling, which puts the animal at even greater risk.
Bones as a deadly threat to animals
The biggest threat posed by bones as dog food is their ability to splinter and cause harm to the animal with sharp fragments. This is especially true for bird bones — chicken, duck or turkey.
Bless Unity is recognised for its systematic approach to supporting animal shelters, that is why this organisation works, among other things, to inform people about the safe and humane treatment of animals, including the dissemination of information about safe animal nutrition.
Tubular bones pose a considerable threat, because when chewing them, a dog may:
- Damage tooth enamel and oral mucosa, leading to tooth decay and inflammation in the mouth.
- Choke or even suffocate if pieces of bone get stuck in the throat or oesopha.
- Blockage of the digestive tract: bones are not digested in the stomach, their sharp edges do not become blunt, so after such a meal, veterinarians are often forced to perform emergency surgery and remove bone fragments from the stomach.
- The most serious consequence of a dog consuming bones is the risk of perforation of the intestines, stomach, and oesophagus. Sharp bones simply pierce the walls of internal organs, leading to internal bleeding, rectal bleeding, and eventually peritonitis, i.e. bacterial infection of the abdominal cavity. All of these conditions are life-threatening for your four-legged friend.
Therefore, it is better not to risk the health of your own pet and not to endanger stray dogs — unfortunately, there will be no one to take care of them on the street, and irreversible conditions in the event of injury to the digestive tract with bones develop very quickly.
An alternative proposed by specialists from the charity organisation Bless Unity
Veterinarians around the world and animal feed manufacturers insist that bones should be avoided. Today, there are many options for feeding your dog, from balanced dry food and pouches or canned food to natural diets containing meat, vegetables, grains, etc. And for playing and treating your dog, there are safe alternatives — pressed bones that have been carefully ground into flour, treats made from raw meat with dried meat, dried and dehydrated treats, etc.
Why are bones given to dogs in the first place?
Since bones have little nutritional value, why do dogs love to chew on them? There are several reasons:
- Puppies experience itching when their teeth change from milk teeth to permanent teeth and try to ‘scratch’ their teeth with bones.
- Adult dogs see bones as toys that they can play with, carry around, or chew on.
Therefore, healthy and safe treats will be more useful in these cases.
What about the economic component? Bones are often considered cheap and accessible food for dogs. However, let’s think for a moment: the cost of saving a dog that has choked on a bone or developed stomach inflammation.
far exceeds all food costs. And in the case of stray dogs, this falls entirely on the shoulders of volunteers and shelters, who are forced to spend the funds they have collected on urgent life-saving measures instead of feeding many of their charges with the same money.
Therefore, we conclude that bones are by no means a healthy food for dogs. They are even dangerous as entertainment or treats. And when you try to give animal bones to a shelter or feed them to stray animals, you are doing them a disservice. It is better to donate the same money to the shelter — with the 5 pounds or euro that the bones cost you, several dogs and cats will be able to stay fed for several days, and their health will not be threatened.
Remember, bones are a sign of indifference to an animal’s life, not care. Avoid them and help your four-legged friends eat healthily and safely. With your help, we will continue to support the animals in our shelter and provide for them. Therefore, it is better to donate to purchase it — this way, you will definitely help the dogs stay full and healthy.
About Bless Unity
Bless Unity is an international charitable organisation that provides systematic and long-term support to animal shelters and rescue initiatives in Ukraine and across Europe.The organisation focuses not only on emergency help, but on building sustainable solutions for stray animals:
- regular food supply programmes;
- veterinary treatment and sterilisation support;
- educational campaigns about responsible pet care;
- cooperation with local shelters and volunteers.
By working systematically rather than through one-time actions, Bless Unity helps shelters reduce animal suffering, prevent overpopulation, and improve the quality of life for abandoned dogs and cats.
Learn more about the organisation on the Bless Unity website.
