Beef Marrow Bones for GSD puppy

[JustMe]

I'm putting this question under raw because I'm talking about raw bones. Breeder is recommending raw beef bones for puppy through adulthood. Right away my vet says be careful of chipped teeth. Breeder told me to dig out the marrow so as not to give puppy diarrhea. Any of you raw feeders use these bones?  They are big.  She said to give them frozen when puppy goes into her pen mostly to occupy her including while teething.

[mikken]

Don't do it.  I started out with the BARF model of raw feeding and used to get these bones straight from the meat processor (VERY fresh).  Over time, we started to see chipped teeth.  Three extractions on three different dogs later, I learned my lesson - no more beef marrow bones.

There are much better (and safer) choices out there for a pup.  If I had a teething puppy, I might be inclined to offer lamb femurs, but only with lots of meat attached.

If you're going to be leaving him and you want to leave him with a "busy toy", stuff a big Kong (you can get the extra tough ones if he's a big chewer) with some ground meat (and maybe some treats mixed in for interest) and freeze it solid overnight.  That will keep him working on it without the risk of tooth breakage.

[lesliek]

I would also worry about him swallowing a piece of bone & choking if he was alone . 2nd the kong idea, they have 1 for a wolf & it's pretty much indestructible . You can stuff it with peanut butter or raw or cooked food & freeze it .

[petslave]

Both Andy & China chipped the tips of their molars off on beef leg shank bones (soup bones).  Dutch got pancreatitis from the super fatty marrow. 

I think the knuckle bones (I guess they are knee bones?) are a little safer if they don't have a lot of the leg bone attached.  They tend to work the cartilage off first, then I take them away.  But the bone under the cartilage seems more porous than the shank bones so they are probably safe to chew. 

I've given turkey necks before, they seem a little safer but might be a little much for a pup.  Ribs & chicken backs & legs are really scary.  A lot of people feed them but they seem super splintery to me.  The crunching sound is really creepy too - that primeval fear of predator catching & eating us, I guess.