Bones for dogs? Yes or No..

Hi dog lovers,
My question to all of you is.. do you allow your dogs to chew on bones?
I have heard a lot of good arguments for both sides of this (ex. Cleans teeth, satisfies natural urge to chew, can crack teeth or splinter in mouth etc)
I used to give my two oldest dogs (Boston Terrier and English Mastiff) raw cow femur bones to chew on until I got my newest puppy (Bospin)..I stopped giving bones because the puppy insisted on chewing them as well (Soft puppy teeth.. so I didn't think this was safe).
The puppy is now old enough that he would be able to chew bones if I choose to incorporate them back into the dogs lives.
My vet has told me that she sees some dogs come in with dental issues because of bone chewing, but I can honestly say I never had any issues with my 2 oldest..
I know to never give smoked or cooked bones, and also that many types of bone aren't suitable for dogs.
However my dogs LOVE them, and I love that it keeps them busy and satisfied.
What do you all think.. bones? yay or nay.

From what I have heard, weight bearing bones can have the potential to break teeth, I guess it also depends on how hard a chewer your dogs are. I would much prefer to give pork necks, they are hard enough to keep teeth clean, but soft enough for them to chew through them without breaking teeth.

As long as uncooked bones are ok, cooked tend to splinter.

While the heavier bones are fine for a Mastiff they can cause teeth issues for your smaller dogs.

I also have a EM and give him disc cut femur bones about once or twice a month, he does fine with them.

For your pup and chewing I would go with a frozen yogurt, just use a ice tray and he will love them.

My dog mostly has chicken backs/carcases or turkey necks for RMBs as other bones are not easy for me to get. But these are a few pictures of her chombling a couple I could get - not both at the same time though!

She is nearly six years old and her teeth are perfect - and she has the sweetest breath ever.

Absolutely feed raw bones! Small dogs, large dogs, they all need bones.

just wanted to say malka what a beautiful girl pereg is ... proof of the pudding!! x gnasher

Thank you Nikki! I think those photos were taken a couple of years ago before I got a new carpet - she now has her RMBs and these bones on a large piece of oilcloth and not directly on the carpet!

I have to say that she did not get through each bone in one go though. As and when I can get bones like that I take them from her after a while and put them back in the freezer, until the next time, as she has probably had enough of them by the time I take them, as she never argues.

She has been fed on raw since soon after I joined Dogsey and learned about raw feeding - I wish I had known about it decades ago. The chicken backs/carcases/turkey necks I get for her I buy fresh and freeze, and she has straight from the freezer. Crunch crunch crunch. She just likes to crunch!

It is not just her teeth that benefit - as I said, she has such sweet breath,

Don't hang me for this as I was only 8. But I had a jR.he lived to 18 his teeth were always good ,but we give him cooked cows knuckles. Never did him any harm.
My collies tummy can't take any bones he he has white hide bones which he loves as much.i do believe all dogs need to chew on a bone what ever sort you choose

Uncooked bones are the most natural things to give dogs, the cooked bones are the dangerous items as they can splinter. My dogs have a bone every day after their walk and also marrow bones for tea the odd night, sometimes lamb ribs, necks etc. i have many many pictures of puppies eating bones of all types from the age of around 3/4 weeks. Not one has ever come to any harm whatsoever. Careful of the white hide chews, they come from China, contain chemicals and THEY have been proven to be lethal in some cases. All this stuff being flogged by pet food firms for 'clean teeth' can cause digestive problems, a raw bone is usually free and can keep your dog occupied for hours as well as keeping the teeth clean, jaw bones strong and digestive system in tip top order.

My big dude is relentless with bones sometimes. This can break teeth or cut gums. Always supervise with them. The dogs don't need them, but they are nice treats for most. My bunny won't touch a raw bone, but giant and indestructible roasted ones work for her. Never feed cooked chicken or other small animal bones, they splinter which can be bad. Both my dogs have really nice teeth and their breath is fine.