i was really nervous the first time mine had a chicken wing, but he loved it. it was the wing, not just the tip, so he did have to chew it.

i havent looked back, he went straight to raw feeding the next day, he now has the minced meat and bones, but still gets chicken caracss and quarters to keep his jaw working, along with necks once in a while. too much bone will show white in the poo so i just hold back for a bit.

he also has whole raw fish, occassionally. and for the record, never scavengers, as he gets the right amount for his weight.

I have found that greedy dogs do well on lamb bones. I choose none weight bearing bones such as ribs, spine and shoulder. My current dogs have no issues with eating any types of bones, but Loki was a greedy dog and would gulp large pieces whole, so he only got none weight bearing lamb bones and whole chicken carcass. I get chicken carcasses for free from my butcher, but used to buy them from a previous butcher for 20p each. My dogs do incredibly well on bones and have fresh breath and clean white teeth. I don't feed marrow bones, as they can wear the teeth, and even break them in some cases.

My butcher also saves pig skin, which they like raw and sometimes I bake it for a treat for them.

when we first started our chinese cresteds on raw, we started with chicken bones .. There were a few of them that wanted to swallow the bone whole, so we held one end while they munched the other..They soon got the hang of it and still doing fine over a year after there swap on a raw diet!
we get out bones/meat free from our butcher weekly .. we get alsorts from lamb & chicken bones/carcasses to pigs tails, trotters and ears..

we was so nervouse when we started them on raw to but we can now also see the pros of feeding the raw diet!
we have also taken to weaning pups on a part raw diet, and had many complements from out vet (who might i add was against the raw diet until seeing the change in our dogs)

I found this information about feeding bones on a raw feeding site, not sure if it has been posted on here before.
http://rawfed.com/myths/bones.html

I've just started feeding my pup on a raw diet, my other 2 have been on a mixture of raw and canned food for a while, but Cooper started to refuse to eat his puppy food and try to get in the other dogs bowls.
I started him off by giving him a small amount of minced chicken with his puppy food, then gave him a wing which he loved, yesterday he started on his raw diet with beef and pork mince and chicken for 2 meals, and then puppy food for 2 meals.
He is having the same today and went absolutely mental this morning watching Sam eat as he was taking so long, he loves his raw food
I started feeding raw as my Retriever x Sam has always had bad breath and a sensitive tum, he started to get really itchy and all his skin was flaking, I had to start adding oil to his food, where as when he has been on raw for a few days he doesn't get so itchy.

From http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/Cons.../ucm208365.htm

Here are 10 reasons why it’s a bad idea to give your dog a bone:

1. Broken teeth. This may call for expensive veterinary dentistry.
2. Mouth or tongue injuries. These can be very bloody and messy and may require a trip to see your veterinarian.
3. Bone gets looped around your dog’s lower jaw. This can be frightening or painful for your dog and potentially costly to you, as it usually means a trip to see your veterinarian.
4. Bone gets stuck in esophagus, the tube that food travels through to reach the stomach. Your dog may gag, trying to bring the bone back up, and will need to see your veterinarian.
5. Bone gets stuck in windpipe. This may happen if your dog accidentally inhales a small enough piece of bone. This is an emergency because your dog will have trouble breathing. Get your pet to your veterinarian immediately!
6. Bone gets stuck in stomach. It went down just fine, but the bone may be too big to pass out of the stomach and into the intestines. Depending on the bone’s size, your dog may need surgery or upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, a procedure in which your veterinarian uses a long tube with a built-in camera and grabbing tools to try to remove the stuck bone from the stomach.
7. Bone gets stuck in intestines and causes a blockage. It may be time for surgery.
8. Constipation due to bone fragments. Your dog may have a hard time passing the bone fragments because they’re very sharp and they scrape the inside of the large intestine or rectum as they move along. This causes severe pain and may require a visit to your veterinarian.
9. Severe bleeding from the rectum. This is very messy and can be dangerous. It’s time for a trip to see your veterinarian.
10. Peritonitis. This nasty, difficult-to-treat bacterial infection of the abdomen is caused when bone fragments poke holes in your dog’s stomach or intestines. Your dog needs an emergency visit to your veterinarian because peritonitis can kill your dog.

Not my opinion, the FDA.

Yes, all risks from feeding inappropriate none edible bones, such as cattle femurs.

Agreed!! I really havent seen ours dog struggle with bones and they are NEVER left alone, not one has got a bone stuck as they eat them sensibly .. not swallowing them whole.
Getting bones stuck, is just as dangerous as choking on kibble..and im sure i read some where that research had some more injuries from kibble than raw bones, although im not sure where it was or if it was a reliable source.

My parents, now in their 70's, were always very against feeding their dogs bones.... why? Because long long ago people thought you had to boil them before giving them to a dog..... um... yeah.... boil them and they will splinter and do harm to both teeth and intestines.... so I've been researching this.... and so far the verdict is.... raw bones (non carrying) are fine..... no splinters and no ill effects to the teeth..... if anyone has research evidence to the opposite regarding raw non-carrying bones... please let me know!

What great replies to this subject. As usual there seems to be loads of fors and against. It's good to have a balanced view of a subject like this so people can make up their own minds. I for one, don't give bones, used to years ago but haven't now for some time. I have made my decision not to give ears or rawhide bones following a nasty experience the other day with Ailsa which was both scarey and costly. There are loads of other treats you can give them, liver cake etc. etc. if you want to give them treats. I personally don't bother apart from their supper chews which they really look forward to.