It’s natural for dog owners to feed their furry friends with bones from leftover dishes but did you know that this practice could actually cause several problems to the canines?
According to an animal hospital in Taiwan, the vets came across a dog that was fed with bones regularly and ended up having undigested bones accumulating in its stomach. To educate members of the public in this matter, a Facebook post was created and it has been circulating for a while.
Here’s the brief translation of the post:
“This picture is taken after 1.3kg of undigested bones were retrieved from the dog’s stomach. Please stop feeding your dogs with bones especially the ones from cooked food because the bone fragments are sharp and can easily pierce through the digestive tract.”
In fact, another veterinarian named Donna Soloman, who’s the owner of Animal Medical Center of Chicago said in her article that bones can cause:
- Fractured teeth
- Gum or tongue lacerations
- Diarrhoea
- Tearing of gastrointestinal tract
- Bleeding from the rectum
Besides that, fragments of bones may get caught in the mouth cavity, trachea, oesophagus, stomach, or small intestines, thus wreaking havoc in the dogs’ digestive system. In fact, the vet says she cringes every time someone says bones are essential for dogs just because stray dogs have been eating bones for a long time.
The full article by Donna Soloman is available here.
Also, just because your dogs need something to chew on doesn’t mean you need to feed them bones. You can always opt for those seemingly indestructible rubber toys sold at most pet stores!
If you know anyone who’s constantly feeding dogs with bones, share this article with them! Spread the word and save the doggos!
Also read: PDRM Sets Up First-Ever K-9 Memorial to Honour Sacrifices of Police Dogs