So, Padja is a proper bone-scavenger. But should I really let her play with them? I'd never let her have wild boar (because of Aujeszky’s disease), but what about other critters?
Is there a risk of catching something or getting hurt while chewing on the bone?
Just to be clear, I don't let them have bones when there’s still meat on them, whether it’s fresh or decaying. But when they’re completely clean, I usually let them be...
But what about the 'in-between' ones? This evening, Padja came back looking very proud with a roe deer leg. There wasn’t much left on it, but the joints were still held together by a few ligaments and the hoof was still there. I wasn’t sure what to do. It wasn't exactly "meaty", but there were still bits on it, and the hoof was still attached (since it’s a roe deer, it’s quite small—is there a risk she might swallow it whole?). I gave it a sniff and there was no rotting smell.
Usually, they’re quite savvy with bones. I keep saying "they" because Padja finds them and plays with them but doesn't actually eat them. She eventually abandons them and then my two big ones take over—they've got much stronger jaws and are definitely interested in eating them.
So, what do you think? Any disease risks? With smaller species like roe deer or similar, is it dangerous if they eat small fragments?
And if there's a little bit of flesh left, is that a danger?
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Sorry for the double post...
One thing’s for certain: when faced with trouble or a rotting carcass, neither of my dogs will be sticking their noses in. I witnessed the most ridiculous scene tonight (it reminded me of the fear @Mel1 mentioned recently).
One of my daft dogs started barking his head off in fear at a wild boar. Perfectly understandable, you might say... and it would be, if it weren't for the fact that it was a taxidermy boar head that’s been hanging in my stairwell for over 4 years (and you mainly notice it when you're on the landing). I’m reassured now—if we ever come across a boar that’s been taken down by a hunter or by Aujeszky's disease (hmm, that spelling looks a bit dodgy to me too), I’ve got at least one numpty wise enough not to sink his teeth into it.
Anyway, end of off-topic ramble! It really made me laugh and I immediately thought of @Bandjy’s thread, but honestly... "What a total muppet that dog is."
@Newdailycat at the first sign of a badger, you'll see me come running, gloves on and armed with a knife to skin that much-coveted skull!
@Doudou229 thanks for the explanation, I don't have all the diseases off the top of my head, unfortunately (I've got enough in my own noggin to remember as it is!). But since you know them, it helps us better understand the gross stuff our dogs might find in the future! 😁
@Bandji as for roe deer antlers, I agree, they are hard to find! Once, my previous Doberman found one all by himself! Oh, the joy! But getting it out of his mouth was a real challenge.
I actually have several at home (either naturally shed or as trophy mounts, and even some in velvet); my real thing would be to find some "atypicals" with growth anomalies (twisted or deformed...).
Oh, I also forgot the day the dogs and I came across... a paunch with the intestines trailing behind (sorry, I like the mental image), in a ditch in the woods. Almost certainly an animal gralloched by a hunter that a predator then decided to move. Honestly, it was a grim sight; I didn't even need to tell the dogs "no" – they gave it a sniff and then just carried on with their walk as if nothing had happened.
I hadn't thought about worms, as I'm more interested in the maggots that do the cleaning up... It doesn't change my philosophy though: "you don't just eat any old rubbish, for goodness sake!"
Hi everyone,
It might seem a bit surprising coming from a "BARF mum"...
If I’m there to stop it, I never let mine pick up "bare" bones—you know, the ones with no meat left on them—or any carrion. Even more so if I don't know where it’s come from (like a deer carcass). To me, bare bones are dangerous (risk of punctures without the meat to pad them).
And even with the meat on, never mind the risk of something like Aujeszky’s disease—that's a viral disease that affects carnivores, ruminants, and horses. They can get it from a carcass, contaminated soil, droppings, or water that's been used by infected animals... even from our shoes or our pets' paws. In France, there were two cases reported on pig farms back in 2019... it's a real danger!
When I get the shopping home, any pork goes into a sealed glass dish in its own dedicated corner of the fridge, which I wipe down with a bleach wipe every day while it’s in there, and I make sure to cook it as quickly as possible.
You can also find roundworms in carrion... Trichinosis. These are worms that can settle in a dog or cat’s muscles.
Then there's liver fluke in roe deer (if you're certain it's fresh roe deer, bag it, wash it, and freeze it well—or even better, butcher it to keep the meat for cooking and don't give them the bones!). Just give them the meat—lots of hunters do that.
Tularaemia (rabbits, hares) can cause a fever and mouth ulcers... I can't quite remember the rest.
A while back, Oxane spotted a beautiful pigeon that was dying by the side of the road... I wouldn't let her finish it off! And I definitely didn't let her go back there on the way home, because she hadn't forgotten where it was! It was dead by then. We didn't pick it up.
Animal hooves (horse, beef, veal) aren't a real danger if they're cleaned properly. That's provided the dog chews them patiently, otherwise they can splinter.
When Ixia, my Golden, found a deer leg, we took it off her to throw it away.
Fidji, my Yugoslavian Shepherd, used to hunt rabbits, hares, hedgehogs, and moles, and she never had any trouble. Maybe she was just lucky?
Oxane hunts and scoffs field mice (I'm always worried about rat poison, though).
Hey, you’ve found some lovely bits and bobs around your way too! 😁
My dream would be to train Padja to bring me back roe or red deer antlers shed during the season (I don’t fancy cutting them off fresh carcasses; it’s a bit gross for a start, and I’ve no clue what the poor creatures died of!). But since I’m trying to teach her not to wander off, I don’t think it’d be a great plan. Maybe something to look at later down the line. Plus, teaching her to sniff out deer... I’ll probably just end up with a load of very much alive deer instead!
Anyway, I’ll wait to see what others think... off to bed now, I’ll check back tomorrow!
On the whole, I don’t think a well-cleaned bone is much of a health risk. A bit of ligament or tendon is nothing really, especially on a carcass or a deer leg. Now, if there was still meat on it, that would be a different story!
There is, of course, the risk of bone splinters getting stuck in a dog’s mouth or causing internal damage, but since my dogs generally follow the "leave it" rule, I’ve never really looked into the matter properly.
I’m looking forward to hearing everyone else's thoughts; I'm sure we'll get some juicy stories about our pooches’ "wild" snacks (by the way, the day before yesterday we found a rabbit's foot — fresh — and yesterday, a piece of fresh pigeon too... We left it all where it was, didn't touch it...).
Carrion, whether it's rotting or fresh carcasses, is strictly off-limits. For the same reasons as you, I just don't trust them (who knows what the cause of death was?).
I’m talking about bones that have been properly "weathered" and cleaned by the elements, like the ones tonight. Not a scrap of muscle left, bones completely bare, but still, that one last little ligament holding the hoof and the two leg bones (I don’t know the technical names) together.
Padja also found a nice cow or calf hoof the other night. What a find! But is there any danger with a hoof? A clean hoof with no meat on it?
My main worry is the bones splintering, especially when they chew on bones from "finer" animals, the same way you worry about them choking on rabbit or duck bones.
Mind you, they don’t eat the whole thing; Padja just plays with it, and the two big dogs don’t have time to finish them because we keep moving during the walk. Once we get back to the car or home, the bone gets ditched. So it’s only small bits they're getting at.
But letting them put that in their mouths, I’m just not sure.
As for the roe deer tonight, I think I know which carcass it came from—one from this summer. About 3 or 4 months ago? Back in the summer, it was a definite no-go as it was fresh. But now it’s just a little skeletal leg, like something out of *The Nightmare Before Christmas*... I did have my doubts.
As a bit of a carcass enthusiast myself, I personally avoid letting my dogs scavenge anything we find in the woods (I'm keeping those for myself, thank you very much!). I don't know what the animal died of, whether it had a disease, or if it might be transmissible, etc. Plus, the occasional carcass crawling with maggots isn't exactly appetising, but that’s just a human perspective.
The digestive side of things doesn't worry me; our dogs are capable of wolfing down the most horrific things and digesting them as if they were the most balanced meal ever.
Watch out for "fresh" fox carcasses, even if dogs don't usually try to eat them. They can be just as harmful to our dogs as they are to us (echinococcosis... oh, I can never remember how to spell it, sorry! 😁). When I'm handling one, I don't let the dogs get near it, and I always wear gloves.
Basically, I'm a tad paranoid about it, but you never know. Wait and see what others think! 😁
