Dog Bone Danger

Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a report about the dangers of dog bone treats. While many pet owners know to avoid giving turkey or chicken bones to dogs, the FDA also urges pet owners to stay away from processed and packaged bones sold as dog treats.

Dr. Coby Richter, director of surgery services at DoveLewis, shared her experiences treating dogs that suffered complications from dog bone treats.

Every time I walk by the bulk bins in certain grocery stores, I recall a beautiful middle-aged boxer dog who died as a result of internal injuries caused by a simple treat. Unfortunately, she’s not the only death from a bone treat that I’ve witnessed in the past couple of years, but she sticks in my mind.

I distinctly remember the owner describing how he saw the processed (baked and cut) bone treat and just knew his dog would love it. These bone treats smell amazing (better than the chemicals used in many of the rawhide-style treats), they are thin like a cracker, and they actually look like something an omnivorous human might want to gnaw. The owner said his pup was very excited about receiving the new treat. After taking one exploratory bite off the end, she wolfed the entire treat in one go. The bone treat – about seven inches long, two inches wide and a quarter inch thick – lodged in her esophagus. The owner didn’t worry too much at first, as he had seen her do the same with rawhide treats and never experienced a problem. But a solid plank of cooked bone behaves differently than a wad of rawhide.

By the time the dog visited DoveLewis, the bone had perforated her esophagus in multiple spots resulting in contamination of her thorax. When viewed through our flexible endoscope, it looked like the bow of a great ship, dividing and stretching the esophagus beyond its limit. Too much damage had been done, and the owners elected humane euthanasia for their dog.

Processed bone treats have found their way into many shops, from the grocery store to the upscale pet salons. I know how tempting it is to give your dog something particularly yummy to chew and consume. I just wish all pet owners could have an honest idea of the risks they are undertaking when they give certain treats to their pets. Literally anything can cause obstruction, so there really is no such thing as a completely safe treat. But these processed bone treats appear to be some of the riskiest treats you can give your pup.