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Wolves and Bones
(Go here to see ThePetCenter's article "Are There Nutritional Benefits In Raw Bone?")

In order to gather information about the practice of feeding bones to canines, ThePetCenter contacted experts in the care, management and feeding of wolves.  These experts were asked about the safety concerns related to bone consumption.  Their responses, exactly as ThePetCenter received them, are listed below.  All responses are included... none were left out or edited.  After reading the replies from these experts you may draw your own conclusions.

ThePetCenter asked the following question via email:

Hello,
    May I request your expert opinion that as a veterinarian I could put to good use? There seems to be a new idea in vogue regarding the feeding of raw, whole bones to dogs in an effort to promote optimum nutritional health. My belief as a veterinarian, and having seen the damage a bone foreign body can do to the GI tract, is that finely ground bones are safe but whole raw or cooked bones should not be fed to dogs.
    Part of the basis for the belief that raw, whole bones can and should be fed to dogs is the notion that wolves, foxes and other wild canines consume raw, whole bones and it is a safe and natural aspect of nutritional intake and can be done without regard to foreign body problems. If the wolves do it, pet dogs can too.
My questions are these:
1.) Is there data to indicate that sometimes wild canines do indeed suffer from bone foreign body GI trouble?
2.) Should raw, whole bones be fed to any canine ( wolves, coyotes and foxes included ) without regard to any perceived dangers?
3.) Do Raw whole bones provide excellent nutritional value to canines?
    If you respond, may I quote your response?
    Thank you very much for your input on this important domestic-dog feeding topic.
Cordially,
T J Dunn, Jr. DVM
Member: American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition
International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association

... and the nine e-mail responses are listed below:

From Dr. George Collings, an expert in pet nutrition at Sunshine Mills. 
Date:
Sun, 6 Jun 1999 09:30:48 -0500
From:
George Collings
To:

CC:
Alan Bostick

Name: Dr. T J Dunn
Email:

Question: What is your view on the topic of feeding raw bones to dogs?
Thanks,
T J Dunn DVM

Answer: Dear Dr. Dunn, thanks for the question. I just came back from a
large pet products show where dozens of little companies are peddling every
cut of bone imaginable. They were coated, colored, treated, blanched and
raw bones everywhere. Frankly, I am not an advocate of feeding bones to
dogs because of the potential for splintering. Nutritionally, the extra
calcium and phosphorus to the diet is an issue. High calcium impedes the
absorption of many other nutrients like zinc and reduces digestibility.
High phosphorus has been implicated in kidney disease. If the diet is
balanced well with moderate minerals, then these 'extras' are imbalancing
the diet. Also, so many dogs become 'protective' with the bone. It
becomes an issue in dominance with the owner. Walk around a dog with a
bone and hear them growl. Specifically, to your issue, if the bone were
cool from a refrigerator, I think the likelihood of Salmonella or some
other pathogen would be reduced. However, most bones from owners are
pretty warm, odiferous and growing. I think that increases the likelihood
of intestinal problems. I generally discourage people from feeding bones.
If we can help you in anyway, please call.
Sincerely
Dr. George Collings

*****************************************
Date:
Mon, 14 Jun 1999 10:59:52 -0500
From:
Susan Lindsey
To:

Dear Dr. Dunn:

I understand that one of our keepers (who also helps maintain our website) already replied to your e-mail. She also shared it with me for any comments.

We provide bovine/swine or deer bones once a week to the entire collection which includes red wolves, Mexican gray wolves, Iranian wolf, swift fox and maned wolves from South America. We primarily give them for enrichment purposes but also feel that they are particularly important in the development of the puppies jaw musculature. In no way do we consider them a major nutrient. They are provided with specialized "zoo" diets (primarily Purina Mills' Mazuri diet called "Exotic Canine" which was developed here several years ago).
Since our animals are raised for release, we prefer to give native prey (deer carcasses) when possible. However, concerns over decay necessitate the use of only fresh carcasses and removal after 24h of presentation.

With regards to your questions:

1) bone foreign body GI trouble...
As a consultant to the USFWS release programs, this question came up again recently. To my knowledge there are no well documented cases. However, many would agree that you can't compare feeding bones to feeding on a carcass (bones, fur, and large quantities of meat and entrails) i.e. what harm fragmented bones might do is alleviated (?) by passage of the other items with them.

2) raw, whole bones use
We believe, as do others in the federal programs, that the presentation of large bones is important for canids. Again, it is an important enrichment (natural behavior) and the gnawing helps in development of musculature (especially for the young animals who will be released in the wild to this way of life). Personally, I believe that this is necessary. One needs to be certain that the bones are fresh and that they are of large size ("knuckle" etc.).

3) nutritional values of raw bones
No, raw bones are of no real nutritional value in terms of our presentation. Most federal cooperators prefer to use bones with minimal meat (unless native prey).

As a person who used to raise Siberian huskies, I've heard the idea before that they are wolf-like and should receive bones etc. As a wildlife biologist I have also heard time and again the old wives tail that bones are harmful. Neither carries weight. My experience who carry forth the idea that the large bones are safe enrichment devices (even for our pet dog) but that any large quantity is probably harmful--even for a wild canid--unless accompanied with all the other material which are usually part of such a meal. Surely your clients don't plan to covert to feeding their sled dogs entire cows. Domestication has changed these animals immensely. Providing large raw bones for enrichment (assuming they are fresh) should not harm them. Anything else is beyond reason and their (our) breeding.

If you need anything further, please contact me at my private e-mail address.

Sue
Susan Lyndaker Lindsey, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Wild Canid Survival and Research Center
P.O. Box 760, Eureka, MO 63025

For the scientist, as for the poet, there are as many levels of wonder
in the silent beat of a butterfly wing as in the howl of a wolf.
-Douglas H. Chadwick
*****************************************

Date:
Thu, 17 Jun 1999 15:55:48 -0700
From:
Julie Palmquist
Organization:
Wolf Haven International
To:
Greetings Dr. Dunn:
My name is Jack Laufer and I am Wolf Haven International's Animal
Curator. You are more than welcome to quote my responses to your
questions, if the answers provide any valuable information for your
research.
Best regards,
Jack Laufer
Animal Curator
Wolf Haven International
1.) Is there data to indicate that sometimes wild canines do indeed
suffer from bone foreign body GI trouble?

My guess is that they occasionally do, though rarely. Wolves and coyotes
are adapted to eating meat with bones in it, and road-kill deer is
considered an easy meal, although it may be full of very sharp bone
fragments. However, what you must consider is that the animal is eating
meat that is covered with fur or hair which is also eaten, thus
protecting the canid from the sharp fragments. When you feed a dog
bones, usually the protective fur buffer is not there.

2.) Should raw, whole bones be fed to any canine ( wolves, coyotes
and foxes included ) without regard to any perceived dangers?

We feed our wolves and coyotes bones once or twice per week as a treat
and to help them maintain their teeth (if the wolf is not already eating
deer meat with bone in it as a regular part of his/her diet). I also
feed my dogs at home similar bones that I purchase at a store. But, what
we use is bone that is very thick walled, seldom do the wolves eat the
bone ... usually they dig out the marrow (as the case is with my dogs at
home). With my German shepherd, I have to be very careful that she does
not chip off and swallow pieces of bone. If I don't, I wake up in the
middle of the night to find her ridding herself of the bone (from one
end or the other) in the middle of the living room!

3.) Do Raw whole bones provide excellent nutritional value to
canines?

I do not feel that raw whole bones provide excellent nutritional value
to canids.
**************************************************

Re: feeding bones
Date:
Tue, 8 Jun 1999 09:49:19 -0500
From:
International Wolf Center
To:
(by way of Linda K. Aylsworth)

Dr. Dunn,

I'm not really sure! A wolf's digestive system is built for consuming raw
bones and given that dogs arose from wolves one might think they can deal
with bones also. But that probably is not the case for all breeds of dogs
and maybe it is the case for some. Wolves consume a lot of hair with the
bones and commonly the digestive tract wraps the bone fragments in hair,
thus providing some protection. I would think that feeding trials with
various breeds of dogs would be a good way of experimentally finding out
which ones can or can not handle bones.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
Bill Route
***********************************

Date:
Mon, 7 Jun 1999 07:58:40 EDT
From:

Dear Dr. Dunn,
First I am not an expert but I have forwarded your message to one who is, Dr.
Erich Klinghammer of Wolf Park in Indiana, and I have asked him to respond to
you.
My feeling is that it is safer for wild canines to consume raw bones as they
eat the fur as well as bones. The fur can act as a buffer, protecting the
stomach lining and intestines from punctures. The bone marrow has great
nutritional value and the calcium is obviously important. We do feed our
wolves butcher bones when road kill deer is not available. I would suggest
that since domestic dogs are not eating the fur that the dangers could be
greater. I would not feed cooked bones however.
That's the best I can offer, but hopefully Dr. Klinghammer can provide you
with any data that may be available.
Thank you for your inquiry I wish I could have been a bit more helpful.
Joni Soffron
Wolf Hollow
***********************************************
Date:
Wed, 9 Jun 1999 19:29:59 EDT
From:
Khanwe
To:

I do not have first hand knowledge and I cannot remember anything in the
literature stating that there are documented cases of wolves suffering GI
tract problems as a result of eating bones. At our facility we routinely
feed bones as the wolves get a lot of road killed deer. I have never seen
any of our wolves suffer as a result of eating deer bones. If I remember
correctly, they get the correct calcium to phosphorus ration by eating both
hide and bones. Mech mentions wild wolves cracking bones for marrow. From
my observations, the amount of bone eaten depends on how hungry the wolves
are, whether they are teething, etc. Bones plus hide with hair on it are a
substantial help in keeping placque off their teeth or removing it if it has
been deposited (as has happened to some of our wolves which we got back from
zoos where they had been fed a diet primarily consisting of ground meat (like
Nebraska Brand Carnivore Chow).

This is my opinion: dogs, though tracing back to wolves, have some
significant differences which may well extend to how robust their GI tracts
are. I know of two Maremma X Golden Retriever crosses, full sibs, both male
- one can eat bones, rawhide chewies, and many other interesting and amazing
things. The other has to have a restricted diet or he has severe digestive
upset. He cannot tolerate chewies or bones in his diet. If it would be
helpful I can put you in touch with his owner - A DVM who volunteered here
for several years before getting her degree. She has sled dogs among her
patients and may have some interesting case histories.

Pat Goodmann
Research Associate and Curator
*************************************

From Debbie Davidson... Debi is a wildlife biologist and helped to raise the captive wolves at the International Wolf Center.
Date:
Thu, 10 Jun 1999 04:37:18 -0400
From:
Debra Davidson
To:
Dr. Dunn
I'm responding to a forward from John Glowa, MWC re: raw bones being fed to
dogs. Without researching scientific papers on this subject in regard to
wild canids encountering problems with them, I can only relate to you what
I know from my experience/observations with helping raise 4 captive wolves
for the International Wolf Center. I'm a wildlife biologist in Maine and
the Maine field representative for the IWC. Wolves, and likely the other
wild canids that you mentioned, have a mechanism that protects their
internal organs when they pass the bones of wild animals through their
systems. The first feces produced after a kill are very dark and quite
liquid-like with little form; it looks to us like diarrhea. Wolves don't
necessarily eat everyday and so the subsequent feces often reflects the
same kill. The next time they defecate, the feces is still dark but has
more form. With each defecation, the feces becomes lighter in color and
contains more substance. Because they often eat the entire animal that
they kill, they ingest a lot of hair. Towards the final defecations
involving the same kill, hair can be seen in the feces actually wrapped
tightly around any bones that are passed through. This seems to protect
the organs/passageways as the bones are eliminated. You welcome to contact
the IWC at www.wolf.org or by calling them at 1/800/ELY-WOLF but another
couple of sources which may be of even better help might be:

1) the veterinarian that cares for them at - ELY VETERINARY CLINIC; or
perhaps

2) Erich Klinghammer & Associates at Wolf Park, Indiana - a facility that
raises many captive wolves for study. They also have coyotes, foxes and
even bison. Their website is www.wolfpark.org and PH. # is 765/567-2266.
They are apt to have the answers you need.
I find your question(s) very interesting and wish you luck with getting
some answers to your dilemma. I hope this may be of help to you.

Sincerely, Debra Davidson

**************************************************

Date:
Thu, 10 Jun 1999 17:20:17 -0500
From:
WCSRC - Wolf Sanctuary
To:
T.J. -
I'm going to pass your note on to my Director but I'll tell you a little
bit about the bones we provide our wolves.

Our wolves are all fed a specially formulated dry dog chow. We provide
bovine or swine bones once a week for enrichment purposes. We only toss
large, nuckle bones or other larger bones. We avoid ribs and small bone
fragments because we have see bloody scat after giving such bones. Wolves
have a specially designed digestive system to handle meat and bone. Also,
their scat has also "adapted", when they eat prey, the bone fragments are
excreted in a "cacoon" of fur so that they do not suffer any damage due to
sharp pieces. We do not provide the bones as food, only as enrichment, the
bones do not have a lot of meat or fat on them.

My boss should be in touch with you soon and she may be able to further
help you out.

Bridgette
*************************************

Date:
Wed, 23 Jun 1999 20:33:05 +0100
From:
"The Wolf Society of Great Britain"
To:
Dear Mr Dunn,

Thanks for your message. Apologies for the delay in replying, I hope it is
not to late to be of some help.

To answer your questions:

I personally have not seen evidence that wild canids (and I refer
particularly to wolves here, I have not seen detailed information regarding
other canids) can suffer problems from bones in the GI tract, although this
probably does occur on rare occasions. Wolves habitually eat whole
carcasses, including large and small bones, leaving nothing but scraps of
hair. There are certainly documented cases of wolves choking on bones or
starving after bones becomes stuck in the mouth or throat.

Having had experience with captive wolves, and observed feeding practices in
a number of captive facilities in the UK, Europe and USA, I would have no
hesitation in feeding wolves raw bones where they are part of whole or part
carcasses, including smaller animals such as chickens.

As to whether the bones are of nutritional value, I can only assume that as
wolves and other wild canids regularly eat them, then they must be of some
benefit, although they will usually be the last part of the animal to be
eaten.

Unfortunately, I am not familiar enough with the comparative biology of
domestic dogs and wild canids, to comment on whether dogs can cope with
sharp bone fragments in the same way wolves do.

I hope this is of some help.
Best wishes
Richard Morley
for The Wolf Society of Great Britain

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