Raw Meaty Bones (RMB) are safe edible bones which are cushioned by meat and connective tissue. Bone is an essential aspect of a PMR diet and should make up around 10% of the overall diet as it is required to provide essential calcium and other minerals to the diet. RMB's provide a valuable natural source of enrichment and stimulation to the feeding experience for your pet and can also be effective in maintaining a healthy mouth and clean teeth. 

 

We appreciate that feeding bone can sometimes be quite daunting to beginners for various reasons. This guide is intended to inform you of the precautions to take, what bones are appropriate for your pet and how to calculate how much RMB to feed. As always, please direct any further questions to our group where we'll be happy to help. 

 

The first thing to address is supervision. Never leave your pet unattended when consuming RMBs. Whilst feeding appropriate bones are safe, caution must still be taken. The following are general rules that should be followed to maintain safe bone feeding. 

 

• NO COOKED BONES

Cooked bones have had all the moisture removed which makes them brittle and at risk of splintering. This could result in internal damage occurring and for this reason we absolutely do not recommend feeding cooked bone. This also applies to dried/dehydrated bone. 

• SIZE MATTERS

Bones that are either too big or too small can pose equal risk. Bones that are too small could be swallowed whole and pose a choking risk or a similar risk to that of cooked bones. Bones that are too big can not only be harder to digest, but they can even caused chipped or broken teeth. You must feed RMBs that are appropriate to the size and ability of your pet. 

As a group, we do NOT recommend any weight bearing bones or recreational bones for the same reasons as outlined above. This is a risk that we simply cannot support. 

• NO MIXING 

We recommend against mixing raw with kibble for many reasons. However, mixing RMBs with kibble can interfere with the safe digestion of the RMBs as they each require different pH levels which can cause digestive upset and bone blockages if the bone cannot be digested properly. 

​

Appropriately Sized Bones:

Please see the table below for suitable bones for your pet. Please keep in mind that this table is not absolute. Know the pet in front of you and their individual ability to handle bone. Age, strength and experience can all influence your pets’ ability to consume different varieties of bone. Always supervise and adjust accordingly.