Many people feed their pets raw bones thinking that they are providing their pets with calcium. The reality is, although bones provide calcium, they also provide phosphorus. In fact, approximately 85% of the phosphorus in the body can be found in bones (and teeth) — that's a mind blowing amount! As previously discussed in Part 1 of my book, our pets need almost twice as much calcium as phosphorus (not everyone agrees with this ratio and there will never be full agreement but nonetheless, that's the ratio I personally follow).

Raw meat is naturally high in phosphorus and low in calcium. Bones are high in calcium and also high in phosphorus. Thus when you provide bones as the source of calcium, you are also adding more phosphorus to the diet that not only creates, but adds to a phosphorus ratio imbalance.

One of the major keys to health for our four legged furry friends is to have a calcium to phosphorus ratio that's in balance. If this ratio is not in balance, health problems are sure to follow. On the other paw, when this ratio gets back in balance, health problems can begin to disappear. The calcium to phosphorus is the single most important ratio within the body. The calcium to phosphorus ratio builds either the foundation of good health or ill health, all depending whether it is in balance or out of balance.

The reality is that in nature, our pets would naturally get their calcium from the blood of their prey. Blood is rich in calcium since the blood carries the calcium to the cells of the body. Unfortunately, the meat we feed today is drained of blood. As a result, our pets are missing their natural source of calcium.

Personally, I use ground egg shells as the source of calcium. Ground egg shells are high in calcium and low in phosphorus. This allows us to easily add calcium to the diet of our pets. But let's take a look at bones a little more.

In nature, carnivores don't always eat the bones of their prey. A lion, as an example, after killing a zebra will eat the meat and leave the bones. Conversely, if a lion catches a baby gazelle, then the lion will eat the bones and meat. It all depends on the size of the prey. Ultimately, our carnivore friends are more interested in meat than they are of the bones.

This is why, after lions have finished eating a zebra you see the skeletal structure with just a little bit of meat left on it. The vultures then come along and pick off the last remaining meat. Then come the hyenas that actually eat the bones. Hyenas have exceptionally strong jaws and neck muscles and they live to eat bones. In fact, you can always tell when you are looking at the stools of hyenas because they are pure white — they are pure white due to all of the bones they have eaten. In fact, the stools of hyenas are also very dry allowing them to be used like chalk on a blackboard.

Now the arctic wolves will sometimes catch a musk oxen. When they do, they eat the meat and leave the bones similar to the lions. If you ever go to Ellesmere Island, the most northern island in the world where both the arctic wolf and musk oxen live, then you will see the bones of musk oxen littered across the island due to natural death and the wolves eating them but not their bones.

Lions like their meat — they focus on the meat. In fact, a lion can eat so much meat after catching a zebra that the lion literally cannot move. Their stomachs are so big and plump that they can't even get up even if they wanted to. Yet, for all of the food they have eaten, the bones remain.

With cats, as an example, they will eat the bones of the mouse they were to catch because it's a relatively small prey. On the other hand, if a cat were to catch a rabbit, the cat would eat the meat and leave the bones.

Whether or not carnivores eat the bones, in my observations, all depends on the size of the prey in comparison to the size of the carnivore.

Bones, therefore, in my opinion are not a crucial part of our pet's diet. In some situations our pets would naturally eat bones, in others they would not. Either way, blood, not bones are the natural source of calcium for our pets.

We use ground egg shells as a substitute for the missing blood. It's not ideal, it's not perfect, but it gets the job done.

Ultimately, if you feed bones as a calcium supplement, your pets will suffer from calcium deficient related issues such as kidney problems.

While bones should not be considered a calcium supplement, bones do provide minerals. Thus feeding bones is or can be beneficial in terms of providing our pets with some valuable nutrients.

Many people feed chicken backs, chicken legs along with other types of bones. Personally, I prefer to feed chicken necks. They are easily crushed and broken down. This in turn reduces any sort of complication from eating or feeding bones.

The reality is that bones are usually days or weeks old before we buy them. As a result, they are usually dehydrated making them harder. This can lead to potential problems.

Now don't get me wrong — I've fed chicken necks, thighs, etc all before. I've seen cats and dogs eat them with no problems at all. But I personally still prefer to feed chicken necks to reduce any risk.

Some people are more fanatical and insist that you need to feed other types of bones. But for me, I worry less about this sort of talk and instead prefer the relatively safety of chicken necks.

I don't feed chicken necks every day — perhaps once or twice a week — similar to how, in nature, our pets would not be eating bones every day.

While bones can and do provide minerals, it's also important to note that bones can also be a source of heavy metals such as lead. This is another reason why I prefer not to feed bones every day. Heavy metals get stuck in bones, that's just the way it is.

Not all pets like to eat bones either — some do, some don't.

Before I forget, I haven't been able to find much information regarding the nutritional analysis of bones, but I did find and look at the nutritional analysis of bone marrow for the caribou of Alaska. The bone marrow of the caribou contained no calcium at all but it did contain 107 mg of phosphorus and 4.5 mg of iron. This further shows how bones are not a good source of calcium due to the high phosphorus content within bones.

Our pets are meant to have either no fiber in their diet or at the very least, only a small amount. This is due to the fact our pets have very short intestinal tracts.

Although our pets don't need fiber, bones reportedly have a similar effect as fiber for our pets. The crushed bones, as they pass through the body, help to cleanse it too. In fact, a holistic vet I heard talk one time suggested that the crushed bones also help to drain the anal sacks naturally.

In the past, I would give my dogs knuckle bones to chew on. However, there is a chance that your dog may crack or break its tooth on a knuckle bone especially when the knuckle bone is too big. Also, most knuckle bones have too much fat and not enough meat on them. We want to avoid excess fat in our pet's diet. Fat should always be fed with the meat — meat and fat together, with less fat and more meat is how our pets are meant to eat. If you are feeding other types of bones, there should always be some meat on the bones too.

Some dogs will bury bones, let them rot and then eat them once they are fully rotten. This is not an unusual behavior. This allows the enzymes within the meat to break down the meat itself thus making it easier for the meat to be digested by the dog.

Never feed cooked or cooked small bones, both of which can get stuck in the body.

For me, since bones are not a significant part of the diet, I tend to stick to feeding chicken necks. However, if you want to feed bones as a major or significant part of the diet, then I would suggest reading a book about raw meaty bone diets for dogs and cats.

Keep reading by choosing another page or topic.

• Introduction
• Carnivores Have A Really Big Stomach
• What Can I Do To Have My Pet Eat More?
• Grains Should Not Be Fed To Dogs and Cats
• Chew or False: Dry Foods Do Not Clean Teeth
• Commercial Pet Food: Fast Food For Dogs and Cats
• Diet: One of The Keys To Dog Whispering
• Puppies and Kittens: Detoxification, Worms and Discipline
• The Funny Thing About Health
• Yin and Yang Easily Explained, Easily Understood
• The 5 Elements — An Introduction
• The Five Elements Explored A Little More
• Yin and Yang In The Diet
• The Yellow Emperor and Other Early Chinese Healers
• Feeding Fish To Dogs and Cats
• Feeding Whole Prey To Dogs and Cats
• Feeding Bones: Thoughts About Calcium and More
• Heartworm
• Natural Bug Lawn Spray
• The Rabies Vaccination: Is It Really Effective
• Are Antibiotics Really Needed After Surgery?
• The Great Pet Food Debate
• Cats Need To Scratch
• MSG In Foods
• Random Bits of Information
• The Yogic Triple Breath For Health
• Solving Constipation In Dogs and Cats