Of course I must again begin by saying that I am not a veterinarian. I am not giving medical advice. If you have questions about anything I have said, please consult your vet. Ok, now that is done - DO I HAVE SOMETHING TERRIFIC TO TELL YOU ABOUT!!

Several of my older dogs had tartar on their back teeth. I had been struggling with what to do for them. I didn't want to leave them at a vet to be anesthetized and have their teeth cleaned, but I also knew that it wasn't healthy to let it go. Then I read about marrow bones. The first time I bought the bones, I baked them in the oven for an hour. The dogs were thrilled. They all chewed on the bones for an entire afternoon. It was the dog equivalent of Sesame Street. I gave them bones once a week. After two weeks I looked at Zeke's teeth. Zeke is a five year old border collie who had six teeth that had a significant amount of tartar on them. After two weeks Zeke's teeth were almost completely clean. After two more weeks they were completely shiny and white. ALL OF THE TARTAR IS GONE!! The bones have worked wonders for all my dogs. And they love them! And best of all they will not have to undergo the trauma of having their teeth cleaned.

Our holistic vet says that it's healthier for the dogs to have raw bones. Dogs in the wild don't have tartar on their teeth. This is because they chew on bones and don't eat processed food. Raw bones provide food that is chelated, and rich in vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Cooking of any kind breaks down these nutrients. There are some vets who think that raw bones are dangerous from a germ standpoint. Other vets say that the acid in a dogs' stomach can kill any germ. We are not at this time taking a position on the raw versus cooked controversy. We don't think that there is adequate information at this time to know which is best. You can read the information on the Internet and make your own decision.

There are a few things to remember about giving raw bones. Buy the beef marrow bones that you can purchase in the grocery store. Look for ones that are packed with lots of marrow. These are not the bones that are sold in the catalogues. They are sold in the grocery stores in the meat section as soup bones. Don't ever give your dogs chicken or turkey bones that were cooked because they will splinter. If you have more than one dog, you will want to monitor them for awhile to be sure that the bones don't cause them to lose their manners. My little toy poodle gathered all the bones about her and threatened to kill anyone who tried to take one. It was easily remedied, but I needed to address it before it got out of control.

Marrow bones have made such a difference for my dogs, I think there should be a law that requires all veterinarians to tell their clients about them. AMAZING! SIMPLY AMAZING!