I alternate between raw pigtails and raw whole chicken legs as the main staple, bone-in, of course. I supplement that with a small piece of beef liver every day, a few frozen berries (a variety of them), and a fish oil gelcap. Been doing this for many years. My oldest dog will be 12 this spring, and still looks and behaves like a dog in her prime. Both my dogs have pearly white teeth, with no plaque buildup, healthy gums, sweet breath, and have never needed a teeth cleaning.
Occasionally, when I can find them, I feed them a raw beef kidney, for some variety.
Are you serious? I used to feed my mutt chicken bones. Then my vet told me that the sharp end of a broken bone can perforate the dog's intestine, and the dog needs life saving surgery for $1800. No more bones for my dog.
To be fair, prior to that my dog ate all the bones of 14 chickens, and never got sick.
That vet needs to get out in the wild and warn all those poor wolves, coyotes, and foxes. They are all in deep trouble without anyone out there to debone their prey.
PS What your vet said is sound advice with regard to
cooked bones, but not raw. Raw bones don't splinter into hard, sharp, points. Dogs represent the end product of 40 million years of evolution equipping them precisely for processing the whole animals they catch. They process them with their teeth, jaws, and the remainder of their digestive tracts, all perfectly designed for the task.
