We’re all familiar with the storybook image of a dog chewing a bone. Omnivorous scavengers that they are, dogs find bones hard to resist. Their incredibly strong jaws are perfectly adapted to gnaw through the tough cortex to get to the ultimate treat: the delicious fatty marrow inside.

The practice of feeding bones to dogs definitely has its proponents. It seems like a perfectly natural treat, one that canines crave. Gnawing bones and comparable products (such as cow hooves, deer antlers, and rawhide) provides healthful exercise, an outlet for pent-up energy. Some claim that chewing bones may improve a dog’s dental health—not to mention the breath—by removing harmful plaque and food residue. The controversial “Bones And Raw Food (BARF)” diet has many avid proponents. Wild dogs have consumed bones for ages. Why shouldn’t our modern canines enjoy this primordial treat?

Dogs may like bones, but bones don’t always like them. The fact your dog may have always eaten bones doesn’t negate the risk. We don’t know how many wild canines suffer complications from eating bones, but any veterinarian will tell you that pet dogs occasionally do. The following are risks and complications of eating bones:

Dental injury. Bones, just like rocks or any other hard substance, can grind down the teeth, causing chronic wear. Bones can easily break a dog’s teeth too. The most commonly fractured teeth are a dog’s eyeteeth and the carnassial, the large upper molar on either side of a dog’s jaw. Fractures to the carnassial tooth are easy to miss, can be quite painful to the dog, and expensive to treat.

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