Do you feed your dog ham bones?

I had an interesting case this weekend. Sandy presented with a ham bone caught on her lower jaw . In the first two pictures you will see the bone is completely around the lower jaw and caught behind both canines. Even with sedation, I had a very difficult time removing the bone and was considering cutting it with a bone saw when it finally managed to pop back over the canines. The last picture is Sandy (sedated) with the bone next to her.

I'm sure there are a large number of people that give bones to their dog without ever having a problem. When problems do occur, however, they can be serious. Take a look at the following warning from FDA’s website. Item number three specifically discusses Sandy’s condition as well as more serious problems that can occur with bones.

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/AnimalHealthLiteracy/ucm204796.htm

I do not recommend feeding any type of bone to dogs, especially since there are safer alternatives out there.

Jeffrey A. Nunez, DVM