Hey Mom, that was OUR FAT!!

[Jacqueline]

The girls love marrow bones, and the fact that we have bones everywhere will testify that Mom lets them have them....lots. HOWEVER......we have sensitive little tummies, and don't do well with all that marrow. The last time we had them, I took out at least half the fat, and they still had upset tummies.

I brought home three nice big bones, (they love huge wide bones that they can stick their whole face thru...go figure), let them warm just enough to be able to remove the fat,.....and carefully scraped out every last bit of it. They watched me in total disbelief. Once I emptied the bones, I had a paper plate loaded with suet. My vet has told me to boil the bones for 5 minutes, so I do. While waiting for the water to boil to drop the bones in, I had my dh bring in some wild bird seed.

I mixed the fat with a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter (Jif...not Peter Pan), along with the bird seed. We had enough to fill the suet feeder and made another patty, which we put into a ziplock and tossed into the freezer. By then the water had boiled so I tossed in the bones and let them cook for 5 minutes. My dh took the feeder back outside. The girls looked at him like they could not believe we would give THEIR FAT away, lol.

I ran cold water over the bones and set the paper plate on the floor, and told them to enjoy. No upset tummies this time. And our resident woodpecker will be in heaven.

[Jen]

Great treat for the puppers and the pecker. We used to buy suet from the local butcher and put it out for the downy and hairy woodpeckers--when I was a kid. Sounds like you used your purchase well!

[oceangirls]

Smart thinking! I can just picture your girls staring at you :conf4::conf4:

:lol:

[Irminsul]

Personally, I would not cook the bones. Marrow bones are weight carrying bones, which means they are already dense enough to crack a tooth. Cooking them will make them more likely to splinter.

Just my two cents...

[Patt]

Personally, I would not cook the bones. Marrow bones are weight carrying bones, which means they are already dense enough to crack a tooth. Cooking them will make them more likely to splinter. Just my two cents...
Thanks for the info. That was going to be my question. Everyone says not to cook bones, b/c they might splinter, but than her vet said to cook them. :scratch:

[Jacqueline]

Thanks for the info. That was going to be my question. Everyone says not to cook bones, b/c they might splinter, but than her vet said to cook them. :scratch:

I drop the bones into boiling water for 5 minutes, just like my vet tells me to. I pay my vet to tell me how to care for my dogs. If he thought that this was going to be a problem, I seriously doubt he would have me do it. We are not talkiing a bone that has been cooked for a half hour, or came out of a stew.

Not to mention, I keep an eye on them while they are gnawing blissfully on the bones.