Raw Oxtail For Dogs?

[shivvy]

I bought a few raw oxtails last year with the intention of making oxtail soup. However since then my other half has become vegetarian so the liklihood of using the oxtail has gone from 100% to 0%!
They are in the freezer now (and looking like they are beginning to suffer from a bit of freezer burn), but I was wondering if i defrosted them would they be ok to give to my dogs?

[Buenchico]

This is the sort of question where you'll get one answer suggesting that you should feed your dogs solely on oxtails and another telling you that your dogs will almost certainly die instantly if they're given as much as a sniff of them. Nobody ever seems to agree on these things!

Similarly you can find websites which say "Yes, go ahead, no problem" and others which will label you as ignorant and cruel for even considering the idea.

For what it's worth though, this site (which generally seems to be offering sensible advice) seems to advise against giving them to dogs unless they're very small breeds, or puppies, where there's no chance of them swallowing big pieces:
http://naturalhealthtechniques.com/veterinary_stuffbest_-dog_bones_to_feed/

This site reports on the actual experiences of someone who's given them to their GSD:
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/b-r-f-raw-feeding/137516-anyone-feeding-oxtail.html

[Buenchico]

PS: You could, of course, take a middle path between making oxtail soup and feeding the oxtails directly to your dogs. i.e. you could make a basic oxtail broth (without bothering with the vegetables, wine, etc which you'd put in proper soup but perhaps including some beef stock) and give it to your dogs. I'm sure that they'd love it!

[woofgang]

Sensible as always Chris!
I don’t give my dogs bones....not because I am against raw feeding but because I don’t see any health or other benefit that makes up for the mess, risk and effort involved. Many raw feeders will advise that whole bones, even whole bones of a different type, should be added gradually to the dogs’ diet and under close supervision so that if there are problems, these can be noticed and dealt with quickly....I certainly wouldn’t wait if I thought a dog was having trouble digesting splintered bone so not sure about the good sense of the “feed bread and wait” advice on that website. Since you have asked the question, I am going to assume that you don’t normally feed your dog a raw diet? If this is the case then I am not sure that raw oxtail would be a good place to start. It is very rich and fatty and there is the additional issue of swallowing bone chunks unchewed. Safer (and not so hard on your floors) to stew it up in water, remove the bone, skim the fat if there is much and then treat your dogs to a delicious stew. Mine love it with added carrot.

[shivvy]

Thanks for your answers. Your first paragraph really made me giggle Buenchico!
Yes woofgang, I don't raw feed the dogs but occasionally I give them a raw bone from the butchers which they love. I know what you mean about the mess so I usually only give them one on a nice day when they are content to lie outside and chew away at it.
It looks like there is a lot more raw meat on the oxtails than there would be on a butchers bone and I suppose I was wondering if that might bother the dogs stomachs?
But if giving them raw isn't an option I think I will do as you suggest and boil them up into a nice doggy stew(minus the gross rim of fat around them).
That said, it is lovely to see a dog lying outside and really enjoying a juicy bone.
I think I have talked myself into it, out of it and back in to it again!!

[tamborine]

Casserole them till the meat falls off the bone & freeze till I can collect. Dont feed to pets as bones can jam in their pallette.

T'would make scrumptious pies, yums ;)

[AB Editor]

Could you not treat yourself and leave your OH to the side salad?