Shelf life of knuckle bone?

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Bought it when we got Rippley on 6/1/14 and it seemed huge. Wrapped in plastic. Really good looking now, but before I give to him, any precautions? Would it have gone bad? It has been inside our air conditioned house the whole time... Thank you!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If it has no "meat" on it, you're fine. You might put it in boiling water for a couple of minutes to sterilize it if you're concerned. 

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

It def has some marrow but no flesh. Is that what you mean? It is not white.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

It is a beef knucle bone, smoked...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, the "real" knuckle bones from the butcher last forever, but not the marrow, etc., just the bones themselves. You can even run them through the dishwasher, they're indestructible. 

Smoking does preserve things, but it also makes the bone more brittle, though. JD had a very bad experience with a smoked ham bone sold in the pet store, and that was also wrapped in plastic. I just don't know. And it's extremely unlikely that the pet store would know either. 

Unless this was a major expenditure, I personally would get rid of it, and stick to plain recreational bones, the kind that are not smoked, stuffed, etc. It's just not worth taking a risk for a few dollars. 

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Yea, I think I will just chuck it. Risk vs. reward, right? It was not from a pet store, I am sure it is the best quality, but better safe than sorry. Plus I was worried about him digestively - suppose we'll stick with what we know works! Thank you for the feedback!

[Leann]

I think I would ask at a pet store (even though that's not where you got it from). They would be able to tell you how long they are able to keep those types of items on their shelves, or whether they're preserved via whatever prep goes into making them. I *think* they are typically smoked....