Marrow Bones with pictures and Instructions.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I finally got around to buying to buying marrow bones. I had the butcher cut them but they were cut a bit long. Karen told me about 5-6" by 3" wide would be good. She had written instructions as follows:
"I ask the butcher at the grocery store for them. They sometimes have them already packaged for soup in the meat case, but not the really big
ones. The butcher will cut them to size for you.
I usually microwave them, because when you boil them, the marrow does
cook, but some of it escapes into the water, lol. last time I did boil
them because i got concerned about the microwave not sterilizing them
well enough after that discussion we had...although honestly, I've
always done that and the dog s have always been fine...and I handle
those bones and have been fine, too. But anyway, you can microwave for a
few minutes, check to see if the marrow is soft enough to remove yet,
if not, do a few more minutes, etc. They really hold up well to heat. Or you can boil for maybe 15minutes and strain the water to get all the marrow. I will chill them for a little while before giving them, because in addition to being too hot, they're also pretty greasy when you take them out."
Here they are:

I'll cook them tomorrow and let you know the results. Thanks Karen

UPDATE:

A good time was had by all, supervisor/cook, Calla and Luca. The cooking is easy, the cleanup greasy, the enjoyment great. I had accidentally bought the package of bones I thought were too short. They were, in fact, just right. I cooked them for about ten-fifteen minutes. I scraped out all the marrow, which certainly was not cooked through but it quickly cooked in the hot water. I discarded the pure fat and kept some of the less fatty marrow. I even put the water in the trash, because it was so greasy. The dogs got some marrow with dinner. Yesterday they got the bones and spent lots of time getting the tendons off. They stayed outside and amused themselves with the bones for a long time. The second big batch of bones I cut with a reciprocating saw. Not fun. It’s hard, makes lots of bone dust and noisy. I managed to put a small hole in my cutting board but all my fingers are intact and that’s the important part! I would have cut them smaller yet but really! Too much mess and work. Get the butcher to give you about 4 inch pieces. The good news is I have a batch of bones,some of which I’ll freeze. The doodles are happy. A good time was had by all.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Kim, here are some more ideas for marrow bones. If you saw them in the store--Buy Them :) After days of the dog working on the marrow of the bone and it is all gone, you can stuff them with peanut butter, yogurt, cranberries. Here is a picture of what I do with old bones. You can find this posting in the DK Cookbook

when my pups were still crated, I gave them each one to work on when I left for work.

These were made from Kibble, Peanut Butter, Yogurt, and Cranberries and Frozen. You can make up your own combination of good stuffing. Have Fun

[Kim]

Thanks Joanne!!!! Allie thinks they look delish (lol).

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I push it out into Jack's bowl after it's cooked. I have left it in bones before (when I gave them raw) but that's what will go rancid. If you use the long ones, the dog cannot get to the marrow in the center and it just sits in there and gets rancid.

[Kim]

The bones I saw at the store were short (is short ok?). I think I will let her have it (like a Kong) and then re-boil and make sure all the marrow is gone because I really don't want my house to smell like spoiled meat! Allie might like the smell, but not me!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The only problem with shorter ones is if you have a dog who is a really hard chewer. The matrix inside the bone (where the marrow is) is softer than the outside. Dogs who are really determined can chew that part up. It doesn't usually hurt them, it's crumbly, not sharp splinters, but I don't want anyone's dog to get sick or injured on my advice. With the longer ones, they can't get at much of the softer part inside, if that makes sense.
I used to give my mini poodle the shorter ones all the time, and she did chew up quite a bit of the inside part of the bone and never had an issue. The outside of the bone is rock-hard. These are what are called "weight-bearing" bones, which the raw feeders tell you not to give, because they are basically inedible. They are also called "recreational bones" because they're more a chew toy to keep them occupied than a food object.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I think that the wolves, as I remember from my visit to the preserve, ate everything from a deer carcass but the antlers and ?mandible within a half hour. I guess maybe they did eat those long bones too. Anyway if I do cut the bones I'll still keep them a few inches long and watch the dogs with them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Despite what some people tell you, wolves' teeth are two and a half times larger than a dog's...even a German Shepherd's. Their digestive systems are shorter, too.
But I think your dogs will be fine with the longer bones, and if you cut them, they will be fine with those, too, as long as you monitor them. I would be more hesitant with dogs who have sensitive tummies. With my poodle, the only problem i had was getting all the crumbs of rubble-y chewed up stuff out of the carpet.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Good Point. We cut ours down so this does not happen but I forget that many are purchasing them in longer lengths. Oh yeah, rancid ugh!

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

It's also pretty messy the first go round. That's why I took most of the marrow out and put it in their kibble. I also had them contained in the kitchen the first time I gave it to them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Right. If you give them frozen, it's not too bad, but otherwise, they can be very messy until the marrow is gone.

[Jamie Petro]

So many great ideas. We have a really good friend who is a butcher, so I'm going to ask him about some marrow bones this weekend.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am feeling guilty with all these diligent doodle moms cooking and fussing. I may have to dig out the reciprocating saw and hope nobody watches CSI and thinks I'm trying to dispose of the evidence!