Min spend to get bones from the butcher?! :p

tk123

I was going to post this in the raw thread but lots of people who don't feed raw gives bones so hope starting a new thread is ok..

Is there a minimum amount you spend in the butchers before asking for bones? I've none atm and have a good bit of meat in the house freezer so don't need loads of stuff like I'd normally get!

My kingdom for bones!! :pac:

Zapperzy

Iv spent €10-€15 and asked for bones and he's been happy to give me something. Used to be a neighbour of mine though so maybe that's why. I'd have no hesitation about only buying a few euros worth and asking for scraps, it's doing them a favour if they've less for the bin so doubt they'd mind, might save the better scraps for more regular customers though.

gimmick

I always ask regardless of how much I spend, but tbf I rarely spend less than €10 on any visit to the butcher. There is one particular place in the English Market in Cork who give me a crazy amount every time.

Greenmachine

Never thought of getting bones in the butcher but I don't make my own stock. Would feel awful mean asking for bones without buying anything.

tk123

I asked the in meat packers near work yesterday (the have a factory shop/trade counter) - the bones are all disposed of in a huge skip - except for marrow bones but they're €20 for a 20kg box. If I had space I'd buy a box and be done with it! I normally spend €20-30 in this butchers btw (they have 5 trays of different meats for €20).

(A few of the pup's teeth are dirty so trying to get bones to help clean them up along with brushing)

borderlinemeath

I tend to spend between €10-€20 and I'll go to the butcher once or twice a week and he gives me sackfuls of bones!! He's told me what days he butchers different carcasses so I can optimise my freebies! One night he even gave me 15kg of free tripe!

As a rule the butchers have to dispose of the bones, so the more they can give away the cheaper their disposal is, so even if you spent a fiver on some sausages and rashers you could do well enough.

Greenmachine

borderlinemeath wrote: »

I tend to spend between €10-€20 and I'll go to the butcher once or twice a week and he gives me sackfuls of bones!! He's told me what days he butchers different carcasses so I can optimise my freebies! One night he even gave me 15kg of free tripe!

As a rule the butchers have to dispose of the bones, so the more they can give away the cheaper their disposal is, so even if you spent a fiver on some sausages and rashers you could do well enough.

15kg of tripe. Good god that's a lot to stomach.

borderlinemeath

Greenmachine wrote: »

15kg of tripe. Good god that's a lot to stomach.

Well it lasted weeks! It was divided into 3 bags so I just used one at at time and put the rest in the freezer. What was worse was it was whole and not minced and my delicate flower of a female dog who LOVES tripe, won't eat it whole, it must be minced! So that had to be done by my good self. Bleurgh!

Lemlin

Local butcher knows me from calling in for dog meat. Somedays when I go in I'm not even buying anything and he gladly gives me bones and scraps.

Other days I could just be buying a cow's heart for just €3. I think I'm a valued customer because I buy all the crap nobody else wants!

Lamb's hearts, cow's heart, kidneys etc.

Greenmachine

Used to buy lambs livers a few years ago. Yummy.

gimmick

I bought a pork liver as a treat for my fella a few weeks ago. Brought it home, cooked it, cut it up, put it in with his kibble. And he ate around it. In fairness, it looked absolutely disgusting.

Hooked

Brisket bones for the win!!!!

Clean teeth all round.

tk123

Can you send them up to Dublin?

aonb

If its a butcher that gets in carcasses (as opposed to prepacked/prepreared meat - like a supermarket etc) he has to get rid of his scraps/bones, so I wouldnt feel bad about a min spend to ask for bones. No matter how little I buy at the butcher I will ask for bones for the dogs.

(I was in our super duper butcher yesterday, with a friend, asked her to ask butcher for bones (for my dogs - hey, Im greedy - its a 10 mile drive!!!) She: Can I have some bones for the dog please? He: Sure, what kind of dog (as in big/small bones?) She: Ummmmmmmmmmm .... looks blankly at me :rolleyes: What a twit, but I love her!!! - he gave her the bag of bones too!)

honerbright

I've gotten bones with and without buying anything else. Im not exactly a frequent visitor to mine but I've asked a few times and was refused only once and that was only because the butcher wasn't sure if the type he'd left were OK for dogs. They actually keep them bagged up and ready to go for when people ask.

Speaking of bones, and sorry to hijack the thread, but what's the earliest you could give a pup a bone? We never got them for Poppy until only recently and she was already all grown up when we started :-/

tk123

honerbright wrote: »

Speaking of bones, and sorry to hijack the thread, but what's the earliest you could give a pup a bone? We never got them for Poppy until only recently and she was already all grown up when we started :-/

I waited until Lucy was 4 or 5 months and tried her with duck necks then ribs and then a knuckle bone

robocode

Wondering should I get a bone from the butcher for my lab as a treat. He's 10 months and never had one but loves kongs/nylabones etc

Graces7

rarely eat meat and ask for bones and scraps at a few butchers. they have usually to pay for diposal anyway.

Cocolola

Not very relevant (or free!) but I get an oxtail from my local SuperValu butcher's counter for around €3 and find them great for teeth cleaning.

Lemlin

robocode wrote: »

Wondering should I get a bone from the butcher for my lab as a treat. He's 10 months and never had one but loves kongs/nylabones etc

I had Labrador pups that were eating scraps from the butchers from five or six weeks.

Your Lab would love some bones. My two do.

mel.b

I don't eat meat so i don't buy anything and the butchers have always been happy to give me some bones for nothing, although i always offer to pay for them. However one butcher is very stingy and i was only getting tiny bones from him so i ended up dropping into the local abetoir (?sp) and got a massive bag to keep Cooper going. Again, i offered to pay but they wouldn't take anything.

kylith

This thread inspired me to ask my butcher for a couple of bones, and I came away with a pair of what I think are lamb sternums. I had a fun half hour cutting the ribs off for my pair and the breastbones are going to a friend of mine who has bigger dogs than mine. I don't think he charged me anything for them.

robocode

Lemlin wrote: »

I had Labrador pups that were eating scraps from the butchers from five or six weeks.

Your Lab would love some bones. My two do.

Great, thanks! Will get him some, he loves to chew! What sort of bones should I ask for? How often is it ok to give them?

tk123

robocode wrote: »

Great, thanks! Will get him some, he loves to chew! What sort of bones should I ask for? How often is it ok to give them?

Just ask for some bones for the dog and they'll give you the right ones - thats what I always do lol! I give them once or twice a week. My too are chewing away on beef ribs atm - I robbed all the meat off them for us though for a stew lol :pac:

iguana

Also inspired by this thread, we asked our butcher for bones when buying our weekly meat pack. Funnily enough while we were in there, the person before us and the person after us also asked for bones.

A quick question though. How do I give them to them? My dogs never fight with each other except for on occasion when eating food they consider really high value. In that case one of my dogs can become dominant and aggressively take the food from the other. If they are just eating dry food there is no issue and the food dominant dog takes his time eating, while the other finishes first and waits about for a sniff of the other bowl once they are both finished. With 'high value' food the normally slower eater scarfes his food and attempts to steal the other's. Realistically I'm going to have to stand over them and keep them separate while eating the bones aren't I?

Also would a big bone replace a meal. I'm interested in going at least part raw. I get a decent quality dry food but more real food would be better for them and significantly more enjoyable. There is no doubt that their lives have been somewhat less enjoyable since we've had my son, and I'd like to at least improve their enjoyment in their meals.

aonb

Iguana, technically, if you give both dogs a bone at the same time (always raw!) they should go off and eat their own peacefully. I suppose you will have to try it and see. One of my dogs ALWAYS wants the bone the other dog gets - well actually he wants both bones, but hes not aggressive about it! Keep an eye on them, when the novelty wears off the bone the more aggressive dog has, s/he may try to take the bone from the other dog. Swopping bones is ok, if both are agreeable!

Ive always given our dogs bones 2 or 3 days a week (when I have them) Its great for their teeth, as well as the bonus protein and calcium. Also great boredom busters. I give my dogs a defrosted raw bone if I am leaving them home alone for a few hours (then when we come back we have to hunt for the hidden chewed bones - usually behind a door or a curtain) I dont usually substitute a meal for a bone - just reduce the size of the portion of their dinner (unless there is a lot of meat on the bone - not too likely)

Whispered

Our boys will happily go off to seperate beds to eat their bones. I do make sure the beds have a bit of space between them. When we started to give bones I'd crate them for the first while until the main bit of meat is chewed off, maybe you could do that? Leave them in seperate rooms for a while until the novelty wears off.

I also find when they're tired and cosy they couldn't care less what the other is doing so long as they have their bed and their bone.

We have very few problems. Sometimes one wants to swap and the other doesn't. In that case I'll interrupt and send the
Swapper back to bed. If one finishes before the other, the finished one can get on the couch for cuddles so it stops him trying to steal.

When you're having them in the room together and you are worried maybe have a high value treat close by so if there is any issue you can interrupt with a piece of chicken and take the bones until you can put them in seperate rooms again.

I was in the butchers yesterday and spent less than €15. The butcher gave me a few nice ribby bones too.

gimmick

Is it ok to freeze raw bones before giving them?

tk123

Well the beef ribs were perfect (and the stroganoff that I made from the meat was delicious! :P) - there was 5 altogether and they chewed away on them for HOURS. They sit beside/near each other now when they have bones. Lucy will always try to rob Bailey's first but he always seems happy to swap so I leave them to it but keep an eye on them. €3.65 for the pack of ribs so will pick more up tomorrow

iguana

I just took them out to the garden and gave them a beef rib each and the only problem we had was managing my son's disappointment. As when he saw us go into the garden he ran and got the chucka and a tennis ball and he couldn't understand why the dogs didn't want to play fetch.