How to Safely Feed Raw Meaty Bones to Your Dog (or Cat)

Why a Raw Diet Is So Powerful for Dental Health

At Raw Essentials, we see dental health as a whole-body issue and raw feeding as one of the most effective, natural tools to support it.

In nature, dogs and cats don’t brush their teeth. They chew. Whole prey diets require ripping, tearing, crunching, and gnawing actions that naturally clean teeth, massage gums, stimulate saliva, and support a healthy oral microbiome.

Raw meaty bones, along with fillets, meaty chunks, and chewy natural treats, act as nature’s toothbrush. This mechanical action helps reduce plaque and tartar buildup while also providing mental, behavioural, and emotional enrichment.

Scientific research supports what we see daily in-store. Studies show that pets fed raw diets with appropriate chewing components have significantly lower levels of plaque and calculus compared to pets fed processed diets (Lonsdale, 2001; Buckley et al., 2011). Better oral health also supports better digestion, immunity, and overall wellbeing (Case et al., 2010).

Dental Health: From Gut to Gums

Healthy teeth and gums don’t just mean fresher breath they’re essential for comfort, digestion, and long-term health.

Painful teeth or inflamed gums can discourage proper chewing, leading pets to swallow food whole. This places extra strain on the gut and reduces the digestive and dental benefits of a raw diet. Swallowed oral bacteria associated with dental disease can also negatively impact the gut, heart, kidneys, and immune system.

Poor oral health may also prevent pets from safely enjoying whole bones and chews meaning they miss out on both dental cleaning and important enrichment and satiety benefits.

While raw feeding offers powerful dental protection, it’s important to be realistic: even with excellent home care, some pets due to genetics, anatomy, or past diet may still develop dental disease and require veterinary treatment. Raw feeding supports dental health; it doesn’t replace veterinary care when it’s needed.

Before Feeding Bones: What to Consider

1. Every Pet Is an Individual

Not all bones, chews, or dental strategies suit every pet. Choosing appropriately means considering:

• Breed, size, and age (including brachycephalic, young, or ageing pets)
• Eating behaviour (fast or enthusiastic eaters)
• Current oral health (decay, inflammation, missing teeth – veterinary history may be helpful)
• Gut and overall health
• Multi-pet households, where competition may encourage gulping

Our trained team can help you assess these factors and recommend the most appropriate options.

2. Choosing the Right Bone Matters

To deliver real dental benefits, pets must actually chew not swallow whole.

Well-chosen raw meaty bones encourage sustained chewing, which:

• Scrapes plaque from teeth
• Massages gums and improves circulation
• Stimulates saliva to support oral pH balance

✅ Good options: Chicken necks (for small dogs & cats), turkey necks (for medium dogs), chicken frames (for medium to large dogs or puppies), duck frames (for large dogs), lamb brisket (for medium to large dogs), rabbit shoulders (for small dogs and cats) or veal brisket (for medium to large dogs).

❌ Avoid: Cooked bones, overly hard weight-bearing bones (e.g. cannon bones), or bones small enough to be gulped.

Rule of thumb: The bone should be larger than your pet’s mouth, encouraging slow, thoughtful chewing.

🐾 Brachycephalic breeds (such as Pugs and French Bulldogs) chew differently and often need softer, well-shaped options - ask our team for tailored advice before starting feeding bones.

3. Raw Only: Never Cooked

Cooked bones lose flexibility and are far more likely to splinter. Always feed bones raw to maintain safety and digestibility.

4. Dental Health Works Best as Part of a Balanced Raw Diet

Raw meaty bones are most effective when fed as part of a balanced raw diet that includes:

• Muscle meat
• Organs
• Raw meaty bones
• Green tripe (for dogs)

This balance mirrors whole prey, supporting not just teeth, but digestion, immunity, and metabolic health (Billinghurst, 1993).

5. Green Tripe Supports Bone Digestion

Green tripe plays an important supporting role when feeding bones by:

• Providing digestive enzymes
• Supplying beneficial bacteria
• Stimulating stomach acid production

We recommend feeding green tripe at roughly 1/3 bone’s weight in the same meal - especially for pets new to bones or raw feeding.

6. When Whole Bones May Not Be Appropriate

Some pets may benefit from alternative dental strategies rather than whole raw meaty bones, including:

• Senior pets with advanced dental disease
• Pets with painful mouths or missing teeth
• Pets recovering from dental surgery
• Some brachycephalic breeds
• Pregnant or lactating animals

In these cases, options such as boneless fillets or meaty chunks, bone broth, kelp supplementation, or gentle teeth brushing may still support oral health without placing strain on the mouth.

Dental Care Options in a Raw Diet: What to Keep in Mind

Whole Raw Meaty Bones

Benefits:

• Excellent mechanical cleaning and flossing
• High enjoyment and enrichment
• Improved satiety and calm behaviour
• Supports jaw strength and chewing confidence

Things to keep in mind:

• Supervision is essential
• Avoid overly hard or load-bearing bones
• Choose size and shape carefully for your pet

Natural Chewy Treats

Benefits:

• Long-lasting enjoyment
• Some plaque-reducing action

Things to keep in mind:

• Very hard chews (e.g. antlers, hooves) may not suit all pets
• Always match chew type to oral health and chewing style

Boneless Fillets & Meaty Chunks

Benefits:

• Encourage chewing and tearing
• Particularly effective for cats

Things to keep in mind:

• Portion control is important (limit to ~⅓ of a cat’s meal)
• Not suitable for pets that swallow food whole

Kelp (Ascophyllum nodosum)

Our Organic Kelp is a nutrient-dense whole-food supplement made from organic seaweed, naturally rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and iodine. When used alongside a balanced raw diet, kelp can support dental health by helping reduce plaque and calculus buildup, while also contributing to gut function, immune support, and overall wellbeing.

Benefits:

• Supports oral health, immunity, and microbiome balance
• Nutrient-dense whole-food supplement

Things to keep in mind:

• Avoid in pets with thyroid conditions unless guided by a vet
• Not studied in pets under 6 months or pregnant/lactating animals

Manual Teeth Brushing

Benefits:

• Physical plaque removal
• Can support gum health when tolerated

Things to keep in mind:

• Never use human toothpaste. Try using a pet toothbrush and some of our bone broth.
• Can be stressful or impractical for some pets

Safe Feeding Tips That Protect Teeth and Confidence

• Feed a full meal before offering bones to reduce hunger-driven gulping
• Choose odd-shaped bones (such as duck wings) to promote slow chewing
• Be cautious with large very dense bones (e.g. possum pieces)—they may clean teeth, but the bone itself can be too hard for some dogs to safely get through
• Always supervise chewing sessions
• If removing a bone mid-chew, offer your pet a trade, don’t take (use a high-value reward like green tripe)
• Feed pets in a private, calm space to reduce competition
  • Dogs may need separation in multi-pet households
  • Cats often do best in quiet enclosed spaces (e.g. a laundry - with appliances off!)
• For mess concerns, the shower is an easy-clean option for bone feeding

The Big Picture: Why Raw Feeding Supports Dental Health So Well

1. Mechanical Cleaning, the Way Nature Intended

Chewing raw food actively scrapes plaque, reduces tartar, and supports gum health—often more effectively than processed diets alone (Lonsdale, 2001).

2. Nutrients That Build Strong Teeth

Raw diets provide calcium and phosphorus in their natural ratio, along with connective tissue, marrow, and fat-soluble vitamins that support tooth structure, jaw strength, and oral resilience.

3. Calm, Satisfied, Enriched Pets

Chewing meets deep instinctual needs. Pets who chew regularly are often calmer, more settled, and more satisfied—benefits that extend far beyond the mouth.

Yes: Cats Benefit Too

Cats are natural bone-eaters. Small raw meaty bones such as chicken necks or rabbit shoulders can help clean teeth, strengthen jaws, and provide enrichment for raw-fed cats. Always size bones appropriately and supervise feeding.

Final Thoughts: Strong Teeth Start With Species-Appropriate Food

At Raw Essentials, we don’t see dental care as a separate add-on it’s built into the way carnivores are meant to eat.

When chosen thoughtfully and fed correctly, raw meaty bones and chewy raw foods:

• Support oral, gut, and immune health
• Reduce dental disease risk
• Provide enrichment, confidence, and satisfaction

If you’re unsure which dental options suit your pet—or whether bones are appropriate at all our trained nutrition experts are here to help, online and in-store.

Because true dental health doesn’t come from fighting nature, it comes from feeding in alignment with it.

References

Lonsdale, T. (2001). Raw Meaty Bones: Promote Health. Rivetco.

Case, L. P., Daristotle, L., Hayek, M. G., & Raasch, M. F. (2010). Canine and Feline Nutrition (3rd ed.). Mosby Elsevier.

Buckley, C., Colyer, A., & Stevenson, R. (2011). The effects of feeding a raw food diet on dental health parameters in cats. Journal of Veterinary Dentistry, 28(4), 182–188.

Billinghurst, I. (1993). Give Your Dog a Bone.

Sandri, M., et al. (2017). Raw meat-based diets for dogs: Survey of owners' motivations, attitudes, and practices. BMC Veterinary Research, 13(1), 1–11.