We love our pets and want to reward them with loving gestures. We shower them with hugs and kisses, treats, clothes, toys and bones. Yet sometimes those well meant, loving gestures can mean tragedy. This past weekend we lost a young and otherwise healthy patient because he ate bones which caused a blockage in his intestines. Unfortunately, it could not be repaired. While not all instances result in death, you certainly don't want to take the chance with your pet.

Here are 10 reasons why it’s a bad idea to give your dog a bone:

1. Broken teeth. This results in expensive veterinary dentistry.
2. Mouth or tongue injuries. These are bloody and messy and often require a trip to your veterinarian.
3. Bone gets looped around your dog’s lower jaw. This can be frightening or painful for your dog and potentially costly to you as it can mean a trip to your veterinarian for sedation and removal of the bone. 
4. Bone gets stuck in esophagus, the tube that food travels through to reach the stomach. Your dog may gag, trying to bring the bone back up, and it could get lodged in his throat.
5. Bone gets stuck in windpipe. This may happen if your dog accidentally inhales a small enough piece of bone. This is an emergency because your dog will have trouble breathing and should get to the veterinarian immediately.
6. Bone gets stuck in stomach. It went down just fine, but the bone may be too big to pass out of the stomach and into the intestines. Depending on the bone’s size, your dog may need surgery or upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, a procedure in which your veterinarian uses a long tube with a built-in camera and grabbing tools to try to remove the stuck bone from the stomach.
7. Bone gets stuck in intestines and causes a blockage resulting in surgery.
8. Constipation due to bone fragments. Your dog may have a hard time passing the bone fragments because they’re very sharp and they scrape the inside of the large intestine or rectum as they move along. This causes severe pain. 
9. Severe bleeding from the rectum. This is very messy and can be dangerous.
10. Peritonitis. This nasty, difficult-to-treat bacterial infection of the abdomen is caused when bone fragments poke holes in your dog’s stomach or intestines. Your dog needs an emergency visit to your veterinarian because peritonitis can result in death.

Talk with your veterinarian about alternatives to giving bones to your dog. There are many bone-like products made with materials that are safe for dogs to chew on. Just be sure to always supervise your dog with any chew product, especially one your dog hasn’t had before.